Oh man, my dream job: a city tour guide — in Rome no less. Rome Walks, a walking tour company in The Eternal City, put together this handy vid, pointing out some tips for seeing the city, both on and off the beaten path.

Highlight: 2:22. “Wander down Vicolo de Cinque and you can find your favorite liqueur served in a chocolate cup.” Yes, please.

Some friends of mine are planning a trip to Italy at the end of the summer, and they recently asked me, “Where should we go?”, which, if you think about it, is quite a loaded question given the scale of the country. It’s kind of like asking, “What should I do with my life?” or “Do I look fat?”; questions that beg a serious, heavily crafted response lest your own safety becomes in peril.

What do you say? Classic (Rome), modern (Milan), romantic (Cinque Terre), iconic (Venice), off-the-beaten-path (Puglia), creative (Sicily)? See what I mean?

This Nat Geo piece makes a good argument for starting in Rome, and shows what the city’s like from the viewpoint of staying in the high-end spectrum of the lodging category (the Hotel Hassler –  Condé Naste’s Reader’s Choice for best hotel in Rome), down to the quainter, middle-of-the-road stay (the 13-room Hotel Teatro di Pompeo) where one can settle into the daily rhythm of the neighborhood and feel, at least for a small time, that they’re one of the locals. The best way to do this? Find a surrogate Italian mother that likes to feed you.

I enter into a relationship of a very different sort with an establishment next to my pensione. Trattoria der Pallaro is the localest of local haunts. From her small kitchen, Paola Fazi has been turning out meals for 46 years. A squat woman in a blue house dress under a well-worn apron, Fazi is an Italian mamma’s mamma. She wears her long black-and-silver hair pulled into a bun, which she wraps with a second apron, folded and tied around her head like a crown.

Der Pallaro has no menu. You eat what Fazi is making—and whatever it is on that particular day, she’s making a lot of it. With deep-set eyes and an aquiline nose, she patrols her sidewalk tables with authority. I dare not leave one zito uneaten. When she stops by my table and sees I’ve cleaned my plate, she puts her arm heavily upon my shoulder. With the fear of a second-grader, I look up. Deep black rings pool under her eyes. She nods, slowly. I stop breathing. Then she unleashes a wicked smile. I exhale and lean my head upon her breast.

After a little more pondering I thought, maybe I’ll just to refer them to Rick Steves. That way they can blame him if they don’t like any suggestions. But they’re my friends, of course I wouldn’t do that to them.

New York to Costa Rica for $345.42: Taca Airlines is offering great deals for trips to Costa Rica in October and November. I punched in some dates leaving before Thanksgiving and coming back on December 1st and came up with the above price, including taxes. To me, Thanksgiving is just a better holiday when everyone around you is speaking Spanish.

4-Star Hotel In Rome for $56: I normally stray from posting hotel deals (given my preference for hostels), but with the dollar plummeting in value, this kind of deal is hard to pass up. Hotel Eurostars Roma Congress is offering this incredible deal for stays at their hotel through the end of January.

$39 Flights Around the U.S.: If you’re in a spontaneous mood, AirTran has this sale ending tomorrow night (October 22nd) where flights are as low as $39 each way (but let’s be realistic, the flights you want are going to be a little more). San Fran to New York clocks in at $221.20, and Chicago to Miami is a mere $210.

• L.A. to Fiji for $365 each way this winter, not that anyone would have any interest going there in January. The only drawback? You have to live in L.A. to take advantage of this deal. (Oh no he didn’t!)

• San Francisco to Bangkok for $676. Despite the spelling error on the site (“Escape the busle (?) of the city to the island paradise of Phuket”), this is still a great deal.

• NYC to Rome for $455. It looks like this one’s through a travel agency, but don’t worry, there’s no actual tour involved. I would not do that to you.

Isn’t a little disconcerting that so many animal metaphors are invoked when describing summer travel in Rome? Well, there’s a reason for it: too many people at too few sites equals cow-like tendencies. For a little help as to when to stray away from the herd, and when it’s best to go ahead and corral with the horde, see Ellen’s guide at BootsnAll on how to see the sights in Rome.

For example, the Colosseum is huge and there’s lots to see, but there’s really not much gained by joining a tour or hiring a guide; most of what you need to know can be carried around in a good guidebook. So give yourself a break and wander freely, saving time to feed the cats and gawk at tourists taking pictures with gladiators.

But when you’re at the Vatican Museum, those umbrella-toting 50-something guides who lead groups help to direct you to the prized sights in the vast museum and help to protect you from being crowded out by other mobs of art-goers, so sticking with your fellow bovine in this case may actually be okay. But make sure to ditch them as soon as possible when you’re done.

I came across this great video on Rome by Cameron Moll the other day while I was browsing the “Travel Videos” section on Vimeo.

Despite the obvious commentary at the beginning (“We’re standing in front of the Colosseum . . . Rome — Italy”), Cameron does a great job capturing images of the Eternal City and putting them to the haunting music of the Texas instrumental band, Explosions in the Sky.

Man, I always get so jealous when I see other people using using video cameras that are way better than mine. I think it’s getting time for an upgrade to HD, what do you think?

Seen the Vatican? Done the Coliseum? Walked the . . . well you get it. From decorative crypts to Jetsons-like malls, here are the top 10 lesser-known sights around Rome you’re unlikely to find in any travel guide.

By Sarah Parker

1. The Hot Air Balloon in Villa Borghese

Villa Borghese may be one of Rome’s most popular destinations during the warm summer months for locals, but not many visitors know about the giant hot air balloon located here. One of the largest in the world, this offbeat attraction allows you and 29 of your closest friends to rise 150 meters into the sky for some of the best views you can get of Rome, short of walking several thousand steps to the top of a cathedral.

2. The Capuchin Crypt

Located beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini on the Via Veneto, this morbid attraction, perhaps best suited for Halloween time, consists of bones from over 4,000 French monks who are said to have fled their home country for the safety of Rome during the French Revolution, and whose bones can now be found decorating the walls of the church’s many chapels in intricate patterns such as crosses, flowers, arches, and other happy shapes. Wondering what time it is? Check out the large clock on the wall composed of vertebrae, foot, and finger bones. (more…)

I finished rewatching La Dolce Vita the other night and I was surprised at how different the film was from what I remember after first seeing it many years ago. Most noticeably, how critical Fellini portrays Rome. Far from the glamour and the romance so associated with the city, Fellini really takes a negative view of Roman culture around 1960 when the film takes place, and at the same time is criticizing modernity itself, which is accentuated by the fact that the action almost all takes place within the landscape of ancient Rome (e.g., the infamous Trevi Fountain scene where the buxom American actress played by Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni cavort just as the sun begins to rise in the morning).

That being said, I think it’s not Rome itself he’s criticizing, but rather the era in which the movie takes place, which may explain that despite everything that goes wrong in the story, you can’t help but want to visit Rome as soon as you can after watching the film; and the fall is one of the best times to head to the Eternal City as the tourists have fled the city and the hot, muggy air has given way to comfortable, walking weather. Above is a good video of some tips and inspiration for your trip.