ET 3.01 - Rome, Italy

Actual date of this event: 4-8 September

Luke and I arrived at FCO (main airport) around 12:30pm on Wednesday. I had done quite a bit of research on the best way to get from the airport to our apartment, and decided that taking the regional train and then switching to the metro was best. It was probably about the same amount of time as taking the express train to Termini (central train station), but it was not as expensive. The bus is the cheapest option but not the quickest, and I have read that this specific bus is the biggest place for pick pockets and scams. No thank you.

Our apartment that we booked through AirBnB was not in the grandest of locations but it was located in between two metro lines which was just fine. It was also located in a quieter area of town, and only about half a mile from the Colosseum. It was fun to start each day exploring with a view of the Colosseum. Anyway, after we dropped off our bags and made a grocery store run, we were ready to take on Rome!

We started off passing by the ruins, which we will visit the next day (on Thursday).

Il Vittoriano - this building is massive and so impressive!!! It is a monument built for the first king of Italy, and it is located in Piazza Venezia. It is possible to go to the roof of the building which we did not do, but I am sure the view of Rome is spectacular!

We made our way to Trastevere, which is one of the BEST areas of Rome. If you ever visit Rome, this is a must do! It is not very touristy because it is not next to anything "important" in Rome. It has a great vibe, some great restaurant options, lots of gelato and lots of places to get a drink. We ended up here almost every day/night even though it was about 2 miles away from our apartment.

We stopped for a drink in Piazza di Santa Maria before wandering in Trastevere some more.

We ate dinner at Pizzeria Nerone which was the best calzone I have ever had! Luke was jealous.

After dinner, we meandered back toward our apartment walking through Piazza Navona which is a really long square that is usually pretty lively. It has a few different fountains and is lined with restaurants and cafes.

Along the way home, we passed by Il Vittoriano again, still impressed by its size and beauty.

A play was going on in the ruins... how cool is that backdrop!?!?

And of course, we ended our night walking passed the Colosseum. Great first day!

Our second day in Rome was mostly dedicated to exploring the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palentine Hill which was all included in one ticket. I will go into detail of that in another post because I have way too many pictures (Im trying to make this post as short as possible!). But I will leave you with just a few in the meantime.

After wandering in the ruins for about 4 hours, we walked our way to Aventine Hill where I read about a secret peephole. Located near Piazza Cavalieri di Malta, a door has a grungy looking hole, but it is actually a terrific view of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica (aka the Vatican dome). Bushes line the way of your view making it a perfectly designed peephole. To see a few nice pictures, click here. Also, "enjoy" my not-so-great picture below.

Afterward, we hung around on the hill taking some pictures of the city from above.

(Look at this Smart Car. Look how it's parked. Look how it's just a tad longer than the red car is wide. Look how silly. How can you not laugh?)

Once back down the hill, we decided we should cross the river and head into Trastevere. By this point, my feet were a bit sore from walking in the ruins for 4 hours (and also extremely filthy). But I kept going... this is a once in a lifetime experience, and I was not going to let the Romans stop me!

After dinner (which, by the way, Italy has some amazing tomatoes!)... and gelato...

...we started making our way back to the apartment... just two more miles to walk. We crossed the river, and instead of walking by Il Vittoriano again, we went around the back side which went up into a square and gave us a nice little view.

On Friday, we scheduled to visit Vatican City... which, for those of you who don't know, is a completely different country. I will go into that in another post... enjoy a few pictures though.

We left Vatican City after about 4 hours, crossing the river, and then walking through those narrow streets of Rome.

We ran into Piazza Navona again, and we decided it was definitely time to stop for a drink and do some people watching. The piazza is full of local artists trying to sell their art.

Next we arrived at the Pantheon.

Moving on, we kept wandering through the streets. We knew we were getting close to Trevi Fountain when we could hear the sound of water gushing. Trevi Fountain is a huge fountain located in a fairly small little area. It is packed with people and one of the locations in Rome to be on high alert for pick pockets.

We decided to wander back toward the apartment to get dinner around there. But of course, we couldnt do that without seeing something along the way. Located on Esquiline Hill, the Basilican of Santa Maria Maggiore is the largest church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On our last day of Rome, we had just a few more things to see and do. We started off going to the train station to buy our tickets to Florence. Then we headed to Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. I had heard about this church for a former student's mom a couple years back. The exterior of the church is nothing special, but its crypt contains the remains of 4,000 friars, and the bones decorate five chapels. Pictures were not allowed inside, but click here for a general idea. If you plan a visit, make sure you are dressed appropriately (no bare knees or shoulders).

