Italy Trip: Part 3 ROME
So I’m going to be super honest, I really was not overly excited about going to Rome when Cole mentioned he wanted to go as part of our anniversary trip. I went as a child and figured I was all set and didn’t need to see it all again. Boy was I wrong!!! I now think you could go to Rome a hundred times and do a different trip, see new things and experience the city a different way each and every time.
Day 8: Rome
We made sure to leave on an “earlier” boat off the island of Capri and then had our driver from Amalfi Coast Tours waiting for us to take us to Rome. You can definitely take the train but we wanted the personalized transportation. We arrived in Rome by mid afternoon and were excited to see our hotel (you see I booked it off of an IG post I had seen about being able to wake up to the view of the Colosseum but I honestly was a little nervous if it was actually going to be as amazing as it seemed…and guys IT WAS!!!!)
Accommodations: If you love waking up to an incredible view while being surrounded by a beautiful modern hotel room then I highly suggest you look at staying where we stayed, Palazzo Manfredi. They have an incredible outdoor bar and a 5 star Michelin star rated restaurant overlooking the Colosseum that will blow your socks off. If you are wanting the incredible view I had here to the left, I suggest snagging the Grand View Colosseum J Suite.
ROME TIP: Make sure to bring a refillable water bottle with you as you walk around the city as they have tons of free water you can get from beautiful fountains that is amazing clean water from the aqueducts!
Day 9: Rome
Activities: We kicked off the day with exploring the Colosseum with the free tickets from the hotel (a nice perk but make sure you talk with them in advance so they can secure your date). It was incredible to walk through the Colosseum and learn more about the gladiators BUT I do wish we would have gotten a private tour guide for this as I think we would have really LOVED to have had someone tell us more details than what you can read. We stopped and would listen to some of the guides talking to their small groups (btw in case you haven’t heard me say this already I highly suggest if you are going to do a tour guide get it just for you or be part of a group with no more than 8-10 people max) and I was sad we didn’t have that experience. After the Colosseum we went and walked through Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum on our way to finding some yummy food for lunch. It, like all of Rome, was beautiful. I would not suggest a guide for this and the tickets from the hotel included this which was great.
After lunchtime, we did a little shopping in the Trastevere area to pick up some gifts and I found the cutest boutique to buy a gorgeous dress. The boutique is Lungaretta 121.
At nighttime, we went to an Opera (which tricked me as it was just an outdoor concert and not a true opera like a thought — make sure to read exactly what you are getting yourself into lol). It was a neat experience but not what we thought we were going to or dress for! The location of it was incredible though, outdoor sitting amongst ruins. See photo below.
Day 9: Rome (cont.)
Dining: So Rome has some great places to eat and walk around, the areas you don’t want to miss are Testaccio, Tiber Island and Trastevere. We got recommendations for lunch this day from a family friend whose extended family lives in Italy. Lunch was at an authentic local spot called Trattoria Sora Lella. Let me first tell you the type of place this is….it is a true local spot which means when you walk up all the tables are reserved BUT if you kindly ask about availability and are willing to eat inside as well as wait a bit for them to size you up to make sure you aren’t a jerk American then you are going to LOVE this spot. We sat next to a father and son who had a 5 course meal and 2 bottles of wine for lunch! Every dish was amazing and we absolutely loved the wine suggested to us (which was super affordable too!) called Vigneto Filonardi, Villa Simone.
Since we were attending the concert at night and had a later lunch we just snacked on a few appetizers and drinks at our hotel bar overlooking the Colosseum. It was perfecto!
Day 10: Rome
Activities: Day 9 was the day of trying to get in as much as possible since it was our last full day and night in Rome. We hired a private tour guide through TripAdvisor (click HERE to see what we booked and to book your tour) to tour the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND touring the Vatican this way for the following reasons:
*skip the insane lines both for entries (trust me this can save you HOURS!)
*you will get way way way more historical information and special artifacts pointed out to you
*your tour guide will also remind you of things like when you have to make sure to drape your sweater over your shoulders
*our tour guide also advised us on when to do other things in Rome (like try to go to the Pantheon if it is raining to see the rain flowy through the ceiling — she said it is magical)
After we finished exploring the Sistine Chapel and Vatican we headed toward the Pantheon (we knew there was no chance for rain so we wanted to get it off our list before finding our lunch spot). The Pantheon is beautiful and a super quick walk through. The Pantheon’s dome is about 2,000 years old and still holds the title for being the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. Let that sink in for a hot minute….something built that long ago is still the best and largest, mind blowing!
Once we got some food in us (more on that below) we hit up another hot spot, the Trevi Fountain. SOOOO, here’s the deal… the fountain is crazy busy with people unless you go there at sunrise so don’t expect to grab a photo of just you and the fountain. Be prepared for craziness and make sure to have a lucky penny on you to throw in and cast your wish!
Day 10: Rome (cont.)
Dining: This was the perfect day of eating and drinking for me and what I envisioned Rome to be! We actually ate breakfast at our hotel (we did this every morning as it was delicious and included in our stay PLUS they had great cappuccinos) and I do suggest seeing if your hotel has one included as most higher end places do.
We did a little shopping again in between sight seeing and in one of the shops we started chatting with the shop owner and he suggested a local pizza spot. As you walk up to, La Montecarlo , you will probably think like we did that it doesn’t look like anything special at all. Thankfully for us, a couple that was sitting there stopped us and told us we have to eat there as they come back to Italy every year and will not miss grabbing a pizza from this joint! Let me just say, I can absolutely see why! We had 2 perfect pizzas, a veggie loaded salad and some delicious house wine. Next we hit up the famous, Frigidarium, for gelato and YUM!! A must do! Then had cocktails at this swanky little place called G-Rough.
For the last night of our trip we decided to go all out and go with the Michele Star restaurant Aroma conveniently located at the top of our hotel (so the view was insane!). Cole and I kinda disagree about this place to be honest BUT I think it more has to do as it is a true 7 course meal where each plate is small which is unlike the usual way we eat more than anything else. Cole was really thrown off by the single piece of asparagus for 1 of the courses. Now with that all being said BOTH of us still say that every single bite of each dish was absolutely amazing. The service was top notch and you you seriously cannot find a more romantic dinner view than this!
Day 11 – Back to Reality
I remember waiting for our driver (our hotel arranged the airport transfer for us — note: make sure you tell them the exact amount of luggage you have so they get you a big enough car) and trying to figure out when we could come back to Italy as I was so heartbroken to leave. We seriously had the best trip! Ciao!