Rome!

Chris and I both have birthdays in December, and following a busy period and anticipating a few weeks apart over Christmas, we decided a little weekend getaway was in order. We considered our destination options and found cheap tickets for Rome, so off we went! We were blessed with great weather – warm and sunny in comparison to grey and wet Lausanne, and although there was some rain during the weekend, we kept missing it.

After arriving at the airport on Friday, a helpful man pointed us in the right direction for the cheapest transport option that would take us directly to our hotel. We checked and decided to walk towards the Spanish steps. The streets were all decorated for Christmas and there was a lovely festive atmosphere. We saw the Ferrari store and had to make a stop there, and then went into the magnum store that lets you custom make your ice-cream – yummy. We decided to go and see the Coloseum by night and stopped along the way at some of the ruins. We took an easy ramble through the shopping streets before settling down for dinner. Everyone told us we would eat well in Rome, and we were not disappointed! I love Italian food and was only too happy to indulge! We walked back to our hotel and went to our rooftop terrace to have coffee that came with a selection of delicious biscuits.

We decided to make an early start on Saturday and head to the Coloseum for a tour. I am not normally the tour booking type, but in this case, it was well worth it. The tour included access to two areas not open to normal day visitors – the underground section and the third ring, which gave us spectacular views of Rome and the Coloseum. As a bonus, our tour guide was telling us all sorts of interesting information – did you know that there was a huge palace on the same land before the Coloseum?

We walked through the Roman Forum before stopping stopped for coffee in a square and people-watched  (as they say, when in Rome), before visiting the Pantheon, picking up some Pizza and heading to the Vatican. We only stood in the line for 45minutes, which I didn’t think was too bad. We decided we wanted to climb the stairs to the top, and although it was a dizzying and slightly claustrophobic experience, it was well worth it! We walked back to the Spanish steps and had a drink at a cozy little bar overlooking the steps before making a stop at our hotel to freshen up for dinner. We enjoyed yet another gourmet meal at a restaurant close to the hotel – a perfect end to a perfect day.

On Sunday we took it easy – we had seen most of what we wanted to see and where heading back to the airport soon after lunch so we enjoyed the hotel breakfast (this has to be one of the best things about holidays) before taking a walk to the circus maximus and along a river that runs through Rome. We stopped for another coffee in the sunny square and soaked up the atmosphere. After a delightful 48 hours, it was time to head back to the airport for our flight back.

Rome is a fascinating city, probably one of the most historically rich places I have ever visited. Practically around every corner there is something else to see. I am glad we went out of season – it was busy, but not overwhelmingly so, but I cant imagine what it would be like in Summer! A big thank you Chris for organizing and coordinating most of the weekend and for being chief map-reader and navigator, I would have been lost without you!