Where is it? The centre of Italy.
What currency is used? Euro
How do I get there? If you’re travelling from the UK I recommend flying out of Luton or Heathrow for the cheapest direct flights to Rome. I got a National Express coach from Birmingham Coach Station which took me straight into Luton Airport Coach Station, and then caught my flight. The flight time from England is around 2 and a half hours; making it a quick and easy flight, and EasyJet made it a simple and stress-free experience. There are two airports in Rome; I flew into Rome Fiumicino, which I’m fairly certain is the larger of the two, but the other airport, which is closer to the city, is Rome Ciampino; either are suitable.
What is there to do? Rome is one of the oldest cities in the world, meaning that it is overflowing in culture and history, and you are never at a loss to find something to do. Whether you’re after a museum, ancient Roman ruins, an array of shops, or gorgeous terraces, then you’re in for a treat. I stayed there for five days, three of which were spent exploring the city, and although I did manage to fit the majority of the things I wanted to do into the time frame, I could have happily spent a week or more exploring every inch of this beautiful city.
Where should you stay? I was lucky enough to be invited to stay at my friend Giulia’s family home for the time I spent in Rome, and I was ever so grateful. They lived in an ideal location, a neighbourhood called Garbatella, which is only three tube stops away from the Colosseum, and I’d definitely recommend staying in this area. If you’re after somewhere more central I have found these two Airbnbs; this fresh apartment situated near St Peter’s and this very luxurious feeling apartment in the heart of Rome.
Where should you eat? Food is one of the most important things, if not the most important, in Italian culture, so naturally there are an endless list of amazing places to eat. One of my favourites was Archetto, a restaurant hidden down a side street of Rome, offering every single type of pasta I could ever have imagined, and then some. I recommend going for the bruschetta for a starter (warning – this can get messy! This comes from someone who was wearing white trousers…) and then the creamy salmon spaghetti for main; I had never seen so many types of pasta!
For pizza, Cookstock, a small pizza restaurant based in Garbatella, near Giulia’s house, was a hit. Their cute little restaurant was retro music themed, and all of the menus were written on old vinyl records; which made for a perfect themed meal. If you’re in need of a quick snack, 100 Montaditos, a restaurant situated near the Colosseum, offers adorable miniature sandwiches for only €1-2; a perfect affordable lunch!
Of course, another must when in Italy, is gelato, and I have a lot of recommendations. I had ice cream nearly every single day that I was there, even in the torrential rain, so I found out some of the best places to eat a whole lot of ice cream. My top places are Giolitti, Fassi and Fatamorgana; more about what I ordered in the post below.
What night life is there? As I was spending all day exploring, my friend and I were absolutely exhausted, so we didn’t really explore the night life in Rome, but what I did learn is that they have a very different approach to the British youth. The majority of Italian nights out are spent drinking in pubs, rather than nights out clubbing, and their nights end by around 1am. Giulia suggests stopping for a drink in the bustling neighbourhoods of Campo dei Fiori and Trastevere, both of which are overflowing with pubs, bars and restaurants. Another fabulous way to spend a night is drinking on the terrace opposite the Colosseum; what better backdrop could you want for a night out? This is a great place to come to if you’re celebrating, and you’ll see lots of Italians popping champagne and blowing out candles as the clocks strike midnight.
Travel diary
I arrived in Rome on Thursday night, after a long old trek from Birmingham to Luton airport, a two hour flight into Rome, and then a half hour drive from Rome Fiumicino. After a quick catch up with Giulia and her family I was ready for bed, and I went to sleep, ready for the early start on Friday morning.
We woke up early on Friday morning, ready for a full day of exploring, and reached the Colosseum by around 8:15am. I was astounded by the sheer amount of people milling around outside of it, or queuing to get in, and we knew it was only going to get busier, so we decided to queue up and buy our tickets then. We were actually purchasing a triple pass, enabling us to visit the Colosseum, Palatino, the gardens above the centre of Rome, and Foro, the old centre of Ancient Rome, so went for the smallest queue and waited for our tickets at the Foro ticket office. We managed to get tickets to all three places for only €2, because we were students, which was an amazing deal, but I believe full price tickets were just under €20. All I needed to provide was my provisional license, showing my age and nationality, and I was viable for the discounted ticket; I’d keep this in mind if you’re a student trying to find the cheapest deals.
After queuing to buy tickets, and receiving our allotted time of 11:45am, we headed off to the terrace across from the Colosseum and took the all important Instagram shot with the iconic landmark in the background. Although there were a lot of people trying to get the same photo I found people were very accommodating and moved out of your way; which I would find out later isn’t the norm (as you’ll see from Trevi Fountain!). After strolling around some of the streets surrounding the terrace we picked up a mid-morning snack; I tried pizza bianco for the first time, and it was amazing. I loved it so much that I actually purchased enough to keep me going on my journey back to Birmingham before leaving Rome; if you’re ever in Italy I recommend you try this delicious treat, and I’m currently trying to hunt it down here in England!
