Rome In A Day

This blog post is apart of a series about my European adventure to Paris, Italy and Portugal to celebrate my best friend Liz getting married. I learned so much by planning this trip by myself, with tips from Liz and a shared spreadsheet with my other bestie Steph, I couldn’t let the opportunity by to share what I learned with you!

Ocean Eyes and I's European adventure began with a red eye from Denver to Paris, a whirlwind day in Paris then right back to the airport for Rome! We touched down in Rome and hit the ground running. But first to drop off our bags at our hotel. Our bed and breakfast {Viale Trastevere 248, 00153 Roma} had a large sized room and bed. There was a sizable bathroom complete with shower and toilet. You will find that not all places in Europe have a private bathroom in your room, so make sure to double check that AND that they have wifi.

Our B&B was a short walk from the train station coming from the airport. With some help from our host Marko, we were quickly off to our evening in Rome. We were lucky enough to have the free tram right outside our B&B door. Just a few stops, about 15 minutes, and we were in the heart of Roma ready to see the sites!

1. The Colosseum {Open until 7PM}. Wherever possible by tickets ahead of time in line with your vacation spreadsheet. Don't have a vacation spreadsheet? Read more HERE! Buying tickets ahead of time will cut down on your line wait times and make sure to keep you on schedule and on budget.

2. Download FREE audio tours with Rick Steves on iTunes. He has one for the Colosseum so you don’t have to pay extra for one. Make sure you have them all available to you offline so you are not streaming and wasting data!

3. Gelato. After a tour of the Colosseum make sure to stop right away to grab some gelato for your walk to Trevi Fountain. Nothing is more perfect for taking in the sites than a sweet treat!

4. Trevi Fountain. This was a bit hard to find! It is hidden in the middle of the city so be aware and have your route planned out ahead of time. I used Google Maps a lot on the trip, but be aware of signs as well. Boy was it BUSY here. Be aware of yourself and belongings. But relax, take your time and find your spot. Don’t be afraid to wait a minute to get that perfect shot. It was packed to the gills when we went, but were able to get these crowd-less individual photos. When asking for a couple’s photo, I always look for people who are either a couple themselves, or look like they are taking their time with their own photos. I also have asked more than one person to take a photo of us too...because you know...professional photographer expectations. LOL

5. The Pantheon {Open Monday to Saturday 9am – 7:30pm - FREE}. A quick walk from Trevi and not as crowded in the evening after it closes. What a site to see, surrounded by musicians and those oh so charming Italian restaurants. I think this was the moment I believed I was actually in Italy. But instead of stopping at the first restaurant you see for dinner, you must take a short walk and eat here….

6. Dinner at Macheronni. You might want to make a reservation if you want to take advantage of their outside seating. But either way, we were able to get seated right away. Vino, bread with olive oil and balsamic started the meal. I will never buy cheap olive oil again. Thank you Roma! Our pasta dinners were so large, that even after walking all evening, I could only eat ¼ of it. The pesto is UH-MAZING and the Carbonara, which I’ve been “eating” my entire life, was out of a dream.

7. Free tram home to bed and free wifi. BUT stop for gelato one more time...because treat yo self. Get a good night’s rest.

8. Free breakfast at the B&B first then off to The Vatican {Opens at 9AM}. At our B&B, Marko gave us a free train ticket with 100 minutes on it. That was more than enough time for us to walk the short walk from the Vatican train station, around the square, down to Castel Sant Angelo and back. Arrive early if you plan to spend the day in The Vatican. There is SO much to see and the lines are long. Buy those tickets ahead of time for sure!

Our trip to Rome and The Vatican was too quick, but we had to catch a train to Florence for the wedding welcome dinner! Arrivederci Roma...Ciao Florence!!