Category Archives: Rome

 If you need a reliable Car/Van with hardworking Filipino driver, contact Kevin @mken_avelino He was recommended by 2 friends so i am imagining many Filipinos that go to Rome hire him.  He is only 25 years old and 4 years ago took over his Dad’s business ( retired in the Philippines) They have a fleet of 2 vans and 2 cars. We wanted to hire him to go to Padre Pio but had no time to do a day trip (4 hour drive one way). So he just took us to the airport. Nice and new Renault van that could fit Filipino family with plenty luggage haha!! #h2hrome #h2hpeople #h2hproudtobepinoy

 We were only able to do one tour during our stay but it was amazing. DOMUS AUREA or the Sun House.   Amazing to see what Nero built which includes where the Coliseum is now. What amazed me more was how they conducted the tour- i am spoiled now – i want all tours to be like this!!! When you see ruins you need to use a lot of imagination but here they will do it for you. A Must see!!! It’s only on weekends because they do restoration during the week. The money from tours is also going towards a fund to reconstruct the garden – you will see that garden. We almost missed the tour because we got lost – don’t make this happen to you 🙂  #domusaurea #h2hrome

LOVE  this store Vertecchi @vertecchisrl #Vertecchi #h2hrome

 Nino @ristorante_nino_1934_roma One of the Tantoco family’s favorites in Rome when Lolo was still ambassador. My mom always makes sure we dine here whenever we visit Rome and we order the favorites of Lolo and Lola – canneloni, spinach with tomato sauce. The vongole is supposedly good but there was none that day. Good classic Italian food very near Piazza España #h2hrome #h2hlolochronicles  Bolognese for me!  I like eating it here because you can ask for parmesan cheese and you can put as much as you want on your pasta 🙂

When you shop in Rome, you can get VAT refund and usually you get this in the airport.  The lines are very very long in the airport that you have to give probably an hour allowance just to do this.  But there is a Global Blue office under the Spanish steps and you can do it already there.  When you get to the airport you skip the line and they let you go first.  Just make sure you bring the items before you check in because they are quite strict and they look for the items.
C lick below to go to their website to find out more and what purchases are accepted here

Discover the spots where you can claim your tax refund back in downtown Rome

 We had dinner at Flavio Al Velavevodetto which according to our son is like in the Brooklyn area of Rome. So it is a bit far from the centre #flavioalvelavevodetto #h2hrome #h2heducation #h2hcelebrations It’s tradition for us to take out our son’s friends to a meal when we visit them. This time we are in Rome with yummy Italian food. 4 are in Rome – Spencer, Achindra and Flynn, 2 chose Copenhagen but came to visit – Nick @nickpenske and Brent and Max @porkfriedweiss who is visiting. Jaime made sure we spread out in between his friends and we are happy to get to know them better since we usually just see them through photos or hear their name. This time even Lolo and Lola met them.  Our kids’ friends are our family too and we are blessed that our sons are surrounded by very good people  Jaime ordered everything so I do not know what this dish is but this was my favourite!  Cheese with anchovies.  Fried Lamb chops  Amatriciana  Carbonara  Rigatoni Ala Gricia  Cacio e Pepe  OMG! they forgot to bring the doggy bag! haha

One of the most important feature in the Portrait Roma iPad 
  The Best Ice Cream ( gelato) 🙂  There are many many gelato stores so its good they narrowed it down for us and both nearby the hotel.  I like Grom and it was very near the hotel, but that is available already in IFC Mall in Hong Kong and I just saw a branch in New York in Columbus Circle, so we decided not to go here  

 We went to Giolitti which was near our lunch at Il San Lorenzo so we went here.  They had many flavors to choose from!  It was very full with a long line so we sat in the dining area which was full service #venchi #giolitti #gelato #h2hicecream #h2hrome  You cannot sit in the dining area if you do not order from the full service menu They differentiate the full service with bigger portions and of course you are paying for sitting down and the service, hence the prices are higher Just around the corner by Portrait Roma is Venchi! The hubby who loves ice cream preferred Venchi @venchi1878 because their flavors are limited and in that limited offering – they are mostly on the chocolate side and thats what he likes, CHOCOLATE! In the area near the hotel there are many gelaterias but make sure to go inside the Pantheon.  There are no entrance fees and it is so historical and beautiful.  Our son was having class at the Pantheon while we were having gelato nearby 🙂  

 At Portrait Roma @lungarnocollection @ferragamo they give you an iPad in your room where you can find instructions about the things in the room, appliances, sauna, tv. There’s information about tours, restos, shopping etc. Then you can use it to take you anywhere ( maps) and you can communicate with the hotel for anything. It came in handy everyday!! We were lost for our tour so i used it to skype with the concierge. And also because of the language barrier its always easy to contact the hotel staff who can speak English and can help for anything. The only setback is the portability but I would still take it because it is so useful.  #portraitroma #lungarnocollection #h2hrome  The hotel even has their own tours.  We tried to do this tour but because it was raining, we had to cancel  All the instruction on how to operate the appliances in the room are all in the iPad  Even the pillow menu is there! LOVE IT!!

 We wanted to have pizza of course and so Jaime took us here.  They not only have good pizzas but many other Italian food.  We most especially like the name because our niece is named Emma 🙂 Our uber driver ( who is also a tour guide ) told us that Italians only eat pizza for dinner.  It is only the tourists that eat pizza a for lunch or merienda.  I do not know if that is true but in Emma there were many Italians having pizza for lunch.

  I saw a guy in the counter cutting a leg of ham.  I asked him what their most popular pizza was and they said the cinco jotas pizza which is Spanish ham.  I do not know if he is saying that because he is trying to sell his ham ( haha ! ) But anyway, We did not order it because we do not want to eat Spanish ham in Italy 🙂  If ever we prefer to eat prosciutto when in Italy.  #emmapizzeriaconcucina #h2hpizza #h2hrome Thin crust pizza – margherita red cow, anchovies and prosciutto  C lick below to go to to their website

Pizzeria con cucina