Rome Travel Diary: Bourdain’s Cacio e Pepe, the Oldest Bridge in Rome & a TikTok Pizza Fail

Rome With My Family: Pasta, Bourdain, and the TikTok Pizza That Was Not Worth the Walk

Rome is easily one of my favorite trips we’ve taken as a family.

This was back when Andrés and I were still living in the U.S., and Adrián had already moved to Germany. Rome ended up being the place where we all met for a few days, and honestly, it was the perfect city for it. Especially since it was Valentines day and we just wanted to be together.

We spent five days wandering around, eating a questionable amount of pasta, and doing our best to experience Rome the way it should be experienced — slowly, and with snacks.

The Camera I Took to Rome

All of the photos from this trip were taken with my Nikon Z fc, which has quickly become my favorite travel camera.

As a photographer, I usually carry much bigger gear for work, but when I travel for myself I want something lighter that still produces beautiful images. The Z fc is compact, easy to carry all day while wandering a city like Rome, and still delivers the kind of image quality I expect from Nikon.

It also has that classic vintage look, which feels very on-brand when you’re walking through places that are literally thousands of years old.

If you’re someone who loves documenting your travels but doesn’t want to haul a giant camera everywhere, this is the one I always recommend. It’s small enough to bring everywhere — which is exactly what you want when you’re exploring cities like Rome, eating pasta, and accidentally walking two miles for a mediocre slice of TikTok pizza.

Our Airbnb With the World’s Tiniest Elevator

Our Airbnb felt very Roman in the best way.

It had one of those super old, tiny elevators that look like they were installed sometime around the invention of electricity. The kind where you step inside and quietly hope it will actually make it to your floor.

It was charming, slightly terrifying, and exactly the kind of detail that makes a trip memorable.

Also, carrying luggage up Roman staircases is not an activity I recommend, so we appreciated it.

Where to Eat in Rome: Anthony Bourdain’s Roma Sparita and Hidden Restaurants in Trastevere

Too Much Pasta (If That’s Even Possible)

My husband is a huge Anthony Bourdain fan, so naturally, we had a short list of places he wanted to visit that Bourdain featured when he filmed in Rome.

One of the spots we made sure to go to was Roma Sparita, where Bourdain famously tried their cacio e pepe when he visited Rome for No Reservations. If you’ve seen the episode, you probably remember the pasta served in the giant pecorino cheese bowl.

We ordered exactly what he had.

The cacio e pepe lived up to the hype, and the Roman artichokes were equally incredible. It was simple food, but done perfectly — which is basically the Roman approach to cooking.

A Quick Stop That Turned Into the Best Cheese and Wine of My Life

One night we had dinner reservations somewhere else, but decided to stop for a quick appetizer and a glass of winebeforehand.

That “quick stop” turned into one of the best food memories of the trip.

We wandered into a tiny restaurant called Da Etta in Piscinula, tucked into the neighborhood of Trastevere near the small street called Piscinula. We ordered some cheese and wine thinking it would just be a small pre-dinner snack.

It ended up being the best cheese and wine I think I’ve ever had.

One of those moments where you're sitting outside in Rome, slightly jet-lagged, drinking good wine and thinking, “Okay, this is why people love this city.”

Walking Across One of the Oldest Bridges in Rome

One afternoon we crossed Ponte Fabricio, which happens to be the oldest bridge in Rome still in use today. It was built in 62 BC and connects the city to Tiber Island.

Walking across something that has been there for over two thousand years is one of those surreal travel moments where you realize Europe is operating on a completely different historical timeline than what we’re used to in the U.S.

Meanwhile we were just walking across it casually on our way to find food.

Visiting the Colosseum and the Vatican

Of course we also had to see the big landmarks.

Standing in front of the Colosseum is one of those moments where you realize photos really don’t capture how massive it actually is.

We also visited the Vatican, where I finally got to see the Sistine Chapel with my own eyes. No photos allowed inside, which honestly forces you to actually look up and take it in instead of trying to document it.

Adrián’s First Gelato Lesson

At one point I mentioned gelato to Adrián and realized something surprising:

He had no idea gelato was Italian.

Naturally, we had to fix that immediately.

We stopped for gelato several times during the trip (for research purposes), and there’s something about walking through Rome with a gelato cone that just feels correct.

The Latte Incident

Another thing we learned in Rome:

If you order a latte, they will bring you a cup of milk.

Just milk.

Apparently the correct order is caffè latte. This is the kind of travel lesson you only need to learn once.

The TikTok Pizza That Was Absolutely Not Worth the Walk

Like responsible modern travelers, we also made the mistake of trusting TikTok recommendations.

We walked very far. The kind of far where you start questioning your life choices.

All for a slice of pizza that had gone viral online.

And let me tell you something:
It was aggressively mediocre.

That was the moment we learned an important travel lesson — not everything that goes viral is worth it.

Some of the best food we had in Rome came from random places we stumbled into while wandering around.

Five Days in Rome Was Not Enough

Five days in Rome felt like the perfect introduction to Italy.

We saw incredible history, ate incredible food, walked more than my feet appreciated, and spent time together in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

It was our first time in Italy, and it definitely won’t be our last.

Next time though, we’re skipping TikTok pizza recommendations.

And I’m ordering a caffè latte.

If you enjoyed this travel story, you may also like my photography work in Europe and destination sessions across Italy, Germany, and France.

https://www.dcorzo.com/elopementphotographer

Rome is one of the most visited cities in Italy and offers an incredible mix of history, architecture, and food culture. Travelers visiting Rome often explore landmarks like the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel while also discovering neighborhoods like Trastevere known for traditional Roman restaurants such as Roma Sparita, famous for cacio e pepe. Historic sites like Ponte Fabricio, the oldest bridge still standing in Rome, connect visitors to more than two thousand years of Roman history.