Guess what readers, I have never been to Italy, until now. I have Italian friends and family and haven’t had the chance to visit. I love the Italian culture, the history and the food and Italy did not disappoint.
I loved visiting Rome, we went for a few days and stayed near The Coliseum. We stayed in a beautiful apartment on the fourth floor of a complex and the apartment was called Chic Colosseum. The apartment was tastefully decorated, had a lovely bedroom, terrace, lounge and kitchen. Supermarkets, restaurants and the gelateria were all in walking distance.
Check out https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/chic-coliseum.en-gb.html for more information. Darya, the owner is fantastic and so helpful.
We found the metros busy, it is notorious for thieves. Be careful.
When in Rome…. you must…..visit The Vatican!
We booked a private tour with http://www.Headout.com online a couple of weeks before we arrived as I like to be organised. The Italian partners of Headout were called InfoCarrani
I booked The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica tour for three and a half hours. The tour cost 56 euro and it was worth it. Upon booking, you are emailed maps of where to meet the group. Our guide was called Deborah and she was so informative and taught us so much. We had an audio earpiece which helped. Our group had a maximum of 10 people and the tour was engaging and spectacular.
The Vatican Museums have so many artefacts and historical paintings, tapestries and statues, there is so much to see and take in. The Sistine Chapel was a bit of a let down, indeed it is beautiful but I expected it to be more grandiose. It is impressive nevertheless. I was impressed by St Stephen’s Basillica, it was breathtaking. Look at the dome!
Wow!
This sculpture is by Michaelangelo 🙂
We walked many kilometres in Rome, there’s so much to see, look up and look around you. After walking so much on the cobbled streets we had to have some local prosecco, buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes to ease the weary feet.
The next day we went to The Coliseum, again I had ordered tickets online long before we arrived in Rome.
I had bought a S.U.P.E.R. ticket from http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm which is a fabulous ticket which has 7 attractions for a fixed price.
We used it for the Coliseum and for the Palatino, which is Palatine Hill. Make sure you get into the correct line at the Coliseum as there are confusing lines, there are official tourist guides there you can ask. It’s best to buy your ticket online and get there early as the Coliseum can only let in 3000 tourists in a day.
When you think of Rome, you think of the Coliseum, and it did not disappoint. We went on a self guided tour and it was mesmerising. There were information points around the floors about the gladiators, the state and historic moments. I do not really agree what went on there but this was Ancient Rome and thousands of years ago. 
Across from the Coliseum, is the Palatine Hill, there are beautiful Roman vistas, you can see domed buildings, churches, Roman statues harking back to greek mythology. It’s a sight to behold and make sure your phone and cameras are charged!!
We used the metro to visit The Trevi Fountain, we walked down a few streets and there it was. The Trevi fountain is impressive and is free to see.
We used the metro to visit the Spanish Steps, this was a lovely area, the steps were immaculate and there were lots of people sitting around taking in the atmosphere. We got some gelato and people watched.
There is so much to see of Rome, I will be back and can’t wait to get lost in the Roman streets, smelling the wonderful food and the smell of coffee wafting down the streets and hearing the Italian voices
Now, get booking 🙂
