Going to Rome for the 1st time

The Nightmare Before Rome...

My best friend, Erin, arrived in Venice on the 6th June, and had planned to stay with me until the 10th. Having showed Venice or Verona to nearly all of my visitors, I thought it would be a good idea to branch out and go somewhere different. I had thought Milan would be a good idea for starters, however, since we both hadn't been to Rome, I figured why not visit the capital?

We stayed at a lovely hotel in Venice on Monday night, spent Tuesday at Blue Moon Beach (which I'll write about in a later post) and then made our way back to Padova for dinner. Wednesday was the day we had Rome booked, and we eagerly packed, and set about our agenda for visiting the big city, before heading to bed.

The next morning, we woke up, and couldn't quite believe our bad luck. It was 9. 19 am, and our coach was at 7. 30 am. We'd missed our FlixBus, and were now in a bit of a panic. After a lot of talking to FlixBus, who couldn't really help us, we decided to cancel our return, book a new coach with that money, and then book a Megabus back at 1 am on the Friday.

We mulled about town, having a look around the shops and going for lunch and coffees, before heading to get on the 4 pm coach from Padova to Rome. We arrived at nearly midnight, and sluggishly made our way to our guest house. It was absolutely beautiful - impeccably clean, with a gorgeous en-suite, and we had access to as many breakfast foods/cold and hot drinks as we wanted. We were located right next to Tiburtina FS (one of the major stations) and at around 12 pm the next day, as the rain had died down, we decided to head out and go exploring.

Sightseeing in Rome

Our first stop was the Colosseum, which is absolutely unmissable. Erin managed to get in for free, as she looks under 18 (hallelujah for good genes) and I got a reduced rate of 7. 50 euros, as you do if you're a member of the EU (reasons for staying in, hint hint). I think it would have looked a lot nicer if the weather have been a lot better, as the grey sky made it look somewhat dull, however, it was absolutely wonderful to take it in. I couldn't quite believe it took between 6 and 8 years to be built. We strolled around, heading up the steep steps to the higher levels, and took some pictures. Even on a dull-ish day, the sight was full of tourists, so I'd advise getting there early. I believe it will be undergoing some reconstruction-work, as it's needed as it's starting to deteriorate somewhat (general wear and tear) but it's still one of the most worthwhile visits you can make whilst in Rome.

After visiting the Colosseum, we headed over to the Arch of Constantine, which is literally opposite the Colosseum. It was built in AD 315, and was built to commemorate the victory of Constantine I at the Battle of Milvian (in AD 312). It's amazing that it's in such good condition, and it's one of the last triumphal arches to exist in Rome, so it's well worth seeing (and it's less than a minute from the Colosseum).

After this, we headed up some steps opposite the Colosseum, then headed back to the Metro station, namely called Colosseo, to head to Barberini. Barberini is the stop you want if you want to visit the Trevi Fountain, which is a must-see. Made famous by Fellini's La Dolce Vita in which Anita Ekberg dances around in a black dress in the fountain, and the famous coin-throwing comes from the 1954 film, Three Coins in the Fountain, hence why so many people throw coins in there everyday.

3 fun facts:

1. You're supposed to throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder.
2. There's an average of 3000 euros thrown in every day.
3. It's illegal to take money out of the fountain. Don't worry though, it goes to a good cause - Caritas sorts and cleans the money, and then uses the cash to run social/food programs for those who are poor & oppressed in over 200 countries across the world.

After the overwhelming surge of tourists heading our way got too much, we decided to visit somewhere else. We headed to the Temple of Hadrian, which is now built into the Piazza di Pietra. It's sadly ignored by tourists, who prefer to just see the sights made famous by American films such as the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps (Roman Holiday, with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn). You should pay it a visit, nevertheless.

We also visited the Spanish Steps, however there was work being done when we arrived, so all we saw was scaffolding (quite the disappointment). Around Spagna (the metro stop), there are some nice shops, however, if you're less into checking out the Steps that inspired the likes of Keats, and more into your clothing, shoes and accessories. Along Piazza di Spagna, there's Chanel, Missoni, Valentino and more, for the luxe travellers out there.

More sightseeing, and a bit of food!

We rested at the Fontana della Barcaccia. a quaint, little fountain shaped like a boat at the bottom of the steps, then decided it was time to eat. Despite Rome's incredibly tourist stereotype, there are actually decent restaurants with good-quality food/drinks. Have a look on Trip Advisor, and you'll find everything from vegan, gluten-free to authentic Italian and more.

