City Post: Rome

We had less than 48 hours to explore Rome (accommodation was EXPENSIVE to say the least). As Jo put it, we were "Rome-ING around!" Italy was a country Jo really wanted to hit, so she took over most of the planning and Jack tagged along for the ride!

How did we go from Lisbon to Rome so quick? Well, we flew Ryanair! Our flight was much better than expected, especially for a budget airline, with only our final approach into Rome being sketchy. Word from our experience, though: Ryanair flyers don't exactly conform to air travel etiquette. We both had middle seats, which means we should have gotten the arm rests, but our neighbours took them instead. The girl next to Jack put her purse under his seat, and she was constantly turning her around and putting her hair in his face. While annoying, you get what you get when it comes to budget air travel.

Our first and only full day in Rome, Jo walked us to most of the must-see sites: the Trevi fountains, the Pantheon, Piazza Novanna, and the Fontana del Nettino. We only had so much roaming around time, because we had tickets to the colosseum just after lunch!

The colosseum was quite impressive. It costs 19 Euro for tickets, and you must buy tickets ahead of time. On the walk there, you pass by a lot of archaeological sites, which are really cool to stop and study if you have the time. Once inside the colosseum, there is a designated, albeit unmarked, tourist path. At the first viewpoint, it's hard to see the colosseum floor, but the cross before you was erected by Mussolini in an attempt to regain some favour with the Church. The second floor is a museum that tells you a lot of the history behind the colosseum's use and architecture. You'll be dodging tour after tour after tour to read it all, so be patient, because it is definitely worth it. Eventually you work your way outside where you can get great views of the colosseum and its sub-floors (and also crash courses in how to be an Instagram influencer if you watch the kids long enough). After leaving the colosseum, you can head to the Roman Forum (included with your ticket), a less-traveled archeological site on a hill with some decent views of the city.

On our second day, we had a train to catch at 17h25, so we got an early start to the Vatican Museums. We waited in line for a long time, and got called uneducated for doing so by some Brit tour guide, and eventually gave up on going in, mainly because we weren't married to going in in the first place. It was worth it, though, because we got A TONNE of much-needed trip planning done while in line. We then headed for Vatican City. Again, long line to get into the basilica, so we stayed outside, but we reveled in the fact that we were technically in another country. We were both a bit amazed at the lack of overt security in Saint Peter's Square with all of the tourists around the Holy See, but maybe that was just us.

If you want to see something we found a but comical, go search the Swiss Guard uniforms online. Guns notwithstanding, a bit hard to take those uniforms seriously.

Well, we had most of the day left, so we headed over to the Spanish Steps and the adjacent Trinita dei Monti before grabbing some lunch and gelato. Then we made our way to get our stuff and be on our way out of the city, but not before Jack got one of the best haircuts of his life (so he says; he was complaining about his hat not fitting right or something).

Where we stayed: Private apartment on the north side of town

Jo's Favourite: Colosseum

Jack's Favourite: Colosseum

Top Lesson Learned: If you want to see the Vatican Museums, get there insanely early or just breakdown and schedule a tour in advance

Google Photo Album