I鈥檝e visited Rome twice before, so I鈥檝e already experienced much of the city鈥檚 treasure trove of sights鈥攖hough seeing mind-blowing ancient structures like the Colosseum never gets old. But for my third visit, I was determined to experience Rome like a local. My goal was to literally live out the classic phrase 鈥渨hen in Rome, do as the Romans do,鈥� for over a week. So I based myself in the cuore (heart) of Rome鈥檚 centro storico at , where I could fully immerse myself in the culture and lifestyle of this timeless city.

To kick things off, I joined immersive tour. Italy has a rich tradition of food and Rome is filled with some of the country鈥檚 best gastronomic delights, so eating and drinking is of a major part of the hands-on experience. On the itinerary was a , a cocktail crawl of Rome with local expert and influencer Maria Pasquale (a.k.a. ), lunch at the Palazzo with the Italian countess , and even a . And, of course, in between activities I had plenty of opportunities to try every kind of Italian delicacy鈥攆rom delectable 蝉耻辫辫濒矛 (fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella) to the city鈥檚 famed gelato鈥攁ll on my own.

The following is a photo journey of some of my favorite dining and drinking experiences in Rome:

, a busy Trastevere neighborhood restaurant frequented by both locals and in-the-know tourists, served up one of my favorite dishes of the trip: Pasta Amatriciana. Hungry Romans arrive in droves for lunch, as you can see here. I went on a weekday without a reservation and was fortunate snag a table after waiting only about 15 minutes.

An Italy fact I鈥檇 never known: Different types and shapes of pastas come from different regions of the country. Da Enzo Trattoria鈥檚 Pasta Amatriciana is a classic dish named for the Italian town of Amatrice with a spicy sauce based on guanciale (cured pork cheek). The cured meat has a taste similar to bacon–and is absolutely delicious.

At the counter stands Stefania Innocenti, the fourth-generation owner and baker behind Biscottificio Innocenti in Trastevere. At one point, as our group surrounded her while sampling a platter of delicious cookies, she almost seemed to tear up while talking to us. Our guide, Rishad Noorani from , translated: 鈥淪eeing all you people enjoying my food just makes me so happy. I don鈥檛 do it for the money. I do it for this!鈥�

Sipping an Aperol spritz while people-watching at a sidewalk cafe became my daily indulgence in Rome.

I learned to make Roman-style pizza via InRome Cooking classes–and I can鈥檛 wait to test out my new skills at home.

On the Trastevere Twilight Food Tour, we stopped at the Antica Caciara salumeria (delicatessen) to sample buttery porchetta washed down with beer. This old-school deli has been operated by the Polica family since 1900 and is a Trastevere institution.听

During one magical afternoon, lunch was served up with one of the best views of Rome. This airy terrace tops Palazzo Taverna, the family house of chef and entertainer, .

One of the most exciting nights out on the town was with Rome local expert Maria Pasquale, also known as . Here, Maria sips an experimental cocktail served in a tea cup at the boutique hotel .

If you鈥檙e looking for nightlife away from the well-trodden tourist path, head across the river to Trastevere and follow the crowds–Trastevere locals party late into the night.

The Jerry Thomas Project, an intimate speakeasy that鈥檚 been named one of the in the world, capped off our tour. Reservations are a must and it鈥檚 worth it, I promise!

Interested in learning more about Tanveer’s journey?听Read more about it on听, the听性视界 Blog,听and check out听Perillo’s Learning Journey听听itinerary.

Tanveer is a travel, hotel, and lifestyle photographer who has explored more than 50 countries. Some trips have led him to photograph luxury hotels on the Amalfi Coast or the Riviera Maya, while others have taken him on long treks in the Bhutanese Himalayas or in search of lemurs in Madagascar. Follow his ongoing travels on or check out his

The post How to Eat and Drink Like a Local in Rome appeared first on 性视界 Blog.

As a travel photographer, I鈥檝e had the privilege of visiting over 50 countries. And as I鈥檝e become a more experienced traveler, I鈥檝e found myself no longer interested in just crossing places off a bucket list or filling my passport with as many stamps as possible. Instead, I鈥檓 more interested in getting to know my favorite places more intimately. For example, I鈥檝e been to India multiple times and would go back in a heartbeat. A few months ago, I re-visited Morocco on another Afar + 性视界 assignment, and recently, I had a chance to return to Italy for the third time.

