Rome, Italy | January 2025

I have a friend who has been traveling the world after leaving a firm and starting her own personal injury firm. While we connected between her travels, she shared she was going to India, Doha, Istanbul and finishing in Rome and I asked to join.

I have visited several times after spending four months in Rome in the Spring of 2012 studying at the American University of Rome so I’ve collected a lot of places to love in the city. Because it’s called the Eternal City, a lot has changed since those four months 13 years ago (there’s more international food! The only sushi place was on the other side of the city!) but a lot hasn’t, which makes it even more comforting to return to a place that remains unchanged, to find the ways in which I myself have altered.

Most of the time I’ve spent in Rome was in the Trastevere neighborhood, south of the Tiber River and southeast of the Vatican City. It was the close to my school, a tram ride from my apartment and had some of the most fun bars and restaurants in the city.

We spent time there on our second day after Sheila’s Vatican City tour and went to Dar Poeta for lunch. I’ve recommended Dar Poeta to people for years and it’s always appreciated. Pizza, salad, wine. The vintage and artisan shopping around Santa Maria in Trastevere was wonderful as well. We ended up at Antica Pesa on our last night of the trip. It’s a Michelin-rated restaurant frequented by possibly every celebrity who has ever visited Rome, and the photos in the entryway prove it. Edgar Ramirez was sitting a few tables away when we were there! The paintings and sculptures throughout the restaurant were museum-worthy and the creative approach to Roman classics made this one of my favorite meals on the trip.

Near the Colosseum, we went to Pizzeria della Madonna dei Monti. There was a big peacock on the wall which was a fun little sign to me and my friend who both love peacocks. We had a pizza with mortadella, burrata and piscachios. I’m starting to sound repetitive here but we’re talking about food in Rome, so yeah, it was amazing!

I didn’t revisit the Vatican or go inside the Colessum this trip, but I visited Santa Maria Maggoire Basilica after lunch at Pizzeria alla Madonna on the way north and was so grateful I did! The church is still the largest church dedicated to Mary in Rome after being decreed at the Council of Ephesus in 431. There are relics, beatuiful Renaissance-era frescos and one of the four Papal doors that Pope Francis opened for the 2025 Jubilee. If the Vatican seems too overwhelming (fair, especially during a Jubilee year) please visit this one!

We stayed at the W Hotel off Via Veneto and Villa Borghese and ooh la la! My other accomodations in Rome couldn’t hold a candle to this beautiful hotel. Each night we stopped in the Lounge for a cocktail and lovely aparativo surrounded by marble and muraled walls. I can imagine it’s only more gorgeous with nicer weather al fresco.

Other Restaurants:

Signorvino - For our first lunch after arriving in Rome, Sheila and I stopped at Signorvino and had lunch on the second floor of this lovely corner building overlooking the Barberini fountain! The first floor is a wine market and the lunch menu was really great for our first meal before exploring! Highly recommend if you’re staying in the Via Veneto area, want a cool lunch indoors or maybe want to take a few bottles of wine back to the hotel!

Armando al Pantheon - I’d first visited here in 2017 after my Mom saw it on a TV show and made a reservation for Renato and I. It’s about 100 feet from the Pantheon and is classically Roman and delicious. I ate an entire ball of mozzarella paired with a steamed artichoke drizzled in olive oil.

Da Francesco - The W concierge recommended this restaurant just a few steps from the Pantheon for our first night dinner. We shared several pastas and enjoyed the atmosphere so much!

Others: Tazza d’Oro for Espresso & Cappuccinos near the Pantheon, Roscioli near Campo di Fiori & il Giardino Romano in the Jewish Quarter near the Tiber, Cacio e pepe in Trastevere, Pubs - Scholars Lounge & Nag’s Head

Ok, that’s all I’ll share for now but will gladly expand this list when I think of more places in Rome that have brightened my world in the Eternal City.

Hello, We're Live Again.

So, I let this site lapse for like over a year, maybe two. I didn’t really feel like I had much to say. I didn’t think I had much to contribute. I would still panic thinking about another Clare Callahan deciding to buy the domain while I passively scrolled on TikTok or some other corner of the internet. Yesterday the government announced that there are aliens living in oceans on Earth. Wild! It’s a loud world out there. A lot of us are yapping and using our fingers to fire off missives that land nowhere. Maybe. But. My heart and my creativity have been stirring and I’m going to bring myself back into the arena. Because I want to write what I’m seeing and how I’m feeling and what I’m loving and hating and reflect on what used to bring me joy that now feels like sorrow and decide if I’m okay with letting that… just… be.

I’m Clare. I’m 33. I can’t believe that’s true. The same age my Mom was when she had me. The year Jesus was killed. Enough time to end a life with significance and enough time for a whole new life to begin. I have lived in Atlanta pretty much my whole life. My family is here, my past is here, and it’s looking my future is here too. I’m okay with that as long as I have access to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. I work for the #1 Airline in the US where I update webpages far more advanced and with 1,000,000 times more page views than this one will get for the time being. I love that job and the people I work with.

What else? I bought a new little loft this Summer in the best neighborhood and I adore it. I also started dating a wonderful man and got a dog within about two months of closing on the house. It was quite a Summer. I’ll go into that more later, I guess.

What’s coming next? I’m going to Tokyo over Thanksgiving with a friend and expect it to be an incredible experience. I’m working on some house projects. Also patiently observing if there will be a recount in swing state election results. We’ll see! I’m excited to be back here. I think this was a good idea.

Autumn Leaves Falling Down Like Pieces Into Place...

I cringe at myself too, for starting my first blog post in 8 months with a Taylor Swift lyric. If something better encapsulated this moment I would consider it, but these days, this line is just repeating in my head.

These will be the days, the days that I look back and realize I was creating my life with intention and alignment, and most of all, fun. I’m creating a foundation for myself and while it feels fragile at moments, I know it’s build to last.

It started with home. In May, I was offered the opportunity to purchase my apartment of two years from the owners who have lived away from Atlanta since 2007. This little 600 square foot haven has meant so much to me, and I couldn’t let it go. Homeownership had not been on my 2021 Bingo Card, but with the help of my agent and a solid lending team, I closed on June 25th. I’ve woken up every morning since with a feeling of empowerment. It has been both incredibly freeing and grounding to know I have this space, in one of the best neighborhoods in Atlanta, and it’s all mine.

I’ve gone to five weddings this fall from Charleston to North Georgia. Some of these couples I’ve known my whole life, others for just over a year, but I’m so excited to be a part of their lives. I’m not sure what the next few months will bring, but I’m hoping it’s more of this!