A few last minute days off from work meant a spontaneous city break! My first Italian adventure and I’m headed to Rome for a couple of days of adventuring. An early start and off to Gatwick, I’ve definitely decided that it’s my favourite airport. I’m not really a breakfast person at the airport unless I’m in for a longgg flight so I just grabbed some water and before I knew it I was off to my gate! Quick flight and I landed in Rome. Hello Italia.

By the time I landed and got myself to the city centre from the airport, it was late afternoon. I checked into my hotel which was about a 10 minute walk from the Colosseum and it was gorgeous. I stayed at iRooms Central and the host, Johnny, was wonderful. He gave all sorts of recommendations for my stay and couldn’t have been more helpful throughout my visit. I sorted myself out and went for a walk and grabbed some dinner along the way. It was about now that I realised I was about to enjoy a full week of one of my favourite cuisines and was ready to overload on pizza, pasta, tiramisu and aperol. I settled down after wandering back to my hotel and had a chilled evening, I bought a puzzle book for my trip, first time ever, and it’s genuienly changed my trips for the future. I sat doing puzzles for hours before getting some sleep in preparation for some serious sightseeing.

Day two and a full day of adventure, I was off to the Vatican City. It still feels wild to me that this is its own country within a country and actually I’m ticking off two countries from this trip?! Madness. I headed over and first up I checked out the Vatican Museums. I would 100% recommend booking a skip-the-line ticket if you want to enjoy doing a few things within a day, the lines to get in were insane! I booked with GetYourGuide (always) and the process was really simple. Once in it was a maze of different places to go and I definitely underestimated how much time I would spend here, I thought maybe around 2 hours, I was heading on for between 3-4 by the time I’d got around everywhere. I definitely could have spent longer here too but I also bought a timed skip-the-line ticket for the Basilica which although worked well for that, also meant that I had to leave the museums when I did to ensure I made it to the next part.

I couldn’t believe the amount you could see, the gardens, the grounds, and all of the different museums too. They contained so many different things from different eras in times, and I was mesmorised. I think my favourite was the Gallery of Maps. The walls and ceilings covered in maps and artwork, through a whole hall. You had to look around and up at all times to take it all in, I spent a while here. I found it hard to find my way at first as there are some exhibits which aren’t part of a route, so I was getting a little lost, however, I followed a group for a minute and managed to end up heading the right way at last. You walk through so many different spaces on your journey towards the end of the experience.

Final stop of the immense tour and wander round the Vatican Museums was the Sistine Chapel and WOOOW. You can’t take photos inside so no pics here but just imagine floor to and including ceiling of the most beautiful artwork and intricacies of gold; sensational. It was packed in there. You could not move an inch if you tried. As much as it was truly mesmorising to see and experience, my brain could not cope with how busy it was, so after doing a loop around the perimeter to admire some of the stunning pieces of art, it was time for me to escape. Although the Chapel is the final part of the museums to experience, there is more to discover as you walk towards the exits too which is really great. Was told that the Pope sometimes hangs around on Wednesdays and Sundays so wasn’t sure if I might have caught a glimpse but not this time!

My feet were definitely hurting by now but the day wasn’t stopping there. I’m really hoping I might have a spare day on this trip to visit another part of Italy, so cramming as much as possible! I headed over to St Peter’s Basilica and within it, The Holy Door. I’m amazed that my spontaneous trip has allowed some cool parts to it, this door is only opened every 25 years or something crazy and I happened to be in Rome when it was, wild. Again, I would absolutely recommend booking skip-the-line tickets, I did thi1s on the official website (the only option for the Basilica), as the queue in the beating sun is insane! There was still a bit of a wait with the tickets I had but nowhere near as much as without. You are literally for the best part in the blistering sunshine too (depending on the time of year you go) so there is no cover whilst waiting.

Inside the Basilica was remarkable. You walk through these grand doors and down a central aisle to the alter, where there are candles lit and opportunties to take photos, you can explore one side of it as you want and can roam and take pictures, and again, always look up! The ceilings were sensational, well, the whole of the inside was truly wonderful and I genuinely just had to stand taking it all in for a little while. To the other side you queue (again) to go through to the other side of the Basilica and walk through the Holy Doors. It was a really cool experience all round including watching the changing of the guard. They have the most adorable outfits. After you’ve left the Basilica you have the opportunity to roam St Peter’s Square, most of sectioned off with chairs and screens but there is an outer area that you can go around and take photos, it’s amazing when you see it in real life compared to on a TV screen.

Next day and packed again! First up coffee to fuel another day of steps! The Colosseum was up first and only a short walk from where I was staying so I wandered through the park towards it and just stood infront of it for a few minutes just gobsmacked if I’m being honest. It really does look incredible in real life, and even better than the pictures. I really just stood thinking how on earth was this built, how long did it take, the structure is insane, and more.

I headed to pick up my tickets, again, booked with GetYour Guide, and they also included access to the Arena within the Colosseum, and an audioguide. They also included access to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill too so I had an explore of those as well, and again, severely underestimated how much time I would spend exploring. I booked skip-the-line tickets (there’s a trend here) and again, very glad I did on a warm day without much cover and lots of queues! There is airport style security at most large attractions in Rome so it takes a little longer to get through everything.

