I have to face life with a newly found passion. I must rediscover the irresistible will to learn, to live and to love.
Andrea Bocelli
I have been to Rome three times in total, and it is one of those places that I can keep visiting without ever feeling that I am repeating the same experience over and over again. You can rediscover a place over and over just like a person. My third trip to Rome was just that – rediscovering the city, while also rediscovering the person I was with. This trip marked a new beginning that was long awaited, it came with a sense of renewal and feeling good again about things, places and people I have loved for a very long time. Like I was finally coming out of a long dive to the bottom and the first breath on the surface felt like I was born again.
Trastevere is for me the most romantic part of Rome. Its small streets feel more intimate and its atmosphere is vibrant and charming. It feels like a place with a community, rather than an open air museum like the rest of Rome’s center. In Trastevere locals outnumber tourists. I heard this in a documentary years ago, which made me stray from the overly exploited Roman ruins and piazzas to this more unknown place across the Tiber. Whenever I travel I like getting a sense of what life for the locals is like, rather than just taking selfies with landmarks and ticking to do lists. Trying to see all there is to see in a place like Rome can be exhausting, but getting a taste of its true personality instead is a lot more rewarding.
Milena Penkova 