Feeling replenished from our pizza feast we headed down to the Colosseum to queue to get in. And when I say queue, I really, really mean it. We ended up being in the queue for over an hour and a half; and by that time the queue to purchase tickets was over two hours long! It was definitely worth the wait though, as inside this building is magnificent. It’s so strange to think off all the spectacular things that would have been going on in there 2000 years ago, and I loved reading up on the history at the museum inside, and seeing all of the old seating areas and decorative statues. Unfortunately, by the time we’d got out of the Colosseum it had started raining quite heavily, so we decided to leave Foro and Palatino, which are almost entirely outside, until the following day. Instead, we headed for lunch, and Giulia took me to an affordable gem right in the heart of Rome. 100 Montaditos, which is only a couple of minutes walk from the Colosseum, has a whole host of different miniature sandwiches, with all sorts of different fillings, for only €1-2. I went for a ham, tomato and rocket one, and a salmon one, and Giulia and I shared a plate of chips; which filled us both up. I’d definitely recommend this place if you’re visiting Rome on a budget as we got a lunch for two for just over €6.
During lunch we were joined by Giulia’s boyfriend, Andrea, who then accompanied us for the rest of the day. It was still raining but what can I say, I’m British, so I wasn’t going to let a little rain stop me. We headed down to Circo Massimo, where they used to hold the Roman chariot races, saw Bocca Della Verita, referred to in English as ‘The Mouth of Truth’ and walked to Isola Tiberina, an island set out in the River Tiber. The main hospital for Rome is on this island, where both Giulia and Andrea were born, so it was amazing to learn more about their lives.
After all that walking we stopped off at Parco Degli Aranci, an orange garden with a terrace that has stunning views across the city, and looked out across Rome. A fun thing to do at this terrace (which truly amazed me – just wait until you see my confused little face in the vlog!) is to stand at the edge of the terrace and look at how big St Peter’s is, then, once you’ve memorised how big it is, walk to the opposite end of the terrace (which is much further away) and you’ll see that St Peter’s actually appears to have grown massively. It’s magic!
After seeing that spectacular we walked a little further up the road and saw ‘the keyhole’ which is a hole in a door that looks through a garden to St Peter’s, which is a gorgeous view. Unfortunately, the rain had got a lot heavier by then, so we were very ready to go home and get changed into warm, comfortable clothes!
That night, thankfully the rain had stopped, so we made a late night dash out to get ice cream and then took some late night photos by the Colosseum. We got ice cream in the oldest ice cream shop in Rome, Giolitti, and it was delicious. I went for raspberry ripple, one of my favourite ice cream flavours, and it was so creamy and sweet I could have eaten a whole tub! The Colosseum looked so gorgeous all lit up, and we were surrounded by people celebrating and partying together, which was great fun!
On Saturday we woke up bright and early again and headed off to Foro and Palatino, which we’d bought the ticket to on Friday, and strolled around. We’d initially planned to just stroll through and spend around half an hour in here, but we ended up spending nearly two and a half walking through all of the gardens, reading up on the history and taking in the views. It was astounding to see all of the old buildings that the ancient Romans had built, and I loved learning more about the ancient Roman culture and the history behind it.
After leaving Palatino and Foro we headed deeper into the centre of Rome and saw the Spanish steps and explored the shopping district. We stopped off for lunch at a spaghetteria, which had the biggest variety of pasta dishes I’ve ever seen. I went for bruschetta for a starter, and the creamy salmon spaghetti, which were both divine, and I’ll definitely be trying to replicate this dish at home.
Once we were filled up on pasta we headed off to do some shopping (ended up being more like window shopping!) and strolled around all of the different luxury shops and boutiques. I even nipped into Sephora and picked up some face masks, of course, and looked around one of the biggest Zaras I’ve ever seen. There’s also a few street sellers and market stalls dotted around the streets and Giulia and I picked up sweet matching rings to commemorate the trip, and our friendship.
Whilst strolling around the shopping quarter we stumbled upon Trevi Fountain; which was probably the most over-crowded place of the entire trip. Taking a photo here was one of the biggest challenges I’ve had to face to get an Instagram shot, but the beautiful architecture and gorgeous blue of the water made it all worth it. I was actually surprised at how many other fountains there are round Rome; I particularly liked the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, a fountain featuring gods representing all of the major rivers of the world. There are so many hidden gems hiding around every corner, so make sure to wander around and take everything in.
