Rome has always been a city I’ve wanted to visit with nearly 3,000 years of globally influential art, architecture and culture on display. I must admit, I wasn’t prepared for what my eyes were going to see and my mind try and comprehend. We wanted to see the ancient ruins like the Roman Forum and the Colosseum which showcase the power of the former Roman Empire. A must do on our weekend in Rome list was Vatican City, headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, and St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums which house masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes.
We left our two boys at home with family as they were only 3 and 5 so far too young for a busy city with lots of walking and we took a long weekend city break to the eternal city. A nice and quick 2 hour EasyJet flight from Bristol to Ciampino Airport and we were almost there.
We caught the bus and then a taxi to our hotel located looking at the Colosseum.
Our hotel was called no9colosseo.com and the view of the colosseum from our bedroom was pretty cool!
This hotel was chosen because of it’s view and walking distance to many of the historical places we wanted to visit – the colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi fountain…even the Vatican we walked to…best way to see and experience everything is walking. Walking at night was the best as it was a cooler temperature, less busy and very romantic with everything lit up.
We found ourselves instantly walking amongst classical ruins and early Christian places of worship. Stumbling across amazing architecture, statues, ruins – it’s almost too much for you to take in and after a while it becomes normal to see an amazing detailed giant sculpture that must have taken years to create. It’s an incredible city. Some decent graffiti too.
One of my favourites was this memorial tower. Massive and detail on it was unbelievable.
Rome had so many great neighbourhoods, shops, markets and a buzzing aperitivo scene. The gelato did not disappoint!
We saw this chap just hovering around in the street
And we came across the biggest salami we’ve ever seen.
The food lived up to our expectations and was really delicious and fresh – especially if you enjoy pasta and pizza like us.
The weather was sunny and hot both days reaching 90 degrees in daytime. Thankfully there was hundreds of places to get ice cold drinks from but they are not cheap. A small bottle of water cost 3 euros.
Rome is one of those places where the more you walk, the more you see.
On Saturday we visited the Vatican museums – mid afternoon a storm blew in whilst we were inside the museums with torrential rain, thunder and lightening which just added to the amazing experience.
St Peter’s Basilica was the highlight of the trip – we visited the Vatican first and then queued to go into St Peter’s Basilica – the sheer scale blew our minds like nothing we had ever seen before, nor are likely to again. We decided to climb the hundreds of steps to the top of St Peter’s Basilica. The lift was only 2 euros extra – in hindsight we probably should have done that and saved our legs as it was knackering and very tight passages in places….but wow the view was worth it!
Inside St Peter’s Basilica was simply mind boggling! I can’t really put into words what this place is like and any amount of photos just don’t do any justice. It’s one of those places you have to see.
Here’s a little video I shot to give you some idea…