We headed to the Spanish Steps, which Luke remembered from his first visit to Rome as being pretty awesome. When we arrived, her was not as he remembered, not sure why but I, for one, was bothered by the fact that the steps were not aligned with the church and the monument at the top and then the road leading off of the piazza as well. Serious OCD issues. Anyway, all throughout the area, we got bothered by those annoying folks trying to give me a rose. This is another high pick pocket area of Rome.

Lastly, we headed up Quirinal Hill which gave us the BEST view of Rome. This hill is full of locals enjoying a fun day in the park. We took a walk around, enjoyed the shade, and relaxed.

We ended our evening in Rome wandering through the streets before and after dinner. What a great city Rome is. Such a unique place!!

Stay tuned for our visit to the Roman Ruins and also Vatican City.

Other posts on Rome: Tips & Tricks, Roman Ruins, Vatican City

RANDOM FACT:
Rome has seven hills. From what I can remember, we went up all but one... but they all kind of blend together, so we may have also been on the seventh at some point without knowing.


In case you want or need to get back to the top of this post, click here... since it is so long. Sorry!

Tips and Tricks of Rome (mainly)

Prior to visiting Rome, I had many reservations. For one, it is a big city with so many things to see and do. Luke visited 8 years ago and wasn't as impressed with it as he hoped. But to be fair, he only spent a day roaming around. After our visit, I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed it. So much that I may put it at one of the top cities I have visited. Maybe it is because I did so much planning, research, and preparing for the trip that it went fairly smooth. Anyway, before, during and after the trip, I learned quite a few things about Rome that you might find helpful if and when you plan to tackle the city.

1.) SHOES SHOES SHOES: This gets three capitalized titles because Rome is the first city where I would highly recommend wearing some sort of tennis shoes. And ones that you don't mind if they get dirty. The Roman Ruins are gravel and dirt so they will for sure get dirty. The grounds have rocks all over so sturdy shoes are highly recommended. It really felt like I was hiking through trails. I unknowingly wore sandals, and my feet were so dirty that I had to wipe them off in a bathroom afterward.

2a.) Book the Colosseum in advance: One reason why Luke was not-so-impressed with Rome the first go around was because he was unable to visit the Colosseum. Since he had limited time, he did not want to wait in the line to get in. I booked in advance, so we got to walk passed the non-reserved ticket line, which was probably close to half a mile long when stretched out. No joke.

2b.) Book the Underground Colosseum Tour: I cannot recommend this tour enough! We paid, I think, 9Euro more for this tour than for the regular ticket. It included a skip-the-line ticket (which is worth the 9Euro alone). It included a live tour guide (an audio guide with the regular ticket is 5+Euro). It included entrance to extra parts of the Colosseum such as the underground level and the very top level which the normal ticket does not allow. So worth it! The tour is 1.5 hours, and the guide allows time for you to walk around and take pictures after explanations. Lastly, the guide wears a microphone while you wear headphones so you can hear the information even if you are not right next to the guide. When booking the tour, I did practically two hours worth of research to find exactly how to book. I came across people saying certain websites were scams, and they got charged but got no booking confirmation, etc. To make it helpful for you, here is the website I used to book my tour which I got from reading this forum on Trip Advisor.

3.) Podcasts: If you have an iPhone, iPod, or are one of those people who walks around with an iPad, there are many free podcasts out there with audio guides for many of the sites in Rome (along with many other cities around the world). I downloaded a few of them, and it was very helpful to learn about some of the sights without reading (blah blah blah, who wants to read on vacation?).

4a.) Scammers: Rome is capitol of scammers, pick pockets and thieves. These scammers hang around all of the tourist attractions trying to get you to buy their hats, scarves, sunglasses, roses, water, fans, tissues, etc and really sneaky about pick pockets. If you want a souvenir, buy it from a store, not these folks. The more they sell, the longer they stick around, and they are the.most.annoying.people.on.planet.Earth. If you have been to Rome, I am sure you know what I am talking about. Luke and I are rude to them, and they get the point immediately and then leave us alone. If you try to politely tell them you don't want something, they keep trying to sell it to you. If they offer you a rose, do not take it(!) unless of course you want one and want to pay for it. I have also heard cabs will scam you, so have faith in yourself and use public transport. Lastly, if someone asks if you would like them to take a picture of you, I highly recommend not handing over your camera unless you are definite they cannot run off with it - we just used the trusty flip around and took pictures of ourselves.

4b.) Gypsies: Rome is full of gypsies, and I witnessed them in action. While Luke and I were buying our train ticket at the machine, we had two women come up and try to push the "Proceed" button on the screen. Luke slapped their hands and forcefully said "no!" After that, I did a ton of reading online about these people. The stories I read were really sad, but we have to smart travelers and not let our guard down. Gypsies all around the city try to help you without you asking for it, then they ask you for money because they helped you. They also wait around by the trains and ask to help you with your bags and/or help you find your seats... then ask you for money.

