In love with Rome

There is only one thing I did not like about Rome – massive crowds of tourists everywhere! But no wonder since Rome is such an amazing place. Me & Louise based ourself close to Colosseum which turned out to be a good choice since we could walk almost everywhere.

The first evening we just strolled aimlessly towards the old city. I really loved the Vittorio Emanuele monument, seen on below pictures. We passed it almost every day and the horses on top of this marvelous place was seen from most of the locations where we visited. We also saw a glimpses of the massive 2000 year old Parthenon the first nigh and cozy street life in the old town. Not to forget the daily Gelato (Italian ice-cream) 😉 This specific night we tried a place that has no less than 150  flavors. On below picture Louise is trying to make her choice…

The next day we decided to start with the Vatican city. Is is one of those “must do things” that I would not do again. Crowds! Exhausted after our visit to the St. Peters Basilica we sat down in a café close by to unwind with two scopes of ice-cream and a coffee. The bill? 24 Euro! We though it was a bad joke. Learning; chose carefully where you eat and drink in Rome.

After the Vatican city we payed a visit to the St. Angelo Castle. And what a view from up there! The top picture above is taken from this castle. You had amazing views all directions. Do not miss this if you go!

A visit to Rome is of course not complete without seeing the Fontana di Trevi. But really, it is surrounded by so much people that is hard to enjoy. Same goes for the famous Spanish stairs which were in fact so uncharming that they did not deserve to be on a picture in this post.

On Saturday evening we went to non touristy Testaccio and had a wonderful meal at the very local restaurant “Acqua e Farina”. The bill was not much more than the two scopes of ice-cream and the coffee close by the Vatican city, remember? 😉 And then we ate a lot and shared a bottle of wine too. Testaccio is a nice place for going out as well. Many small clubs are lined up along a narrow street. There is something for all tastes and we had such a great night that we took a sleep in the next day 😉

The biggest “must see” in Rome apart from Colosseum is the Forum Romanum, the center of ancient Rome. It is truly magic to walk around this area, located just in central Rome, and realize that you gaze at (parts of) the same buildings that the people of the Roman empire once did.

What amazed me most, and became a true highlight of my visit to Rome, was to get inside the Colosseum. It is one thing to view it from the outside. But it is first when you stand inside its walls that you realize the grandiosity of this place. I regret so much that we did not take a guided tour. But I managed to sneak up to a group and listen in to parts of the bloody stories that this place hides.

We saved the coziest area to the last evening. Despite lots of tourists Trastevere has a nice local vibe. Is is a great area to to have a bit or a drink or just do some people watching. We had a lovely last evening in this nice vibrant area. Afterwards I really felt in love with Rome 🙂

On of the tastiest highlights however was the ice-cream place just around the corner from where we lived. The pistachio at Ciuri Ciuri – Oh My! I could go back to Rome just for that 😉