When in Rome...

January 02, 2015

When in Rome...

Altare della Patria

I was lucky enough to spend my birthday this year in the amazing city of Rome. I have never been to Italy so I was extremely excited, especially as Italian food is definitely my all time favourite. I could live off pasta! After picking up a couple of pre-birthday treats in the duty free we were off.

Trevi Fountain

We stayed in the Hotel Savoy on the via Ludovisi which was within 10 minutes walk of the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps. These were to be our first sights of Rome after unpacking. As we rounded the corner the Trevi fountain appeared, but not as spectacular a sight as we thought we were going to see. The fountain was drained and it was covered in scaffolding! Trust us to decide to go to Rome when it was being renovated. It didn't stop the massive crowds wanting to see the fountain though, you could hardly move, even in November! The amazing gelato tub afterwards definitely made up for it though.

Spanish Steps

We decided to have a spot of lunch just around the corner of the Piazza di Spagna - the best lasagne in my life by the way! - as we thought a walk up the 135 steps would be a good way to burn it off. We had just reached the top when the sound of rolling thunder could be heard, and so a quick dash just as the rain started brought us to the Hard Rock Cafe.

A couple of Proseccos later and it was back to the Hotel to get changed for dinner at a lovely little Italian restaurant called La Fontana. We were serenaded by a pianist and guitarist, had yet again the most delicious pasta and even a Tiramisu for afters. It's not hard to see how I managed to put on half a stone in 4 days! An amaretto on our Hotel's rooftop bar with a view of St Paul's Basilica in the distance was a lovely end to a great first day in Rome.

Colosseum - Lunch view

Day 2 was my actual birthday. I was woken with birthday cards to open and one of my presents, a lovely new charm for my Pandora Essence bracelet. What a fabulous start to the day. After breakfast we were off to The Colosseum. A little tip for you - I would strongly advise pre-booking your tickets online to avoid the queues. After walking around the perimeter of this iconic building we stopped for a spot of lunch with a view. I had one of the yummiest Caprese Salads I have ever eaten, perfect before our tour. Due to the bad weather we were unable to visit the dungeons as they had flooded, however the view from the top of the world famous amphitheatre was breathtaking in itself. Our tour finished just as the heavens opened - I have never seen rain like it - The Roman Forum's therefore had to be put on hold. So after hailing a cab it was off to, you guessed it, The Hard Rock for a birthday cocktail...or 5! We decided to have my birthday dinner that night in the hotel - partly because I'm sure my Dad and brother had had their eyes on the Chateaubriand as soon as we had checked in the day before and also because it still hadn't stopped raining!

St Peter's Basilica

Our last day and after a hearty breakfast to soak up the birthday Prosecco we were off on the Hop on Hop off bus around Rome. Anyone who has read my blogs know that I am a firm believer in that these tours are the best way to see a new city and this one was no exception. We had tickets for The Vatican, again pre-book online, this will save you lots of time especially if you are travelling peak season. Our bus tour took us past some of the major sites of Rome such as the Altare della Patria - a monument dedicated to the first King of Italy, the Castel Sant'Angello, and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Soon enough we could see our first sight of the Vatican City before us and our guided tour through the Museo di Vaticano, Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) and of course the Capella Sistina (Sistine Chapel).

Piazza Navona

Our final meal in Rome was spent in a lovely traditional restaurant on the Piazza Navona. All in all Rome was fantastic, and yet again, I have left another city with more sights we were unable to
see - The Pantheon and The Roman Forum being two of them. I think I would like to visit again when the weather is better, maybe not in the middle of peak season but either side of it. A severe diet before Rome is also a must as the food is just spectacular, I would easily travel back there for the food alone.