I've been away for a bit so I wanted to come back with some pictures from one of the most historical and vibrant cities in Italy. I loved Rome and it was the second stop on our trip to Italy in 2010. We spent three wonderful nights in the city and arrived in the evening to a somewhat intimidating train station. Before we arrived in Rome, we took a train trip from Siracusa, Sicily. The trip lasted 12 hours but it was wonderful to see southern Italy and all the great coastal cities that Italy has to offer. A friend of ours mentioned that our train was going to ride on to a boat in Messina, Sicily and I couldn't believe it until it actually jumped on. It was a quick 45 minute ride and we were off to Rome. We met a wonderful couple from India and they had mentioned that there son was marrying in Europe and they had already been to Rome earlier. It was great to meet them and they were able to tell us what to watch for and visit the great tourist spots in the city. We arrived at night and we followed them to the taxi stand. Just as an fyi, we were told to take the taxi's from the taxi stand because if you take a random cab, you could pay a high price to your hotel. Our taxi fare was 18 euros and about a 20 minute ride. The first thing we noticed was the vespa drivers. We were going to rent them in Florence but quickly changed our minds. We stayed in a B&B just outside of Vatican City and our host Stefan, a sailor was very accommodating and made some great recommendations while we were there. The name of the B&B was
Villa Pamphili - Piccolomini. The website is
http://www.b-b.rm.it/. We stayed in the Levante Double Room with a cute terrace to sit out and enjoy the views. The breakfast was very personal with an assortment of pastries, cereal, espresso of course and juices. Our first day started in the Vatican City and I'll be honest, I was glad we had reserved tickets for the tour because the lines were very busy. We had a wonderful tour guide from Fort Lauderdale who was doing an arts degree in Italy and her Italian was amazing. She was very informative and knowledgeable to say the least and kept us entertained throughout the tour. I can't express how beautiful The Vatican museum is and St. Peter's Basilica. I think I took 700 pictures alone in Rome. A short ride to a piazza and we visited The Coliseum and The Forum. Incredible to think that this structure is in the middle of a very busy street in Rome. We were told by our guide Christine, originally from Rome that this city has 2700 years of history. Unbelievable! The next two days would take us to The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the neighbourhood of Trastavere and the many incredible restaurants Rome has to offer with some stops at a Gelateria. We had Gelato in every city we visited, delicious! Please enjoy my pictures of Rome and make this one of your next stops when you travel to Italy. Make sure you take the time to enjoy each location and plan your trip well. You don't want to jump from place to place too quickly as you will miss many opportunities to see the locals, the architecture, the piazzas and the many wonderful pictures you will take. Buon viaggio!
