Rome: Part 1

One word for Rome: Breathtaking. What an amazing city! Rome is full of so much history and beautiful sites. I’d return in a heartbeat. This is “Part 1” of my blog posts on Rome–I’m working on another right now. There’s just too much to share in one post! So, here’s a quick “wrap up” of the long weekend. Stay tuned for Part 2! I’ll be chatting about one of my favorite tours and a few tips/suggestions that I wish I had known before visiting!

Accommodations:

After a couple weeks of research, I decided to book an Airbnb versus a hotel and I’m SO thankful that I did. Our Airbnb was absolutely perfect! The location was central and we were able to walk to everything (except the airport–30 minute drive). Our host was amazing and we had so many helpful “insider” tips upon arrival. I always feel like you get so much MORE when you use Airbnb, especially when you have a great host.

fe9207aa_original — Image taken from Airbnb

Favorite Sites:

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)

Out of all of the beautiful sites to see, this one would probably be my favorite. Total Tourist Tip: Visit the fountain at night! As you can see, there’s something more magical about it at night. The lighting at night makes it even more amazing–less crowds too!

Pantheon

The Pantheon and Trevi Fountain are pretty close to one another. Total Tourist Tip: If you visit during the day, you’re able to go inside–for free. At night, it’s just as beautiful but you’re not able to appreciate the inside. I loved visiting both, the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon, at night and during the day.

Spanish Steps (Piazza Di Spagna)

Another stunning site. From drinking from the fountain at the bottom of the steps, to making the hike to the top–cool, just cool. Total Tourist Tip: Bring your own water bottle. There are fountains throughout the city that have clean, refreshing, FREE water! I definitely feel like I’m already running out of awesome, amazing adjectives to describe all of the sites. But in all fairness, until you go and see them for yourself, it’s hard to say enough “amazing” things about them.

Colosseum (Colosseo)

I have to admit, I didn’t take the tour inside the Colosseum. However, standing outside and soaking in the view was enough for me–especially since it was about 95 degrees with 50% humidity every day. Total Tourist Tip: If you’re planning a trip to Rome, avoid July and August unless you don’t mind the heat (hot, hot hot).

St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City (Piazza San Pietro)

We had four whole days in Rome, and you’d think that would be plenty of time to see all the sites. I definitely think it is doable in four days to see the “main bits”, but there’s just so much to see! You could spend months in Rome and not see it all! The Vatican was our last stop, and I’m glad we decided to go. Again, we didn’t actually go inside any of the buildings since it was a quick stop and we weren’t properly dressed. Total Tourist Tip: You must wear “church attire”. Shoulders and knees must be covered to go inside the buildings. However, you can get close enough and have some pretty great views.

Favorite Restaurants:

Grazia & Graziella

As mentioned above, we were in Rome for four days– we visited this place THREE. Twice for lunch, and once for dinner. Yum, yum, and yum! It was super tasty, had a great atmosphere, and the staff was quite entertaining. The tasting platter (pictured below) with warm bread was to die for–I think that’s what kept us coming back for more. Oh, and the complimentary limoncello wasn’t so bad either! It is located in Trastevere, which ended up being one of our favorite little neighborhoods across the river.

Roscioli

This yummy spot was about 100 steps from our Airbnb. Great spot to pop in for a morning pastry or afternoon pizza/pasta. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I was always starving and too excited to eat (no time for pictures when you’re “hungry”).