• HOME
  • THE FAMILY TRAVELER’S HANDBOOK
  • ABOUT
  • WORK WITH MARA

Family Travel Blog | Family Vacation Inspiration |The Mother of all Trips

Bringing the world to your kids - and your kids to the world

  • destinations
  • travel tips
  • travel dreams
  • road food
  • ski vacations

Mondays are for dreaming: Romance in Rome

By Mara 10 Comments

Interior of Santa Maria Trastavere

The cobblestones, wet from an earlier rain, shone under the light from the cafés surrounding the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. It was evening in early November, but the air was warm enough to sit outside, as Matt and I were doing, each of us enjoying a large glass of wine.

We were admiring the illuminated front of the basilica that sits on the west side of the piazza, which is named for it. Like just about everything else in Rome, the church is a mix of the ancient and the simply old, its main body and bell tower constructed in the twelfth century, its façade of pillars topped with Baroque statues of saints tacked on some five hundred years later. We had been dazzled inside by mosaics, graceful columns (thought to be originally from a temple to Isis). Christians have been worshipping Mary on this spot since at least the fourth century and the thick air shimmered with incense and age.

The mass was now over, and its participants were spilling out onto the square. Some of them clustered around the steps of the fountain in the middle of the piazza. This is what some people call the heart of Trastevere, the once-working-class district whose narrow streets are now home to trendy stores and artist’s studios. Others call it the heart of Rome.

Matt and I weren’t talking, instead we were just enjoying the chance to sit and rest our legs. We had been busy over the past two and a half days visiting the Forum, the Palatine, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the house where Keats died, Saint Peter’s, and the Castel Sant’Angelo. Our hotel was located a few blocks from the Coliseum, which rose at the end of the street like something from a movie, or our dreams.

A man with an impressive moustache and an accordion approached our table, singing of what I don’t know, lost love perhaps, for his voice quivered dramatically, his eyes rolled to heaven. Matt and I, in an expansive mood brought on by wine and exhaustion, were the only ones to applaud and tip him when he was done. He bowed with a flourish before moving on, his baritone voice hanging in the misty evening air.

Shortly thereafter we made our way through the rabbit warren of Trastavere’s alleys to Da Lucia, a trattoria on a quiet side street where strings of white lights and laundry lines criss-crossed overhead. Here the charm that lay over the evening continued, as we got the last unreserved table and watched as the unrepentant waiter shrugged and turned away other tourists without even offering them a later seating. We feasted on pepper spaghetti (loads of parmesan and fresh pepper but no butter or cream), spaghetti alla gricia (pecorino cheese, pancetta, and olive oil), a very thin piece of beef rolled around sweet peas and covered with a spiced tomato sauce, veal stew, and of course, more wine.

Of course, as romantic and sexy as this all sounds, we weren’t in fact starring in La Dolce Vita. Despite our pretense that we were carefree lovers there would be no passionate kissing or dancing in fountains. After dinner, we returned to our tiny room at the Hotel Lancelot where we crawled as quietly and carefully as we could into bed, at the foot of which 18-month-old Tommy lay asleep in a very small crib. Although we had enjoyed our dinner with abandon, we knew we’d pay the price for our late and heavy meal and copious wine consumption when he woke around 4:30, popped up, and grabbed Matt’s toe, giggling and refusing to go back to sleep.

For all its extravagance this was a working vacation. However, the fact that we were able to call it a vacation at all was made possible by the presence of Matt’s sister, Becky. It was she who, while we enjoyed our evening out, patiently fed Tommy morsels of pizza, drove trucks with him up and down our bed, tried to clean him using the shower in the miniature bathroom, and cuddled and comforted him when this shower proved to be the most terrifying ordeal he had ever undergone. She was such an expert and competent babysitter that when he fussed at bedtime, she realized he wanted her in the room, and responded by turning out the lights and lying on the bed next to his crib. When he cried a few minutes later, she said, “I’m still here, Tommy,” which calmed him enough that he fell asleep.

My point here is a simple one, and it’s one I’ve made before, but I think it bears repeating: one way you can turn a trip with kids into a dream-worthy vacation is to bring along some help. What form that takes is up to you. I happen to be blessed with a sister-in-law who is a singing, dishwashing, diaper-changing breath of fresh air who is always infinitely patient with my children. Your help may take a different form. But don’t be afraid to look for help, don’t be ashamed that you need it, and by all means – don’t forget to budget for it! I used frequent flier miles to pay for Becky’s plane ticket and it was worth every hard-earned one.

