Tag: drinking abroad

Season 4, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 089 | Italy – Rome, What to Drink, Eat and Do in the Eternal City

The Boozy Blondes

The Boozy Blondes are wrapping up their Season 4 Italy tour with an episode all about Rome! Are you planning a trip to the Eternal City? This episode will help you plan for some of the hot spots you don’t want to miss!

First things first – the DOE. Chrissy continues to try to warm Molly up to spritzes, but it’s not going so well. Molly reluctantly sips the Campari Spritz Chrissy made because, well, “when in Rome!”

If you’re traveling by plane to Rome, chances are you’re flying into Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport. From here you can take an Uber to train to your destination. The girls stayed in the neighborhood of Trastevere, and you can hear an episode dedicated to this beautiful community in Episode 088 (listen here!).

One must-see stop when in Rome is Vatican City. Its headquarters to the Roman Catholic Church and full of cultural, religious and historical significance. The girls toured the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Peter’s Square and the Sistine Chapel. Understandably so, Vatican City is a popular spot and gets extremely crowded with tourists. The girls planned for the crowds and booked the earliest tour possible through The Tour Guy for about $150 per person. This 3-hour tour included:

  • Skip-the-line entry to the Vatican
  • Pio-Clementino Museum, Gallery of the Candelabra, Tapestries and Maps
  • Raphael Rooms and School of Athens
  • Entry to the Sistine Chapel
  • Entry to St. Peter’s Basilica
  • A Professional, English-speaking guide
  • Max group size of 10

The girls highly recommend the tour, especially if it’s your first visit. There is so much to take in! One pro tip is to dress for the weather – much of the tour actually takes place outside, and the girls were not prepared for that! Other tips include:

  1. Go as early as you can to beat the largest crowds
  2. You are allowed to take pictures (no flash) everywhere except inside the Sistine Chapel
  3. Dress modestly – your shoulders and knees must be covered
  4. Bags are allowed but must be small backpacks or purses

Following your tour, there are cute restaurants close by where you can grab a cocktail (or espresso) before your next adventure! For the girls it was touring the Colosseum, but unfortunately due to the miserable weather, they skipped it. This is the tour they had booked again through The Tour Guy for you check out.

One of the best experiences the blondes had was renting e-bikes and exploring the Appian Way. Chrissy packed a picnic lunch for the group, and they took off from an e-bike rental store near Circus Maximus. Beware – there are no bike lanes, so navigating the traffic can be a little treacherous. Over the course of the ride, they stopped at:

  • Catacombe Di San Callisto – the catacombs here were built in the 2nd century around 150AD! The tour is about 10 Euros per person and lasts about 45 minutes
  • Appia Antica Caffe for spritzes and beer
  • Borghese Park
  • Church of Domine Quo Vadis – where Saint Peter was said to encounter Jesus when he initially fled Rome – you can see Jesus’ footprints here

The girls agree this was a great way to experience the Roman countryside and some history too! Having a picnic lunch alongside one of the oldest roads in the world was surreal! After biking the group enjoyed aperitivo at Da Etta and Freni e Frizioni (details in Episode 088), then had an amazing meal at Divin Ostilia Wine Bar.

Other must-sees in Rome are the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. You can listen to our Angels and Demons Pub Crawl episode (Episode 085) to get more details about those stops.

A few more tips as you plan your trip:

  1. Stop in random churches! They are full of history, art and faith, and breathtaking!
  2. Stop for aperitivo! It’s an Italian lifestyle – enjoy drinks and small snacks before dinner. Molly’s favorite was at the rooftop bar of FortySevenHotel.
  3. Beware of bathrooms – or lack of seats on toilets. BYOS! (Bring your own seat!)
  4. Make reservations in advance but leave some room for flexibility! Sometimes getting lost leads to the best adventures!
  5. If you can, add an extra day or two to your original plan – vacation goes by so fast. If you’re planning for 7 days, see if you can swing 10! Having downtime days is a blessing!

Is there a place in Rome you love that we didn’t mention? Share it with us in the comments below!

Season 4, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 085 | Italy: Roman Angels & Demons Pub Crawl

The Boozy Blondes

Listen here!

Whether you’re feeling angelic or sinful, this episode is for you. The Boozy Blondes embark on a full day of bar-hopping and sightseeing around the Eternal City at places referenced in Dan Brown’s popular thriller (and movie starring Tom Hanks), Angels & Demons!

The DOE is a Select spritz – the national drink of Italy!