Once inside, you begin on the ground level, you can also book tickets to go underground but I skipped this and stuck with the arena. I listened to my guide and headed out towards the arena area and through the gates which warriors would have entered through. I severly underestimated the size of the place, it was huge! It was really cool to stand on part of history. I then headed up to the next level, which included lots of steep stairs, and had a wander around the circle of the Colosseum and also marvelled at some of the artifacts and history that could be seen from the inner cirle. It was cool to do a whole loop and see it from all angles. I learnt a lot but also really enjoyed being able to soak up the atmosphere.

There was so much to learn about within the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill too. Again, incredible to walk around and see some of the different forums, including those greatly known in history, like Julius Caesar. I genuinely cannot believe how much I’ve squeezed in so far! I’m loving Rome and all it has to offer.

Day four and a final full day of cramming, although I started to feel a bit poorly today. The horrible headcold feeling when you’ve finally stopped after a while and you just start to feel rundown, so I started a little later today and just chilled at my hotel in the morning. It was definitely needed and meant that I was feeling a little more up for exploring later into the day. It also meant that I’d missed the peak of the sunshine (not like me at all) which made being outside slightly easier on my head.

I headed out eventually in the early afternoon and first up was coffee and a quick stop at a pharmacy for some meds to help me and then I wandered to the Spanish Steps. I was pleasently surprised at how quiet it was here. Don’t get me wrong, still lots of people but nowhere near as crowded as it had been made out to be online. I wandered to the top and peered across Rome with the stunning views it had to offer before wandering back down and grabbing some pictures. It was really cool to see and experience.

I continued wandering and next stop was the Trevi Fountain. I was expecting it to be absolutely heaving as I’d heard horror stories about going during the day rather than at ridiculous o’clock in the morning or super late at night. However, I was pleasently surprised. There is a queue system in place, and as a Brit I love a queue, and it also meant that they only allowed a certain number of people down to the bottom of the fountain at a time to prevent it from becoming super overcrowded. It only took a few minutes to get through and it meant that once down by the fountain, it was easier to look at without getting squished, as well as take some photos without loads of people in the background.

I genuienly underestimated how big I thought the fountain would be. I know in pictures it looks big. But wow it was big. I think I was just a bit astounded by the actual sheer size of it. I sat by the fountain for a little while and enjoyed just admiring the view and people watching before snapping some pictures and heading to the next stop on my little adventure of the day.

Within the circle(ish) that I was exploring, next up was the Pantheon. At this point I’m convinced that Rome isn’t real, all of these buildings are huge (without any exaggeration) and so delicately structured and crafted and genuinely the phrase ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ really came to life. I didn’t go into the Pantheon, I hadn’t planned on anyway, but I was wearing shorts which aren’t allowed, so couldn’t anyway. But did enjoy looking at it from the outside, there is a fountain in front of it too which was cool. There are lots of fountains in Rome which are pretty cool. Last part of the circle was Piazza Navona which is an open space within Rome, but it was really cool to see and also offered another fountain to look at.

I continued my trip onwards to the Alter of The Fatherland and The Forums. Again, another moment where I was like ‘is this even real?!’. The building was so grand and monumental, and perfectly clean too! I had a wander around it, but didn’t go in, was quite happy just looking at it in all its glory. The sun was just beginning to set as I got there too; so it was gleaming off it just beautifully. It was quite hard to see it from a good angle because the area surrounding it was all closed off for refurbishment, including most of the greenery, so there was just lots of walkways in between traffic where you could get some views of it.

Someone I know recommended walking down Via Dei Fori Imperiali from The Fatherland to the Colosseum as the sun was setting and genuinely it was picturesque, very glad I did. It’s just a straight road and it led back to the neighbourhood I was staying in quite nicely so really enjoyed the wander. There was history either side of the road and some of the things I’d seen the previous day when at the Roman Forum. I got to see it from a different angle which was wonderful. I enjoy wandering casually and taking photos as I went and eventually reached the Colosseum at sunset, beautiful. I was going to find somewhere for dinner but by about now I was tired and not feeling too great from feeling poorly so continued my meander back to my hotel where I ordered some food, which was enjoyed whilst watching a movie. A perfect evening.

My final day had arrived and despite having a few hours to explore before needing to head to the airport, my cold had really started to get the better of me so I decided to slow it down and grab some coffee and a crossaint filled with crème pât, which was delightful; and sit writing my blog for this trip. I was recommended a little café called Panella just around the corner from where I was staying and I sat for a few hours, soaking up the atmosphere and watching the world go by.

I really enjoyed a slow morning just hanging out and sitting in the sunshine, I dug out my puzzle book again and sat passing some time before it was time to head to the airport. It was a fairly simple way to get there as I learnt coming in, it’s a nonstop train from just outside the terminal at the airport into the main station, and the same in reverse, and only takes around 30-40 minutes, costing €14 for a single. Just be careful as it’s a hotspot for pickpockets on and around public transport, particularly the main station. I packed up my stuff before heading there in the afternoon and before I knew it, it was time to head home.

A really fun few days which were definitely enjoyed, my first visit to this country and it did not disappoint. I feel like I didn’t even scratch the surface with Rome, there is genuinely so much to see and do, and despite my best efforts, I just could not get around it all in the time I had. It definitely wasn’t built in a day, and cannot be seen in one either. Ciao for now, Italy. I’ll be back! Mads x