If you are interested in reading more about these dangers to make sure your guard is up, click here.

5.) Train Tickets: Luke and I took the train to Florence from Rome. I am so thankful that we stopped at the train station the day before departure to buy our tickets. The ideal train for us to take was sold out, but we were still able to get one near the time we wanted. If you know that you will be taking the train, I highly suggest looking online first for times and prices. Then go to the station early, to see if it is cheaper at the station. It ended up be cheaper on all of our trips in Italy to buy the tickets at the station.

6.) Clothing: Catholicism is the lead religion in Italy, and Catholic churches everywhere. If you plan to visit a Catholic church during your visit, be prepared to have on appropriate clothing. St. Peter's Basilica has a very strict rule of "no bare shoulders and no bare knees". The same goes for the Duomo in Florence. I saw many girls get turned away from entering the Vatican basilica due to this rule. I knew the rule ahead of time and kept a scarf in my bag to tie around my waist which worked perfectly!

7.) Water: The water in Rome is superb, and the Romans are very proud of it! Do not be afraid of the street fountains. You will see people filling up their water bottles and drinking straight from these fountains. The water is usually very cold, and it is so nice to have access to water all the time. Luke and I stayed hydrated the whole four days, when were are usually dehydrated while we travel.

8.) Wander: Rome has very few big roads. 90% of the streets are narrow and all cobblestone (tennis shoes are helpful here). The city is quite quaint. Get away from the main attractions and wander through these narrow streets. You will love how quiet it is and how no one is bothering you. And then all of a sudden, you will come across a lively Piazza just around the corner or a car will come driving down even though it seems like pedestrian only. Cafes are sprinkled all over, so you will never go more than 100 yards without coming across a place to enjoy a drink. The quaint-feel of the city is exactly why I loved Rome!

9.) Smart Cars: They are everywhere. Point and laugh at them. They are funny.

Despite the negative points I made, I really loved Rome! Thankfully, Luke changed his mind about the city! I will be going into more detail soon. Stayed tuned :-)

Other posts on Rome: General Itinerary, Roman Ruins, Vatican City

RANDOM FACT:
Bruschetta is pronouced "broo-sketta" not "broo-shetta".

Hello from Florence!

While I wait for my clothes to wash and while I drink my coffee and while I wait for Luke to wake up, I figured now was a good time to update you on our happenings in Italy!

View of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

We arrived in Florence on Sunday an today marks day 8 of our adventure. We went from a busy Rome where we walked around 40 miles in 4 days to sitting in the middle of a piazza with a beer (which the cops don't like by the way) in Florence. We have had some great food and great views and made great memories! Here are some of those:

BEST PIZZA: Its a toss up - my calzone at Cafe Nerone in Rome had amazing crust! and we had two great pizzas at Baldovino in Florence

BEST GELATO: I'm still waiting for the MOST delicious but Santa Trinita's Caffe is pretty close to Scoop (my fave in London). 

BEST VIEW: a tie -- Top of Piazzale Michalangelo in Florence. And Renzo Maranai vineyard in the middle of the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany, so peaceful!

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Getting locked out of our apartment in Rome (and also locked in). The apartment building had an automatic door which was not working so we had to wait for someone to figure out how to pry the door open from the inside. 

MOST RELAXING MOMENT: Drinking a bottle of wine on Ponte Santa Trinita with a view of Ponte Vecchio while the sun set. We weren't the only ones doing this. 

BIGGEST LET DOWN: The Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Yes, its pretty. Yes, its famous. But way too many people and you're ushered through and can't even enjoy it. The ceilings of the museum were gorgeously painted but it was just so crowded. 

MOST WORTH IT: The underground tour at the Colosseum. We got to visit special places of the Colosseum and have a live tour guide which the normal ticket didn't include. So worth the extra €9!

MOST ANNOYING MOMENT: "Sellers" in Rome especially the rose guys. These non-Italian guys try to sell you stuff and bother you while you eat your dinner. (Spanish Steps below where rose guys were everywhere)

BEST SIGHT: The Roman Forum in Rome - it's just amazing how the ruins lie in the middle of the city and are huge! We walked close to four miles all around the ruins.

These are my opinions but I would love to hear your thoughts. Those of you who have been to Rome and Florence, what are your bests and worsts?

Surprised by Roma!

I will be honest... Rome is not what I expected. I pictured us showing up and wandering around in a bunch of old stuff (like the British Museum in London where you're like 'what is all this?') and then moving on to another location. So. Not. The. Deal. 

Well, maybe we have done it right (I will gladly take credit for that!!) and will get into it all later on... at least two weeks from now. Until then, enjoy some pictures while we continue to enjoy more of Italy :)

Ciao! ~Debbie~