After looking around the shops a little more we visited Pincio, where there was the most luscious green park I’ve ever seen. We stopped for a sit down in the sunshine, as it had definitely warmed up since the Friday, and took in the gorgeous views. The park was full of people riding bikes, racing go-karts and having drinks, and I’d definitely recommend it for a picnic during your stay in Rome. Once we’d walked back down from this park we intended to visit Pantheon, a church with a hole in the ceiling, but unfortunately there was a service happening, so there was a massive queue forming, so we deciding to carry on walking instead.
After looking round all of the streets, taking in all the architecture and throwing cents into the fountains, we stopped off for a drink in Piazza Navona before heading home. I actually made dinner that night, guided by Giulia, and I created a traditional Italian carbonara (which I was very proud of!).
Sunday, which is traditionally a holy day, was the perfect day for us to visit St Peter’s and Vatican City. We’re both Catholic, so visiting St Peter’s was a big deal for us, and we got there at the perfect time to see Pope Francis perform his Angelus. The security getting into St Peter’s Square was very high, which is a good thing, but it also meant that getting in there can take quite a while; safety is always the priority though, so we didn’t mind queuing!
I was so lucky to have Giulia with me, who is fluent in both Italian and English, who could translate the entirety of the Pope’s speech to me. It meant so much to see the head of the Church speak to us, and it was even more meaningful as Giulia being there meant I could understand him. We were sat on the floor near the centre of the square, but as the Pope is positioned so high up in his building, you can basically get a good view from anywhere.
Once we’d listened to the Angelus we quickly joined the queue to climb up the top of the dome; if you do visit St Peter’s for the Angelus I would recommend doing this as quickly as possible, as the queue went from a ten minute wait to hours long by the time we’d walked back down. Walking to the top of the dome cost €8, but it was definitely worth it. The ascent probably took about 30-40 minutes, and I would only recommend it if you are fit and agile, as it’s quite steep and closed in at times. However, no matter how hard the trek up there may be, the experience at the top makes it all worth it. The view from the dome was the most gorgeous view of Rome I’ve ever seen, you could see for miles around, and I could have spent all day up there.
We then walked back down into the Basilica and spent a lot of time walking around taking in all of the gorgeous architecture, listening to choir singers, praying and staring in awe at all of the beautiful artwork. I actually cried a little looking around as it really hit me that my faith built this. Even if you’re not religious I’d definitely recommend walking around St Peter’s as it truly is the most glorious building I’ve ever been in.
After visiting St Peter’s we had lunch in the square before walking out of the square and further along the river, alongside Passetto di Borgo, to Castel Sant’Angelo. We then crossed across the river and took in all of the pretty buildings lining the water, such as the Palazzo di Giustizia, before strolling through some very traditional looking Italian streets. We stopped off for ice cream, yet again, and I got the most fabulous ice cream I’ve ever had. I had two scoops; one blueberry cheesecake, and one Snow White, which was a combination of berries and rose petals (it was truly scrumptious) and I’d definitely recommend visiting Fata Morgana.
After ice cream we were absolutely exhausted and headed home. We were initially planning to go out for a meal in the centre of Rome, but after such a tiring day we ended up choosing to eat down the road from Giulia’s house at a restaurant called Cookstock. Their restaurant was vinyl themed and all of their menus were painted on to old records, which was so much fun! I tried out some classic Italian starters, such as suppli, fried rice, meat and cheese (similar to mozzerella sticks!), Giulia ate the parts with the most cheese but I ate the ends and I definitely think you’d enjoy it if you’re a cheese lover, and fiore di zucca, it is technically squash blossom, but I’ve never seen anything like this before! I really enjoyed it nonetheless, and I preferred this over the suppli. Their margherita pizza, known as the Jimi Hendrix, was also delicious.
I spent the Monday with Giulia at school, where I spoke in a range of different classes all about life in England. It was so interesting to learn about the differences between life in England and Italy, hear their questions about our culture and lifestyle and chat to people from another country. Conversation topics covered all sorts; from what food I like, to whether I thought Princess Diana’s death was an inside job, so it was definitely an interesting, and entertaining, morning!
After walking home from school we spent the afternoon chatting, and I got all packed up, before I had to catch my flight later that evening. I had the most amazing time in Rome and I really didn’t want to leave, especially knowing that I didn’t have a set time when I knew I’d be seeing Giulia again. Having close friends who live in other countries can honestly be the hardest thing, which makes every moment spent with them even more special, and I had the most wonderful time with her.
Hopefully I’ll see Giulia very soon (we’re talking about potentially planning a trip together later this year!) and I’d love to visit Rome again, as it was one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. But, for now, I must say ‘arrivederci Roma!’.
Love Chloe x