If you’re not familiar with Angels & Demons, it’s a great read (and as mentioned, available to watch in about 2 hours) – and the references in this episode might make a little more sense. Regardless, these stops will not disappoint – Angels & Demons fan or not! In the story, the main character follows “The Path of Illumination.” In this episode, the girls follow “The Path of Intoxication!”

The first stop actually isn’t boozy, but it’s worth mentioning. Tattoos at Bad Church Tattoo in Trastevere. In Angels & Demons, some of the characters get branded, so why not really get into character…and drag the Boozy Bros with them! While lifelong ink might not be everyone’s souvenir choice, if you are looking to get a tattoo abroad, the girls list off some pro-tips:

  • Make reservations online
  • Go early so it doesn’t slow down your day.
  • Email your art ahead of time in case of language barrier.
  • Bring cash.

If you want to see behind the scenes at Bad Church Tattoo, check out the Boozy Blondes’ Instagram Reel.

From here the girls traveled to Piazza del Popolo on the north end of the city to Angolo degli Artisti. Piazza del Popolo is the largest square in Rome and an iconic site in the book. The girls loved this restaurant; they were seated outside looking across the square and enjoyed spritzes, pizza and charcuterie…adding limoncello shots to wrap up the meal.

From here, the girls crossed the square and wandered up some steps to Terrazza del Pincio. This public park offers sprawling views of the city and is one of the best places to see the sunset in Rome. Since it was early in the day, there was no sunset, but the girls still captured some beautiful pictures overlooking Piazza del Popolo!

Next, the girls headed south to see the Spanish Steps and grab espresso at Don Nino. The Spanish Steps aren’t in the book, but an iconic (and super busy) spot in Rome. Don Nino is a traditional pâtisserie chain in Rome where Chrissy had stopped just days earlier to recreate the Audrey Hepburn scene in Roman Holiday.

Next stop was the Trevi Fountain, but the girls didn’t wait in line to throw in coins. Go early! The line stretches pretty far! The girls moved on past the Trevi Fountain and around the corner to Baccano for cocktails and appetizers. The girls were seated outside along the street and absorbed the bustling ambiance will sipping spritzes and enjoying carpaccio and tartare. It was about a month before Christmas and Baccano nailed it with the decorations – it was beautiful!

From Baccano, the blondes traveled to the Pantheon. While there are different options for tours, the girls chose a self-guided one. Major Pro Tip and time saver – there’s a cash-only line at the Pantheon where there’s rarely a line, and it’s only 5 euros to get in. Make sure to find the line farthest to the left.

After spending some time soaking up the ancient history at the Pantheon, the Boozy Blondes made their way to Piazza Navona, another plaza hosting an iconic scene from Angels & Demons. While it’s only a 4-minute walk to here from the Pantheon, there are beautiful churches lining the way that the girls highly recommend you visit. The combination of history, art and faith is not to be missed in these stunning structures.

Just around the corner from Piazza Navona is a great wine bar and deli, I Pizzicaroli. Here the girls enjoyed a bottle of wine and drooled over the giant charcuterie boards. The girls found there way back here later on to grab another bottle for the road!

The final stop on the Angels & Demons tour was Castillo San Angelo. While the girls didn’t go in, you can tour Castillo San Angelo for around $20. This is basically where Angels & Demons ends, so it was the perfect finale to the day. It’s a 20 minute walk to here from I Pizzicaroli, but feeling the effects of “The Path of Intoxication” it took the Boozy Blondes way longer than that! They stopped for espresso, gelato, shopping and provisions, and enjoyed some wine overlooking Castillo San Angelo from across the river.

Technically the Angels & Demons tour ended here, but the girls had one more stop on their list: Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, frequently named one of the best 50 bars in the world! The girls found their way to the Jerry Thomas Bar Room, which is a new edition and location for the famous speakeasy. The speakeasy is just a few blocks from I Pizzicaroli, while the bar room is across the Tiber River back in Trastevere where the girls were staying. If you’d like a sneak peek inside the bar room, watch the Boozy Blondes’ reel highlighting this spot. If you want the password, you can find it on the website.

The itinerary for this day was definitely aggressive, and credit is due to Chrissy for mapping out this amazing tour. If you want a more guided, all-inclusive experience that involves little to no planning on your part, they’re out there. Reputable groups like GetYourGuide and Viator had a few different Angels & Demons tours available at the time of this recording.

You can see the Boozy Blondes’ reel highlighting this pub crawl on their Instagram. If you’d like a map with details of the Boozy Blondes Angels & Demons Pub Crawl Tour, send them a message, and they will send you their custom plan. And remember, whether you’re feeling angelic or sinful (or both, like the young Boozy Blonde Chrissy in this picture), this day is sure to be fun! Cheers!