September 24, 2016

My Heart is in Rome

Our absolute FAVORITE city of the Euro trip. Between the food, the history, and the people we were in a little Italian heaven.

We flew from Munich to Rome, and stayed just outside of the city center at the World Hotel RipaRoma, and it was just okay. We recommend trying to find an Air B&B or hotel in the center of Rome, it will save money on transportation costs and save time. A slightly more expensive hotel would pay for itself, at least in our minds! Although there is public transportation, taxis were too expensive for the short trips to the locations we wanted to go and the the trolley wasn’t easy to navigate. However, we were able to get close enough on the trolley and then walk to our various stops.

Rome is the type of city where you can walk around and find the cutest pizza parlors and shops in the heart of the city! Be careful though, many of the “deli” shops with pizza and sandwiches in the window look wonderful; however the pizza and sandwiches are not fresh. We found that out as we watched our first slice of authentic Italian pizza, or so we thought, be thrown into a microwave.

Key to the Colosseum/The Ruins/Vatican City:

We went to check out the Colosseum the first day. We had planned to buy tickets online, however the price varied on the websites, so we risked it and went anyway. The lines for the tickets and the entrance were wrapped around the Colosseum. However, we were approached by a man asking if we wanted to get into the Colosseum faster and be apart of a group. I guess we looked out of place, clueless, and American- go figure. Coming from Africa, Russell is hesitant to welcome street salesmen, promising a lot for a little. After hearing him out and seeing the group, we signed up.

It was arguably the BEST decision of the trip. Although it was more expensive than single entry tickets (by about 10 USD per person), we were in a guided tour and into the Colosseum within 45 minutes of arriving. Without the tour, it would have taken 3 hours minimum.

The Colosseum was one of the most breathtaking views we have seen to date. The guided tour was fantastic, and they gave us time to ourselves to walk around and take pictures. They told us if we wanted to go on a tour to The Ruins we could meet them outside the Colosseum. The price we paid at the Colosseum, covered all of the ruins as well and at the end we could sign up for a tour of the Vatican, which was expensive because there was a papal audience the day of our tour.

As we said, we used the same guided tour to Vatican City the next day (there are tons of the companies, we have no specific recommendations). Since it was Wednesday there was a papal audience for the Pope! We saw and heard Pope Francis speak in front of St. Peter’s Basilica- it was AMAZING. If only we spoke Italian.. We also learned that Vatican City is actually a country (the smallest country in the world!)

After the papal audience we took a tour with the same group to the Sistine Chapel.

Sadly, there are no pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel.

The Trevi Fountain

A truly magnificent piece of art. It is tucked in the web of Italian stone streets, however you can’t miss it once you arrive. there is sure to be a mass of people crowding around a semi-circular fountain with thousands of selfie sticks. The fountain is incredible and detailed, even today. We took out a euro or two, made our wishes and tossed them in. Surrounding the fountain are a few great gelato shops as well!