You’ve made it to Friday, congratulations! If you have been following me since Monday you know that this week on the blog is a series of travel stories about Italy. You can find Lake Como, Venice, Portovenere, and Cinque Terre by following the links.
Yesterday I left you in Cinque Terre after a long hike. Well, from Cinque Terre we headed to Rome, which turned out to be my favorite. The boys were scheduled to fly home the next day and us girls had plans to power on to Florence so our time in Rome was short and to the point.
Where we stayed:
We stayed at an airbnb near Vatican City. It was nice and clean and our hosts were eager to help. The location was perfect for seeing the Vatican but we did have a bit of a struggle accessing public transit. (Read, we couldn’t find a place to buy tickets and ended up riding the bus illegally. Oops.)
What we did:
We did an ipod audio-visual tour version that we reserved ahead of time and picked up at the entrance. I thought the line went pretty quickly and it wasn’t unbearably crowded. I know that The Colosseum a touristy thing to do, but I still thought it was worth it!
The Pantheon
We got there too late to go in, but we had to at least walk by.
The Trevi Fountain
The one thing on Vanessa’s list to see in Rome was the fountain from the movie, “When in Rome.” We discovered, after visiting, that the fountain in the movie isn’t actually in Rome. But we visited the Trevi Fountain anyways because we thought it was the one we wanted. Oops again.
Of all the places we visited, this square was the one that most blew my mind. Why, oh why, do so many tourists gather here?? There are literally lines to take a picture up by the water. In this random little square. I didn’t get it.
The Spanish Steps
There were lots of tourists here too, so we plowed on.
Castel Sant’Angelo
I knew and know nothing about this place except that we crossed the bridge here on our walk back to our apartment and there were street performers and vendors and night had just fallen and it was perfect. I am also now curious about this castle. So, there’s that.
Vatican City
You may have gathered by now that we did a little bit of everything but not enough of anything while in Rome. This is also true of the Vatican. We had planned to actually go inside the next morning, but found ourselves there on our walk home from The Colosseum and decided to just count the courtyard as having been there. I promise you, it’s not the same. But Vatican City at night is very nice because it’s fairly empty and everyone is quiet and lethargic because we know there’s nothing to be racing off to see, which makes it easier to sit and enjoy.
Why you should go to Rome:
- It has the energy of an international city while still preserving the history of Europe.
- There is a lot to do in and around the city. Meaning, you will not get bored.
- The city is sprinkled with history in unexpected places. You can’t get past it.
Trying to get to The Colosseum we ran into the Roman Forum. 
More history I don’t have context for but wish I did. 
A statue taking a selfie? - It’s a beautiful place to roam. (Pun only slightly intended. 🙂 )
My one regret about Rome:
- We didn’t stay long enough. Now I have to go back.
Come back tomorrow for my final literary podcast of Italy: Florence.
This was country 5 of our 6 country Euro Trip. To read a summary of the trip, click here.
Country 2: Austria, read here and here.
Country 4: Switzerland, click here and here.
A Pañuelo World 
Leave a Reply