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The Eternal City, aahhh magnifico! This was our last city to visit on our trip to Italy. I’ll be honest, my husband and sons were ready to go home after Positano. Me, on the other hand, I wanted dual citizenship. But here we were in this bustling metropolis. Rome has quite an energy that the other 3 places did not. It’s certainly bigger, more populated and quite frankly, there was garbage in places one would not expect (entrance to the Vatican Museum for instance). Now, is the whole city like this? Absolutely not. The side streets where you would find cafes, boutique stores and gelato of course, were quite beautiful. The architecture, cascading bright flowers hanging from the window boxes and ancient ruins gives you an appreciation for this amazing place. To me, there is nothing like exploring a new place on foot. Clearly, this is how the phrase “wanderlust” came about.
I mentioned before we used Rail Europe for the regional trains to commute from one city to the next. https://raileurope.tp.st/wGVcCxmH. We used Positano Transfer to make our way back to Naples where we would take our last train into Rome. I will say that I cut our time a little close with the car service. I had a pickup scheduled on the coast for 9:30 am for an 11:00 am train in Naples. I did not factor in the rush hour traffic on a Thursday. We made it to our train with less than 9 minutes to spare! If you’re in the region, needing this service on a weekday, give yourself more time. You can certainly get on another train, but it might cost more depending on what service you purchased. Oh, and as I was tipping our driver, my son came bolting out of the station back to the car where he realized his phone was on the seat! Never a dull moment…
We arrived at Termini Station in Rome where we found the closest metro to take to our hotel. The machines to purchase tickets are fairly easy to use and we bought a 3-day pass. I have raved before about public transportation as it is usually the quickest and most economical way to move from one site to another in a larger city https://www.rome.info/transport/public-transport/metro/. There are 3 lines: A, B, and C for Rome’s metro. Line A (orange) is the one most tourists will use as many of the attractions are along this route. The biggest hassle for us was having a lot of luggage. We learned our lesson for the next time we visit. Especially since many of the roads in Italy (and Europe) are not smooth, paved roads like we’re used to in the States. We made our stop at Spagna (Spanish Steps) since this was the closest to where we were staying. I am one of the those people who loves to study maps and google is my friend. I knew almost exactly where to go once we made it out of the metro. One thing to know, Rome is swarming with tourists, and the main attractions will have 100s of people around. It really is hard to get great shots of the sites with so many people around. I would suggest going out early in the morning. My picture of the Spanish Steps was taken around 8:30-9:00 am when we were on our way to The Vatican. The Trevi Fountain, on the other hand, has many people cropped out. It is near impossible to get a panoramic shot with no one around. I would have loved to see this at night, but we never had a chance to do that.
I used Booking.com for our stays in Florence and Rome. Both places were B&Bs and had wonderful hosts, delicious breakfasts and were close to all attractions we personally wanted to see https://booking.tp.st/p5BQB4Su. In Rome, we stayed at B&B Insula Urbis, which was blocks away from the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon. We couldn’t have asked for a better location.The metro station was only a few blocks away as was Piazza Navona. The great thing about coming to Rome, is there are so many wonderful things to see, that don’t take a lot of time, and it won’t cost you anything!
I didn’t want to visit Rome without going to The Vatican Museum and The Colosseum. I figured my husband and sons would really appreciate The Colosseum, especially since they love the Gladiator movie. I used Viator to book tickets for both of these. It often gives you a “skip the line” option with a guided tour if you prefer. There are so many events to choose from all over the world, including the US, https://viator.tp.st/33IL2Unn. Our tour guide for the Colosseum was entertaining. It is a massive structure and our ticket also allowed us access to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It is unbelievable to witness something that is still standing centuries later.
The woman who walked us through the Vatican Museum was soft-spoken and quite boring, if I must say. I don’t want to take away from the masterpiece of the Sistine Chapel, but by the time you get to this point, things start looking all the same. I have a hard time painting my living room, let alone thinking about Michelangelo being on his back creating this magnificent ceiling. I will say, it is very quiet in this room, they don’t allow you to take pictures, and the line is moved right along to avoid congestion. I believe if we had done this particular tour ourselves at a quicker pace, it would have been more enjoyable. The grounds are stunning and meticulously kept. I would have loved to see St. Peter’s Basilica, but I was quite under the weather, and we headed back to the hotel after this to rest. This was not how I pictured spending my last couple days in Italy, but it happens.
The best part about being in Rome, was that my dear friend, Meera, met us here while she was living in England. It had been 4 years since I last saw her. We had a trip planned for 2020, but we all know how that went down. It was wonderful to see her, even if it was only for a few days. Hopefully, the next time we’re on a trip together, I will feel much better, and be pounding the pavement as we often do!
So that concludes my first, but not last, trip to Italy. Most of you that know me, know that this country has a special place in my heart. I hope to have more blog posts, pictures and funny stories to pass along. Italy has so much to offer and each region has its own landscape, culture and amazing food to offer its visitors. All you have to do is pick a place, trust me, you won’t be disappointed. Ciao for now…
