mercoledì 27 dicembre 2017

Happy Holidays!




Hello travellers,


many wishes of an awesome new year! I decorated the apartment for Christmas, just a few touches in order not to be excessive.





                        🎄                           



But the feeling of Christmas was true than ever: the whole streets in the surrounding area are filled with Christmas lights.

Do you know, in Italy the decorations stay until the 6th of January. This is our tradition because in that day we celebrate the arrival of the 3 Wise Kings. A witch ( we call her befana ) during the night brings many sweets to the good children, and carbon to the bad ones.

So, even for the new year's eve, there will be this warm feeling in the apartment.


 See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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lunedì 11 settembre 2017

Heavy rain


Hello travellers!

Did you see how much rained yesterday in Rome? It was unbelievable! We just got out from one of the most dry summer in a while and then....this. Everything was very problematic to say the least, especially in the city center as you can see.



Lucky both the Tevere and Aniene river didn't overflow.

Sometimes I think we should use bicycles in sunny days and canoes in these cases of heavy rain(got that?). It would be much better, especially on the environment and for our health 😆

AlePh apartment, and the surrounding district, was okay. My guests left a little after lunch on sunday because it was pouring and I wanted to make sure they were in condition to go safely.

Autumn is surely coming! Let's hope to see some colours after all this rain!🌈




  See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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lunedì 28 agosto 2017

Small talks - finale




Hello travellers,

I guess many of you yesterday stayed at home watching last episode of season 7 of GoT, am I right?
Well, I think that's good. One needs a break from all the world-watching from time to time.
No spoilers here, don't worry :)

I wonder about the outfits actually: I think they have greatly changed in style since,like, 2 episodes ago. Is it just me?

Imagine to have an iron throne inside the apartment! That would be really cool for my guests (and me, because when they leave and I tidy up I also have fun with my creations ahaha)
...but then I thought about the other DIY projects that are waiting and, yeah, it's not going to happen. Not very soon at least.
Also, it's probably not very confy. I mean, sitting on swords...no wonder how every king/queen is so "skittish".

For now the Targaryen banner in the red living room will be enough for the GoT series.



So, did you like the finale?



                                                                                                                                      See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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giovedì 24 agosto 2017

Pictures?




Hello travelers!


Today another amazing couple left the apartment to return home. It's kind of sad to say bye, especially when your guests are great people.
I also had a second dog as guest. So cute, he was trained to "hand" you his...well paw. Lots of exciting barks too but, really, he was adorable.

Unfortunately I did not think to take a picture of them. Or of all my past guests...I'd like to take lots of pictures of the ones coming to AlePh Casa Vacanze, it would bring back many memories.

Would you creep out if an host were to ask you a picture? or a selfie all together?

Sometimes I read past feedback and I have a mental pictures of the guests writing them. Writing it's so personal I think it gives off the very deep part of us. And to see so many happy guests...it's a great feeling!



See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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martedì 1 agosto 2017

Last Minute! and DIY

Hello bloggers and travelers!

Welcome back to the blog about a nerd apartment you can rent for your vacation in Rome!

Before we star about my new decorating project inside the apartment I have a LAST MINUTE offer for a romantic getaway!💓





40€/night (max 2 person) from 2nd of August to 5th of August
If you wish for a romantic setting just let me know ;)

Book now here or here or here :D

(If you are using the booking.com website don't mind the price, I will send you the special offer. Let  me know you are from blogger tho)





Now onto the next project I'd like to share with you!

The wardobe...!




Ugly isn't it? But it's quite useful. It's huuuuge and has storage for everything my guests may need.
It's in the living room (the red room! XD) and the forniture in this particular room is a cool mix of modern and antique style. This doesn't fit in any of those two categories.

So my project is to:

-Oper the wardobe a little bit; it feels too imposing in the room right now. I think I will leave most of the top shutters and will take away most of those downstairs.

- Restore the wood

- Paint the wood in grey? I'm not sure about this step, the room has wooden forniture but I'd like this one to be more modern styled.

-Change the yellowish panels with wooden red ones.

Like this


What do you think? Should I leave the wooden structure like is now or I can try and make something different with a grey tone?


















martedì 25 luglio 2017

Home decor


Hello bloggers and travelers!

This time I'd like to talk about the scheme color of the apartment.

Many hosting places have this awesome elegant style scheme, with neutral tones and small details that add a precious spark to the forniture. As much as I love this style I didn't feel like my own.

The tiles in the kitchen were originally light green and in the bathroom there was a lovely grey and gold I could not take off just yet.

I like colors, that much is certain.  So while we were renovating the apartment I was wondering what color I could use to harmonize everything.

The best way I could think of was: to each room its color.

The first one I established was the BEDROOM. I knew I wanted something fresh, even during summer, so blue was the right choice.




(As you can see, I also painted the ceiling with a blue tone called "hearth of the ocean". Don't you feel like the little mermaid?)



Next is the LIVING ROOM!

A lively color? Red of course! So this was the choice for the room where you can plan every visit in Rome.


In this room I felt painting the walls in red would be too much, so I used a more plain antique rose. Everything else is in red.

Of course I have added a touch of orange and violet to complete the gradation.

In total there are 6 colors! From the warmest to the coldest! The balcony is the only place without scheme because....flowers. 💖

Let me know what you think about this choice!




See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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venerdì 21 luglio 2017

What to see in Rome

How well do you think you know Rome?


I recently realized that Rome is not well known in the world.
I mean yes, everybody knows the Colosseum and Vatican of course; Trevi's fountain is also an iconic place but beside that?