We headed to Pietro al Pantheon, an old Trattoria with a great reputation, and tucked into our dishes. I opted for an omelette with artichokes, and my friend tucked into a lovely pasta dish, with courgette flowers. We then headed on to the Pantheon.

Sadly, as the Pantheon is free, it can get SUPER busy, so we decided to look from outside and take pictures there (you can still see the interior from outside, don't fret) but going in is a bit like going to a Glastonbury concert - you'll get squashed, crammed, and probably pick-pocketed.

We'd seen the main sights, so headed to Torre di Largo Argentina, an old square that more or less lies in ruin, but is now home to all the stray cats of the city, making it a cat sanctuary. The weather had changed by this point (typical European weather being unpredictable) and it was getting quite hot, so most of the cats were hiding in the shade, but we still saw a good number of cute felines.

Heading to The Vatican (but first, crepes)

One thing about Rome is that there's so much to see, you don't realise how much walking you do. Erin and I had realised at this point that we'd probably done 10km, so decided to go and treat ourselves with some crepes. Major issue is that in Rome, no, in Italy, crepes are nearly always to take-away. It took getting another Metro to Cavour, to find a CrepesGalettes with seats. It was so worth it though - make sure to try the white chocolate or salted caramel crepes; pretty much the best crepes I've ever head. We then found an English pub, grabbed some cool beverages, took some pics around Cavour, and headed to the Vatican City.

The Vatican City is it's own country, despite being enclaved inside Rome. It's the world's smallest country, with a population of about 1000. The lira is STILL used. We managed to get some pictures of the Basilica, however, it was too late to visit the Sistine Chapel, or the Vatican Museum, so I'll definitely be making another visit.

We then headed to the Castel Sant'Angelo, and gazed at the gorgeous views from the Ponte Sant'Angelo, before heading back to the Metro (Ottaviano is the nearest) to head to Ostiense, where I'd found a café with plug sockets/WiFi to recharge our phones/our own batteries.

Our final hours in Rome...

Caffè Letterario is one of the coolest/weirdest places in Rome, it's a café, bar, restaurant (kinda), library, bookshop, arty place and seminars/lectures are also held there. We relaxed with some Lattés and waited for our phones to get to at least 40% before leaving at 11ish (the metro stops running at 11. 30 pm on weekdays). Walking back, we glimpsed the Pyramid of Cestius, near Piramide (Metro) and then headed on the Metro to Policlinico, and then walked 1 km to get to the real winner of the day, SAID.

SAID dal 1923 is Rome's oldest chocolate factory, and now serves as a restaurant/café/chocolate shop. We reached there at midnight, and gorged on chocolate fondue with fruit, and rich, hot chocolate (which is literally hot chocolate, no milk).

Probably the best place I've ever eaten chocolate (well, drank) and they were kind enough to call a taxi for us to our guest house, where we had 10 minutes to charge our phones a bit, pack, and be out and ready to hop on the Megabus back to Padova.

Overall? One of the best places I've ever visited in my life. If you do visit Rome, go for more than one day, though.

Here's my 15 top tips if you visit:

1. Have some sort of ID (passport) as you need this to get into most places
2. Visit the cute wood-making stores to see Pinocchio/other cute wooden toys being made
3. Go to the Testaccio Food Market (it's open 24 hours)
4. Make sure you wear trainers as you'll be doing lots of walking
5. Get a 24 hour Metro Pass (they're less than 10 euros and you use them constantly)
6. Don't eat at places where people shout at you to come in, go to hidden places/recommended ones online
7. Don't leave without eating gelato. I'd recommend Don Nino or Venchi.
8. Try and learn a bit of Italian. Grazie, Per Favore and Prego go a long way, in terms of politeness - not all Italians speak English, remember.
9. Trains are super expensive, so try and visit via Megabus, Flixbus, or fly via Easyjet and Ryanair
10. Check out booking.com for hotels/places to stay, as you can find some really lovely places for under 25 euros a night, per person
11. Buy at least 1 tacky souvenir/postcard - they're like 1 euro.
12. See as much as you can, whatever the weather. There are loads of indoor/outdoor places, and with the Metro, you don't have to be outside all the time.
13. Do try and visit the churches. That was our one regret. They're grandiose and beautiful, and very serene places to visit. If you do visit a church though, please make sure your shoulders are covered, you don't have your legs out or other body parts aren't on show - they're holy places.
14. Try and visit a Villa if it's a sunny day. The Villa Medici has amazing gardens, and you can get a panoramic view of Rome (and it was built in 1540, and still looks fantastic)
15. Visit museums and galleries - try and fit in some of Roman history/culture, not just the typical stuff you've seen in TV/films - it's not all like the Lizzie McGuire Movie.