On previous trips, I鈥檇 only spent a couple of days in Rome before moving on to other parts of the country such as the Amalfi Coast or Venice. I鈥檇 breezed through the must-see sights such as Vatican City and the Colosseum. So this time, I wanted to do Rome differently and really try to dig a little deeper into this beautiful city. I joined , and the company created a custom itinerary for me to actually 鈥渓ive like a Roman.鈥�

Through Learning Journeys, I signed up for week-long Italian language lessons at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci. Later, I discovered this was the same school that Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, had attended and wrote about in her well-known memoir. After experiencing the school myself, I understood why. Each morning, I would stand shoulder to shoulder with other Romans and order my cappuccino and cornetto from a cafe and then walk into class in an actual Italian palazzo (i.e., a palace). How cool is that? My class of a dozen included a range of foreigners, from a 19-year-old Thai student to a 70-year old retired Australian man. And within this spectacular setting, our teacher, Marta, seemed straight out of a classic Italian movie–she was intelligent, beautiful and charming.

Scuola Leonardo da Vinci

And actually I did visit the Vatican Museum and the Colosseum again. But this time, set me up with guides that could have been art history professors at Ivy League colleges. I felt like I experienced these sights for the very first time, and in my mind I could envision ancient Romans living in the city as the stories and paintings were explained. I learned, for example, where Michelangelo had painted a self-portrait in the Sistine Chapel (as St. Bartholomew, a saint who鈥檚 identified as being skinned alive) and that Julius Caesar once walked across the same Ponte Cestio bridge that I nonchalantly crossed into the Trastevere neighborhood. I have a whole new appreciation for 鈥渢our guides鈥� after this trip. The word 鈥済uide鈥� barely does their job justice. They鈥檙e more like historical storytellers.

Another reason I wanted to live like a Roman was simply to take better photographs. People love to say 鈥測ou can鈥檛 take a bad photograph in Rome.鈥� But what they really mean is you can鈥檛 take a bad postcard photo. That鈥檚 not something I was interested in — taking the same beautiful photo that everyone else has taken a million times over. In fact, taking a good, original photo in any famous city is incredibly difficult. Instead, I wanted to capture a slice-of-life scene of Rome, moments that would invoke a sense of mood or texture and take me right back to the city. You can鈥檛 do that if you鈥檙e just in Rome for 24 hours following the well-beaten tourist trail.

Each day after my Italian class was over, I鈥檇 go on long walks with my camera in hand, and try to capture Romans going about their daily lives — reading a newspaper in a sunny square, walking their dog, drinking espresso… Through these walks, I discovered that my favorite part of Rome is the Trastevere neighborhood, a place I鈥檇 only casually visited during my previous trips.

Ultimately, I found myself not even needing to look at my Google Maps app to find my way around. Instead, I would look for 鈥渢hat Osteria鈥� where I needed to take a left, which would then take me to Piazza Navona; or I realized that if I followed Via di Torre Argentina, a street lined with Italian leather goods shops, it would ultimately lead me to the Pantheon.

What I鈥檓 mostly excited about after my Roman experience with Perillo’s Learning Journeys is that the next time I come back to Rome (and I certainly hope I do) I鈥檒l have all these lessons and experiences under my belt, and will feel at least a little bit more like a local. I鈥檒l know how to get from the airport to the city center and then how to find that amazing restaurant near the Trevi Fountain where I had the best cacio e pepe of my life. I鈥檒l know how to make my way between Trastevere and Rome鈥檚 historical center without consulting a map constantly. That, to me, makes travel so much more rewarding that crossing another place off the bucket list.

Interested in learning more about Tanveer’s journey?听Read more about it on听, the 性视界 Blog,听and check out听Perillo’s Learning Journey听 itinerary.

Tanveer is a travel, hotel, and lifestyle photographer who has explored more than 50 countries. Some trips have led him to photograph luxury hotels on the Amalfi Coast or the Riviera Maya, while others have taken him on long treks in the Bhutanese Himalayas or in search of lemurs in Madagascar. Follow his ongoing travels on or check out his .听

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