Rome - Day 1 — Patti Part Two

Another great adventure begins! First stop Rome with my dear friend and traveling soul sister Julie!

At O’Hare getting ready to board our 9 hour flight to Rome.

We arrived at 10:30 AM via a very new plane and successfully found our shuttle to get us to the apartment we had rented in a great area in Rome close to the Pantheon and historic sites - and what appears to be great shops and restaurants. Previous to coming we had scheduled a tour of the Colosseum, Forum and Pallatine Hill because we had read the weekend would be more crowded so we needed to just drop our belongings at the apartment and head out. Getting into the apartment went fairly smoothly once we figured out the address and entry instructions we had been given and how to use all the keys once we got into the lock box. And all of this with no sleep and no food!

It took about 20 minutes to walk from the apartment over to the Colosseum area to meet our tour. Definitely best to schedule a tour for the big sites or you will spend lots of time waiting in line just to buy a ticket, and then wait in line a long time to get in! Unfortunately we didn’t have time to grab lunch on the way although we passed lots of great little places with awesome looking food.

Victor Emmanuel Monument - going to go there another day but spectacular!

We made it to our tour and got our first look at the Colosseum!

The tour was 3 hours long. We had booked it with a recommended company called Walks of Italy. The guide Davide was excellent. He talked and walked nonstop and I got about half of what he said. Partially because I was tired but mostly because there was just so much history and information. We walked on the same actual stones Caesar walked on over 2400 years ago! If something is only 1500 years old they act like it’s almost new!

Julie and I in the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine.

The Forum. Ancient Rome birthplace and considered the most important real estate in the creation of Western Civilization.

Palatine Hill - where the emperors lived.

You can read about these things but for me seeing it brings it all to life. We were able to enjoy it on a beautiful sunny day and the crowds were very manageable.

Next on our agenda was food! And wine! We started walking in the general direction of our apartment and happened across a beautiful square where tons of people were just hanging out listening to an amazing musician. We got a table on the square and enjoyed our first wine in Rome while listening and snacking on bruschetta. We still had our second wind but realized that fatigue would come back quickly so continued heading back to the apartment. Rick Steve’s my travel guru always says take the little streets and alleys instead of the main thoroughfares so we did and found the best street! The cutest restaurants, shops and gelato stores! We got a table at Bistrot and it was delicious!

Then across the street for gelato! Met the owner and maker of the gelato and promised him to come back!

We got our apartment through Airbnb and it’s going to be perfect. A studio in a fantastic location and has a little kitchen, sitting area and washing machine. Love the tiny little street it’s on. Lots more planned here for the next few days so check back!

Ciao!