There is an certain allure of a mysterious, as yet untraveled-to place. There are regions and countries and cities on the map that I’ve only read about in books and magazines and I want to color those spaces in with my own memories and experiences. However, as we discovered in Rome, a place I’ve been several times, there is a certain comfort and ease in returning that shouldn’t be underestimated.

The no-pressure trip to Rome isn’t easy to write about. We hardly entered a museum or church (with the exception on the Borghese Gallery which houses my favorite piece of art of all time, Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, but that’s more like visiting a friend). We’d already stood in all the obnoxious lines for the Vatican and Colloseum and this time the only line we chose to stand in was at Pizzeria Baffetto (and it was worth it, but I knew it would be…I’ve been there four times).

Mostly we just strolled around, returning to familiar piazzas and finding twisty new backstreets to get us there. It was a trip with no time lines, few entrance fees and no pressure; only good food, old favorites and serendipity.

Now back to filling in the map.