Amo Roma

Rome. Italy. 

Roma. Italia.

Before we left I had done very little reading about Rome. I hadn't even read the wikipedia page! At best I had heard of a few of the 'big' tourist attractions. Definitely NOT how I used to travel! I was just glad to be visiting a place that I had never been to before... had been a while since the 'explorer' in me had had a work out.
**Skip to the end if you just wanna see the pics!**

Here's a run down of our fabulous trip around the amazing city.

Monday 2nd July 2012

Mid-afternoon we left Mum and Dad's place in London and headed for the Radisson Blu hotel situated just five minutes from check-in at Stansted Airport! Decided on a bit of luxury, as flight to Rome was leaving VERY early the next day. We ate a nice meal in the 'Angel's Wine Tower Bar' and even got to see the bar 'angels'.

Tuesday 3rd July 2012

3:30am Got up.

4:00am checked in.

6:20am flight left. 

9:40am landed in Rome (Rome time).

We got a bus to the main station.

First impressions along the way:

- Lots of orange buildings with brown blinds.

- Lots of traffic.

- Lots of graffiti.

I liked the feel of the city immediately with the old style buildings.

Checked in at our hotel - Hotel Artimede. Gorgeous place. Amazing staff. Excellent location. FREE minibar (!). If I ever go to Rome again, I will definitely stay there again. They delivered a massive (and complimentary) bowl of fruit once we were in our room. 

After a quick freshen up we got straight into the sight-seeing!

First we walked to Colloseum. Hot hot hot. Gorgeous blue skies. Hot sun.

We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant.. Antipasti and pasta - delicious! 

Then back to hotel for a siesta... the sun was just too hot.

Late afternoon we walked to the Trevi fountain. NOT what I had expected at all!

I was definitely NOT prepared for the size of it! Apparently it stands 26 metres (85.3 feet) high and 20 metres (65.6 feet) wide. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. People galore too!

We grabbed a pizza slice and some gelato (icecream) there and then walked back to the hotel.

A very tired Oliver slept an amazing FOURTEEN hours. I got twelve. Perfect.

Wednesday 4th July 2012

Breakfast ... Gotta love the buffet breakfast!!! Plus fresh ricotta cheese, hot vol-au-vents fresh from the oven and a couple of cappuccinos! YUM. Set up for another day of walking...

Got a taxi to Vatican city. Went into the Basilica di San Pietro. More amazing and impressive architecture. Then taxi to Via Nazionale and a gelato treat (perfect treat in the scorching heat). More than sixty different flavours to choose from. Oli only wanted vanilla (?!). I had lemon, coconut and caramel..... Ooooooooohhhhhhhh!!!!! Naughty, but nice...

Back to the hotel for a siesta. Late afternoon we walked to the Victor Emmanuelle monument and the Forum. Saw the tomb of the unknown soldier. Then walked back to hotel. Crashed for a couple of hours before dining at our hotel. Nice rooftop restaurant. Antipasti.... Smoked turkey with apple. Pasta.... Spinach and ricotta ravioli with sprinkles of black truffle. Divine. White chocolate mousse with blueberries for dessert followed by cappuchino. Oh yes!!!! This is the life!

Sleep came easy again.

Thursday 5th July 2012 

Breakfast buffet again...

Taxi to the Pantheon. Walked around the neighbouring streets. Had cappuccino in a VERY good coffee shop -  then walked to Piazza Navona. More huge buildings. More humungous statues. All I kept thinking was 'how did they do that?'

Tapas lunch in Via Paradiso. Yum.

Back to hotel for (another) siesta - I could definitely get used to this!

Walked up Via Nazionale to a Japanese store and another Basilica at the end of street. Snuck into McDonald's for a quick icecream, followed by a wee bit of shopping. Back to hotel for a little rest (!). Off out again for last dinner in Rome. Sad but true. 

We found a pizza/pasta place just round the corner from the hotel. Once again... YUM!

Is there any BAD food here?!?! We certainly didn't find any!

Friday 6th July 2012
Last buffet breakfast.
A leisurely walk around the neighbourhood, including another church.
Back to hotel to do the final pack.
12 noon checked out and headed to the hotel's restaurant for a nice lunch.
1:30pm taxi to airport.
Checked in and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
5:50pm flight was delayed and finally took off at 7:30pm... landing just after 9pm London time.
Oli was an ANGEL.
It was hard even for me to deal with the never-ending delay, but he was trying soooooo hard. He is certainly a GOOD traveller. Happy times.
Mum and Dad picked us up at the airport. Bed by 11pm. Knackered but happy. Very, very happy.

What I LOVED about Roma:

• the people - everyone went out of their way to help and be friendly... even locals on the street
• the language - was fun trying to pick up a few very basic phrases of a language COMPLETELY alien to me
• the food (of course!)... 
• the coffee - ahhhhhh... 
• the gelato - you can't feel guilty about having a refreshing break from the heat of the day!
• the buildings... impressive is the word.

To be completely honest there was absolutely nothing that I didn't like!!! The weather was swelteringly hot, but made bearable by small patches of shade, gallons of water and a daily siesta!

Grazie, Italia. Spero di ritornare.

Slideshow of my pics here... be warned - there are MANY of big buildings and massive statues!