After being for a very short time in Rishikesh, India, I have traveled for only one week to Rome, with the main purpose of practicing with my Ashtanga Teacher, but also, with the intention of sharing everything I like about Rome with my beloved partner, Brian, who came to meet me this time at this wonderful city.
Photo by Brian Wcislo - Natarajasana at the Roman Forum
Being able to travel to study with my teachers at least for a short period, is a blessing, and so it is to be able to bring the love of my life to enjoy all the beauty from Rome with me. It was not easy to catch up after being apart for three weeks, specially because I was in India. India always transforms me, there is something revealed, a layer pealed off, and when your skin is so exposed and it's time to come back to where everything moves, it hurts. But my partner is much stronger and wiser than the effects of these painful processes of transformation.
Brian smiling after visiting La Fontana di Trevi with an amazing light
During the practices at the Shala I reconnected in a much deeper way with intermediate series of Ashtanga, acknowledging the strength that goes beyond what is on the surface, and surprising myself while doing things I've never done before without falling on the floor, like Karandavasana.
This strength that is empowered by the practice, brought my energy back to its natural state, so I was able to wake up early everyday and had lots of energy to explore the city. So, before Brian arrived I planned this amazing itinerary in which we were going to visit all the places I love in Rome. The only thing I was not sure about how to make fit in my plan, was the food, because what I used to like is not what is good for my body anymore: pizza, pasta, gelato, Panna Cotta, pastries and wine. Because of this challenge I ended up trying many delicious traditional Italian dishes that I have never tried before, such as: Zuppa Fagioli (White Beans Soup), Zuppa di Verdure (Vegetables Soup) and Caponata (a delicious Eggplant dish), most of them at my new favorite restaurant in Rome: Il Barroccio.
Interior view of Il Barroccio
We found a slow food/ gluten-free/ vegan/ artisan Gelateria, where we ate the only two gelatos we had in the whole trip. And it was very much enough for us. Actually, I am surprised I was ok with only two of them over the course of a week in Rome, where while walking on the streets all tourists and locals are eating ice cream everywhere. We treated ourselves with a delicious 82% cacao bar of chocolate and with a delicious coffee we had every afternoon at our favorite spot close to the subway station at San Giovanni. My everyday request was: one americano with double expresso and only half the water with a little bit of milk (yes, Milk! For some reason in Italy and India, milk doesn't hurt me if it is just small quantities).
After the first day we were hanging out in the city together I realized that it was going to be very unlikely to complete even half of the list of places to visit in my plan, not only because it was too much, but because I am a morning person and Brian is more like an afternoon/evening person. But this was perfect because it made me slow down and find places that I have never visited before, such as some beautiful hidden streets in Trastevere, or the Fontana di Paula with an amazing view of the city. Also, for the first time I actually went up at Il Vittoriano from where there is another magnificent view of the city.
Fontana di Paula on the left / Trastevere Streets on the right
View from Il Vittoriano on the left / Front View of Il Vittoriano
Brian taking photos from the little piazza in front of Il VIttoriano on the left / Statue at Il Vittoriano on the right
Of course there were places that we couldn't miss that were part of our itinerary like La Fontana di Trevi, the Pantheon, Coliseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna and the Caravaggio paintings at the Church of Saint Luigi dei Francesi. Of course we couldn't miss Oasi della Birra, my favorite "aperitivo" buffet (with many delicious vegetarian options), where we had our only glass of wine of the whole trip.
Piazza Navona on the left / Roman Forum on the right
Roman Forum on the left / Coliseum on the right
Pantheon on the left / Fontana di Trevi on the right
Inside view of the Coliseum on the left / A couple between the flowers on the stairs at Piazza di Spagna on the right
Most of all, Rome is a place for the stimulation of the senses, where we can experience many pleasures, gastronomic, visual, smells, sounds... What I love about Rome is to walk and observe, observe outside and observe inside... how all of these stimulations influence me and being able to do this process of observation with the one I love, has being a gift for which I am deeply grateful.