A Roman Holiday

Ah Roma. A mere two days in the Eternal City may feel overwhelming, but with a little planning and staying in the center of the excitement you can experience many of the city’s iconic sites. 

I visited Rome for two days to spend time with friend and talented handbag designer Alexandra de Curtis. I’ve raved about her beautiful bags many times such as here, here and here. Her elegant designs do not scratch, even after years of owning them, and I love that there's no visible hardware on the outside so it's easy to wear them with gold or silver jewelry. Alexandra runs her business from her home with the occasional help of her two spirited daughters, working closely with a small family-owned workshop to bring her designs to life. It was such a pleasure to visit the workshop and watch them create her signature Loren tote (a style I've owned for almost 2 years!) from start to finish. From hand-cutting the leather to embossing her name inside each bag. I love learning how things are made and watching the process gave me a new appreciation for the artistry and care that go into crafting her beautiful bags. (If you've had your eye on a bag use code "stacie15" for 15% off!)

For such a short visit I wanted to stay in the center of town and it doesn’t get more convenient than the beautiful apartment I found through OneFineStay! Their site offers a collection of insanely beautiful apartments and private properties in cities and popular countryside destinations around the world like London, Paris, Rome and New York to name a few. Each is carefully chosen for its aesthetics and their team can arrange everything from stocking your fridge to hiring a private chef.  My apartment was filled with antique dressers, modern art, a wall full of books, and you could see the Pantheon from the entrance to the building - it doesn’t get more central than this! We constantly stumbled upon other iconic destinations on our walks through town including Trevi Fountain and the photogenic Piazza Navona. 

Since this was my second visit (my first was in 2013 on my honeymoon) we took a slightly off the beaten track approach to our itinerary visiting many of Alexandra’s favorite spots. Read on for everything we did during my 48 hours in Roma.

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Thanks to Alexandra de Curtis and OneFineStay for the wonderful Italian hospitality!

xx, SF