Tags
colosseum, europe, friends, gelato, italy, rome, spanish steps, st peters, trattoria, travel, trevi fountain, vatican
I have been dreaming of visiting Rome since I was a little girl and the Lizzie McGuire movie came out (hence the title of this post for those of you who live under a rock). Then I grew up a bit and fell in love with Roman Holiday and was even more excited about the prospect of visiting one day. I think I live in la-la-land sometimes…
Although we only had three days in Rome we managed to see quite a bit and really fell in love with the city. What’s not to love about pasta, wine and gelato? Nothing, that’s what.
Rome was a dream. I could go on forever about how wonderful it is but I’ll try to refrain and tell you about my top 10 favourite experiences in Rome. Ready?
Uno: (Like what I did there? Counting in Italian…I’m pretty cool…) The Colosseum. This historical amphitheatre was the first historical stop on our tour of the city. When we arrived we were quite disappointed as the entire one side of the building was under construction… But it really didn’t end up mattering! We decided to book in with a tour to get the full experience of the place and it was definitely worth it. I’m pretty sure I have a photo from every single angle of the inside of that thing…
Due: The Yellow (AKA: Our Hostel). It was probably my favourite hostel of our entire trip. The staff were super duper friendly, the bar was a blast and the location was perfect. Just a few blocks from Termini station we had all of Rome basically at our fingertips. Our second night after dinner we decided to have another drink in the bar before calling it and ‘early night’… Good one. We ended up meeting some of the most amazing people and stayed out until wee hours of the morning before making plans to meet up the next night. Needless to say we were all a little worse for wear the next day…
Tre: The Trevi Fountain. I know it seems like an overrated tourist attraction but it was actually so amazingly beautiful. The detail in the statues was amazing and seeing all the different people form all over the world taking turns throwing their change over their shoulder to make a wish… Well, it was pretty neat! We tried to take a photo of us throwing our change over our shoulder (throw it with your right hand over your left shoulder) and though Danyka was an ace, I managed to block my face in every shot. It took about 5 tries for me to actually get it. I’m special.
Quattro: San Crispino. This little gelato shop was just a quick 2-minute walk from the fountain and had some of the most AMAZING gelato I had every tasted. And trust me, I’ve done the leg work. The New York Times has even raved about their stuff so you know it’s gotta be good!
Cinque: The Spanish Steps. With gelato in hand we wandered through the streets from the Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps. The steps themselves weren’t that exciting but I loved the artists that all set up at the top. They had some pretty breathtaking prints and I honestly wanted to buy them all! The view from the top of the steps is also unreal. Although, a warning for anyone visiting: there are men that roam the steps with roses and will tell you that you are ‘beautiful’ and all that jazz and will proceed to give you roses, insisting they don’t want money but just think you are so ‘bello’. Then they offer to take your photo and proceed to stalk you around the stairs asking you for money. Long story short: don’t accept roses! This isn’t the Bachelor.
Sei: Trattorina Tritone. After our first full day in Roma we wanted to have a nice dinner out. After reading a bunch of reviews we found the cute restaurant we had passed earlier that day. It had beautiful lights and vines all over the front so we decided to try it out! (we had a tendency to choose places to eat that had pretty lights on the outside… And it actually always turned out really well!) This restaurant was so perfect. Our waiter was so funny, the food was AMAZING and there was live music too. But the very best part was that our waiter sang while he grated our parmesan. It was the greatest. We spent 4 hours there drinking wine, chatting with the servers and enjoying WAY too much food. Probably one of the best meals we had!
Sette: The Sistine Chapel. You hear all about this Apostolic chapel and see so many different photos but being in there is something entirely different. It was truly incredible. Especially the ceiling that has a ‘3D’ effect to it. The ceiling is what has made the chapel so famous. Painted by Michelangelo in the early 1500s there really are no words describe it! And for those who don’t know, you’re not supposed to talk or take pictures in the Chapel, for respect purposes I would imagine. Well, not everyone is very good at listening… There was a young Chinese man standing in the back of the Chapel taking photos with his iPad (subtle right?!) and our tour guide went over and told him to stop. Apparently he didn’t understand her and proceeded to take photos. When the guards came over he started yelling at them. Quite the experience… Then we got to see him practically dragged out of there… I have to admit, I was a little amused!
Otto: St. Peter’s Basilica and the Cupola. Now I wish our tour of the Vatican had taken us into the Basilica because we ended up being left on our own and I had really wanted to learn more about the history, but oh well! We wandered through the cathedral for a while before paying to go up the Cupola (the dome on top of the Basilica). You can pay 5 euro and walk all 500 and some steps or you can take the elevator and walk 320 steps. Well, we were in rough shape after a night out with our hostel pals so we opted for the elevator. Let me tell you, those 320 steps were enough, we almost died! It probably didn’t help that we were running up the stairs to catch the views before the sunset. If I could suggest one thing to do in Rome, this would be it. It was absolutely breathtaking. I was speechless. I can’t say enough about it, just go and see it for yourself. You won’t be sorry!
Nove: Our awesome new friends. As I mentioned our second night in Rome we decided to have a drink at the bar when we met two brothers from Australia and got to chatting. They were so nice and funny! Shortly after sitting down two girls that were going to school in Galway, Ireland joined us – one Irish and one American. These were honestly some of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met and we made plans to hang out the next night. Even though I struggled with some brutal hangovers from this crew it was definitely a highlight of our trip!
Deici: Sharing it all with Danyka. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and to share it with my best friend (really more like my sister) was truly a gift (not to get sappy or anything…) We got to experience my ‘dream city’ together and it is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.
So that was Rome. Absolutely a dream come true. And although I didn’t find my Pablo (again, Lizzie McGuire Movie reference… I’m sorry) I loved the city so much. It was everything and more than what I had expected.
So, until next time Roma (and there will be a next time).
With Love,
CW
With Love, CW 
Ok so Italy has admittedly not been on my list of top ‘to do’s” but now I think I want to go! I’m sure I’ll end up visiting some day, but you’re making me want to go NOW! Sounds like you had the trip of a lifetime 🙂
Oh Italy has definitely been one of my favourites, Elaine! I think you would really enjoy it. It’s beautiful, the people are so warm and friendly and the food… Need I say more? Venice and Cinque Terra are on my list next!