Becky and Tommy at Trevi Fountain

Today I’m dreaming not only of this romantic night in Rome, I’m looking ahead to our trip to London this summer and thinking about dinner for two at the River Café and possibly a play at the Globe Theatre. And I’m no mere dreamer – I have every intention of finding the help I need to make this a reality.

So what’s your dream this Monday? Please feel free to share a link to your own inspiration below, making sure you link directly to your post, not your site’s homepage and that you link back to this post. Questions? See About Monday Dreaming.

Photo of interior of Santa Maria courtesy of Scottjlowe via Flickr

Photo of Trastavere street scene courtesy of Heather Cowper of Heather on Her Travels.

Photo of Colosseum courtesy of Matt Taylor via Flickr.

Share4
Tweet2
Pin
6 Shares

Filed Under: Bringing help, Dreaming of, Family travel tips, Italy, Rome, Rome, We've been here

Previous Post Next Post

Comments

  1. Carolina says

    April 26, 2010 at 1:58 am

    I always travel with a bit of an entourage, and I do like it. I may not need to do date nights as a single mom, but I need an extra pair of hands so that maybe I can have a bit of peace at some point of my trip.
    Hope that date night in London works out this summer.
    .-= Carolina´s last blog ..Dreaming of a Quiet Place =-.

    Reply
  2. Lora (Tripping with Kids) says

    April 26, 2010 at 10:12 am

    Really nice descriptions. I do dream of what vacations may be like without having to be “on” 24-7. I know some places offer babysitting, but I am hesitant to try that in a place I am so unfamiliar with. Have you (anyone?) had experience with babysitting services before?
    .-= Lora (Tripping with Kids)´s last blog ..Teepees that Rock at Indian Grinding Rock =-.

    Reply
  3. Mara says

    April 26, 2010 at 9:08 pm

    Carolina – thank you for pointing out that help is great for lots of reasons, whether or not you’re going on a “date.” I actually really like to spend some time alone wandering around when I travel and having an extra set of hands along really helps me do this.

    Lora – I’ve found babysitters that were referred to me by people I knew in places I visited and only ever had one marginally bad experience (nothing untoward happened but the girl seemed pretty out of it when we got home). I would definitely feel comfortable using sitters from a reputable service, although I know that this can be expensive.

    Reply
  4. Bridget Smith says

    April 27, 2010 at 2:40 am

    Loved this post Mara! What a romantic night and so sweet that your little one was so lovingly cared for back at the hotel. You were very lucky!

    Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy the way you write.
    .-= Bridget Smith´s last blog ..Dreaming of… my Victoria BC Adventures. =-.

    Reply
  5. Heather on her travels says

    April 27, 2010 at 3:30 am

    Rome is definitely a place where people find Romance in the air and I loved the old Rome but buzzy atmosphere of Trastavere – perhaps like me you’ll be ableto take Tommy back again when he’s older as I did with my 12 year old son on a trip with his grandparents
    .-= Heather on her travels´s last blog ..See the sights of Northern Ireland by car =-.

    Reply
  6. Madeline says

    April 29, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    Totally agree that having childcare on vacation makes it actually a vacation! I also love how you wrote this post, only sharing halfway through that there was actually a child along on the trip with you.

    Reply
  7. Leslie says

    May 2, 2010 at 12:13 am

    beautiful pictures! I want to go there so badly!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dreaming of… my Victoria BC Adventures. says:
    April 27, 2010 at 2:34 am

    […] This post was inspired by Mondays Are For Dreaming at Mother of All Trips.  This week Maura is sharing a romantic adventure in Rome while traveling […]

    Reply
  2. Carnival of Cities for May 5, 2010 says:
    May 5, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    […] Gorman presents Romance in Rome posted at Mother of all […]

    Reply
  3. The Small Stuff: Five Things To Do In Boston « Wandering Off says:
    March 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm

    […] sure you soak in the details too. It’s the details that I’m dreaming of today. For more Monday Dreams, check out the family travel blog Mother of All […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I'm a family travel expert & award-winning writer who loves to eat. Explore this site and you'll find lots of stories about my adventures, and family travel tips. More about Mara

The Family Traveler's Handbook: Inspiring Families to See the World

Buy the book that is
"packed with enough tips and vacation ideas that even a veteran traveler can learn how to plan, pack, or book their next trip smarter." Jen Leo, LA Times Travel Web Buzz columnist

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Instagram Slider

No images found!
Try some other hashtag or username

As seen in

As seen in

Award-winning travel writing

>

© 2008–2021 Mara Gorman/Mother of all Trips | All Rights Reserved | Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.