When in Rome

I fell in love with Rome when I was 18. At the time, my grandparents were living in Sweden and I paid them a visit over spring break of my senior high school year. They surprised me with a trip to Rome for my graduation gift. Being surrounded by the beauty and history of Rome was something not easily forgotten. I promised myself I'd go back someday. Finally, the chance arose to head to Europe, but I wasn't sure if Rome should be on the itinerary. I mean, I had already been, right? However, my parents and husband, who were my travel mates, had not. So that settled it. We were going to Rome.

My parents flew in a few days ahead of us and started their vacation in Napoli. We met up with them when we arrived in Rome. We flew WestJet as those were the best priced flights I could find. We connected through Canada and then arrived in Rome around noon their time. We hit the ground running.

We checked in at our boutique hotel Condominio Monti. The hotel was close to just about everything. It was a great choice and I'd recommend it. Most of the tours I booked on this trip I did so through GetYourGuide. They are a great resource for different options. I'd take a quick look at reviews and chose one that fit our schedule the best. I also used the free travel app Wanderlog for this trip. While it wasn't perfect, I liked that I could share it with the other travelers and it also had a great map feature. It would show how far one thing was to the next, so it helped me plan our trip as efficiently as possible. 

Our first tour of the trip was of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Rain was predicted to follow us this trip, and it did. I was prepared with my waterproof boots, but just make sure that whatever shoes you choose that they're comfy! There is a lot of walking.  

After we checked in for the tour, we headed a few doors down to get a quick lunch. Some pizza and Italian beer was the way to go! Though, maybe we should've had some of that wine on the wall behind us.

Of course, the sites were breathtaking.

After our tour, we guided ourselves to the Trevi Fountain. 

My mom had heard about the Fountain of the Lovers, a drinking fountain just to the right of Trevi. The legend goes that couples that drink from the fountain will be in love and loyal forever. So, of course, we had to do it.

That night, we had reservations at La Tavernaccia da Bruno, a popular restaurant in the Trastevere neighborhood.

It's too far to walk, as some places are in Rome. We used the Free Now app when we needed a ride- very similar to Uber or Lyft. Dinner was very good. My plan was to wander the streets of this cool neighborhood after dinner, but we were beat from the long day. We headed back to the hotel for some sleep. 

The next morning I woke up and headed down the small streets in search of my first espresso. The quiet morning Rome streets really can't be beat. Today we embarked on a guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel first. There is so much art and history everywhere, you kind of get lost in it. 

We then headed (the wrong way at first) to a tour of St. Peter's Basilica Dome and Underground Grottoes. 

Following this tour, we took a ride to the Pantheon. I had paid for an audio tour, but we got there too late and just gave ourselves the tour instead.

There was a cute little bar right out front, so we grabbed a couple (large) beers, which unbeknownst to us came with sandwiches and snacks. We ended up filling up on the snacks and chose to skip our dinner reservations. It left us the night open to just wander around and explore.

We made our way to the Spanish Steps and were treated to a great view of the city. 

The next morning we had our first train trip booked to head out. Before that, however, we had some time to kill. We walked down the street and had breakfast with a view of the Colosseum. We did some tourist shopping. And we took in our last views of the Colosseum. 

I always thought that when I headed back to Rome, it would be to spend a leisurely 1 to 2 weeks exploring the nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, it was a jam packed schedule to see the main sights. And truth be told, if when I head back to Europe, I'll probably cut out Rome altogether. Although, it is the largest and usually cheapest hub to fly in and out of.