Roma: Food & Footwear

The original plan after our visit to the FAO MuNe was to return to the apartment … and stay there until it was time to leave for the opera. Instead, we decided to add a jiggle.

I’ve been on the hunt for some comfy, yet stylish, white footwear. No luck in Bologna. Continuing the search in Roma, we figured, would increase my chances of finding what I was looking for. We knew there was a Vivaia shop in Roma — one of only two in Italy … the other one in Milano — it made sense to check it out. And that’s how we ended up in the neighborhood of our old haunts from previous stays in Roma.

First, a quick stop at the apartment to re-fill our water bottles and add electrolyte packs to replenish the fluids we had already lost through copious amounts of sweat. Then, we went down the steps to the metro entrance in front of our building. We hopped on the train in the direction of Termini … and hopped off at the Cavour Station.

From there, it was a rather long and hot walk. Luckily there was plenty of shade to take advantage of and a traffic tunnel that afforded the occasional breeze from vehicles passing by at speed. Not that it was ‘chill’ in the shade, but every means of dropping the broiling temperature down a degree or two was welcome. The handheld fan I picked up in Japan in 2023 got a workout today!

When we arrived at Via del Tritóne, we decided to take a break and stop for lunch. Spying a place called Clementino nearby, we decided that it would do. We knew nothing of this restaurant — except that the ambiance reminded us of the old world charm of the Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, DC. And it had a good star rating and reviews when we checked online.

Excellent choice. The service was attentive; the food delicious; and the A/C was providing the right amount of cooling comfort. In really hot weather, we skip wine, so fizzy water and lemonade were our beverages of choice. I ordered a spinach salad … light and perfect for a summer day. Mui ordered the calamari … perfect texture. We shared both plates … as well as the mango sorbet served with panna in what the menu described as a wafer, but was more like a crispy, caramelized tuile shaped like a basket … delicious, refreshing, and beautiful presentation.

Our tummies sated, we continued our walk to complete the shopping portion of our day. We stopped in at La Rinascente to check out their footwear department … nope, not spending €750 for a pair of sandals … Ferragamo or not! But the A/C was a welcome respite. We continued on … stopping it at other shoe stores … for ‘A/C shopping’ the displays inside. Nothing! Nada!

Our actual destination was Via Frattina, a narrow street that branches off from Piazza di Spagna. The Vivaia store had a good selection of shoes … no white ones that fit my requirements, however, so the search continues. But I did find a couple of other pairs on sale that begged to go home with me 😂.

Totally drained by this time, we walked back to Piazza di Espagna. It was packed with tourists from all around the world, standing under the broiling sun to take photos of the Spanish Steps. The smart ones had hats on or were using umbrellas to provide their own shade … yet others were sitting around Fontana della Barcaccia, the Baroque fountain in front of the steps, their feet in the water.

We didn’t dally. We hotfooted it through the crowd to the Spagna Metro Station … hopped on the blue line in the direction of Battistini and switched to the orange line at Termini for the short ride to Circo Massimo.

Time to rehydrate … rest … and relax before our opera outing.Læs mere