The center of Rome is part of the world heritage and to quote:


The area includes all the historic districts with the exception of a parts of the Borgo and Prati neighborhoods, while the total area of the Property is 1.469,17 hectares of which 1.430,8 relating to the Italian side (Old Town of Rome) and 38,9 of competence of the Holy See.

That's really a lot. But most of this historic buildings, as great as the are, are completely ignored by most of the visitors. Of course, to see everything one would take a lot of time. (Even myself, born and raised here, I have yet to see everything). 
You cannot expect to see so many things in just a few days. Or at least you could but you wouldn't enjoy your trip very much.

I think the best way to travel is to enjoy your visit and feel the lifestyle.

This is a list of things to see in Rome. If you wish, we have a growing pinterest board -> here <- in which you can see lots of pictures of these places.

In the old city the most known sites are:

Colosseum and Arch of Costantine,
Trevi's fountain,

Roman forum,
Barberini's fountain
Pantheon,
Vatican museums and Saint Peter,
Navona square,
Castel sant'angelo and ponte san'angelo,
Spanish steps and the church on the top of the stairs: Trinità de' monti,

Borghese gardens and the Borghese gallery,
Capitoline and palatine hills (Campidoglio e Palatino),
Capitoline museums and the nearby Ara caeli

Vittoriano,
Circus maximus,
Ara pacis

These are just in the center of the city. There are many more things in the surrounding area (for example, would you like to see some Caravaggio's paintings for free? Or take a look at a "monstrous' building?)
If you are interested in the not so touristic places just ask. I'll be posting another entry in this blog but it will take time. If you wish you can contact me and I'll be gladly help you find something interesting for your trip.


So now a question for you.
Did you ever visited something unusual here in Rome? Did anything left you with questions none could answer? 




     Take it easy and enjoy you stay!



See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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mercoledì 19 luglio 2017

Why "AlePh"?



[Why did you choose the name "AlePh" for your house holiday in Rome?]


This is a question I get a lot.

Originally I wanted my apartment to have some kind of reference of Rome; but of course every cool idea was already taken.
So I decided it could be more personal because, I thought, in the end there was no need to remind my guest they were in Rome. 
This "AlePh" was a nickname I had a long time ago, and it came to me after reading
The aleph and other stories, by Borges
and
The Aleph, by Coelho

They were really inspiring books. In the first one the aleph is a point in space that contains all other spaces (and time) at once. To quote:
"I am in the aleph the point at which everything is in the same place at the same time. I am at a window, looking out at the world and its secret places, poetry lost in time and words left hanging in space...sentence that are perfectly understood, even when left unspoken."

I  discovered that aleph was the first letter of many alfabets, and that is used nowadays also for matematics.

If you consider this word fits almost perfectly my name and surname, here we are. The decision was made. 
It could seem a little bit(!) pretentious...but I loved that quote. And I love the way an apartment can be the center of so many different persons coming to visit a city full of history and other different people.

And that's it. I will leave you the always useful wikipidia page on the aleph, if you wish to know more about the semantics and other cool phonetics curiosities.



See you in Rome!

Alessandra

Book now at:
AlePh Casa Vacanze

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sabato 1 luglio 2017

Goodies!




Today we talk about a very important experience while travelling: food.
Italian food is known pretty much everywhere in the world but frauds are behind every corner in a turistic city such as Rome.

 I will give you a few suggestion on where (and what) to eat in our distict. Monte Sacro.

Choose you dish and see where you can find the best I have found! If you have suggestions, or you wish to agree or to object on something in the list, please leave a comment so it can be useful for other people.

(I am not sponsored from any of these places, they are just good. And they are at a walkable distance from our AlePh casa vacanze ;) )




Pizza.


Yes. We italians do love pizza. Or, at least most of us do.
You can find pizza everywhere, with so many toppings you won't be able to try them all (...if you are not planning to stay for a few months at least, that is)

-Pizza Tonda,
via di Valle Corteno, 31

-Pinsa del Grillo,
via val Trompia, 8

...in progress...

Local meals

Never heard of Amatriciana, Carbonara or Cacio e pepe?
What about Coda alla vaccinara, Carciofi alla romana, Carciofi alla giudia?

For a fast lesson in quality (and quantity!) I recommend you to go to:

-Hostaria Menenio Agrippa
Via Nomentana 631/ 633.


...in progress...

Gelato (Ice cream)

...in progress...

Aperitivo

...in progress*munch*...


Coffee & pastries

Luperini Pasticceria
via val d'Ossola 54

What's best than a pastry shop just outside the apartment? A great way to begin your turistic day in Rome. A sweet break with pastries, coffee and even ice cream during summer.


Wine and beer

Anchimò
Piazza Menenio Agrippa 8A 00141 Roma



martedì 27 giugno 2017




Hello bloggers! 

My name is Alessandra and I am the owner and manager of AlePh casa vacanza (an house holiday) in Rome (Italy)



This is the main webpage, come and take a look!




I'll be using this blog to gather info and share them to our guest and really every tourist on Monte Sacro, the district my apartment is inside Rome.
Also, I will try and update every work in progress I may be able to try. Being a creative person I like to give my personal touches to the house decoration (mainly geeky and nerdy things).

If you are interested in either following this blog or booking in my AlePh casa vacanze follow the links below!
👥 Facebook
🐦 Twitter

📷 Instagram
G+  Google+




Take care,

Alessandra 💗