Introduction
Our approach to the 2017 Summer vacation was slightly different, rather than a single two week block vacation we broke the two weeks into two for no apparent reason other than to make the summer last longer. On previous posts you can read of our camping and slightly random driving vacation through Coastal France. So at the end of August we departed for Rome and the Amalfi coast. This page covers Rome and the post after covers the Amalfi Coast.
We took 4 days to take in all that Rome has to offer, we booked late so we were relegated to a good hotel in the suburbs of Rome about thirty minutes from the centre. This did have the advantage that the hotel was cheaper with a higher rating. The compromise was worth it for the thirty minute commute into town. We stayed in the Roma EUR area on the outskirts.
The journey into town from the airport as always is a interesting one. There are a bunch of taxi touts at the airport after your cash. So make sure you are acquainted with the price of the trains into town and the subsequent journey to your hotel. The taxi driver know where to pitch the price so that they make a few Euros.
Rome Transportation
Rome like any global metro city has an excellent transportation system and getting around is easy with single journeys to multi day unlimited travel options. We booked a couple of days in advance to save ourselves queuing. Rome's summer season makes the city a tourist trap, with the summer heat and crowds you have to be patient with the queues.
Colosseum
We started off at the Colosseum with tickets bought in advance there are specific queues that you wait in and even with advance bookings we waited about 30 mins to enter. The Colosseum is an excellent place to take a guided tour, we did not as this was our second visit to Rome. The picture below give you a sample of our trip there. As you walk around you can help but hear echoes of the film Gladiator and it was quite strange to hear various groups of mainly men pretending to Maximus and reciting key lines from the film. I did so too at various points !
Roman Forum
The Roman ruins adjacent to the Colloseum are also worth visiting they are close and worth a walk through there are interesting columns and building still standing.
The Colloseum at Night
The Colloseum area does come alive during the summer evening with musicians and artist abound. the setting sun gives an amazing ambience to the area.
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi fountain was one of the first places we visited in Rome and what a beautiful place to hang out. It was super busy given the season and one of the more interesting observation was one of the police men who was super attentive and whistled intensly at anyone sitting on the fountain wall.
Around the Trevi fountain are a number of gelato places check them out if you have time.
Panthenon
Close to the Trevi Fountain is the Pantheon, the building is has a lovely dome. There are a lot of those in Rome the distinguishing feature is a hole on at the top of the dome. It makes for interesting viewing in the rain which didnt occur for us on this occasion.
Here's a view of dome from the Pantheon:
If you go to the Pantheon in additional the long queues there are a lot of gelato places there go and try them. You dont need to book for this place its free for all.
St Peter's Basilica
There are definitely queues for St.Peter's Basilica we choose not to buy tickets on line so we queued for roughly one hour and twenty minutes. It is not advised to do this as the afternoon sun is thunderous. The queue curves around the piazza but is constantly moving.
Buying the tickets is simple and there is an audio guide that I'm told is good. As you come to the entrance the epic scale of the building is apparent.
The basilica is an artistic masterpiece housing Michelangelo's Pieta close to the entrance. As you walk through there are various sculptures and the scale of the place is breathtaking
If you are reasonably fit and can climb in the region of 500 steps you should climb to the top of the dome. Tickets to climb are separate and there is separate queuing point off to the side before you enter the Basilica.
Pictures above are from the first level of the dome looking up at the dome and also down below. At this level you can see the designs and mosaics up close. The stairs to this point do narrow and can be awkward but generally negotiable by all ages assuming a basic level of fitness. There is a level higher to the very top of he dome where you can get view across Rome - see below.
We took our time in exploring the Basilica using the rest of the day to wonder around the city. Walking across to the Piazza del Popolo a large square with fountains and then through the small streets of Rome
The Vatican
Our last full day in Rome was reserved for the Vatican Museums and specifically to see the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican museums are obviously interesting with the at and visually striking corridors. We had seem them before but my favourite rooms are the map room and obviously the Sistine Chapel. There is no photography allowed inside the Sistine Chapel and we did stay true to work and admired the creation with our own eyes.
Above are some of the wonderful shots from the Vatican taken as we walked through the museum. You do need to book your Vatican trip in advance ideally we book ours a couple of days ahead and only had certain slots available. So if you can book 3-4 days ahead at least that would be ideal.
Lastly a few random photos of other things we saw in Rome that I liked. There was a lot of security given the terrorism alerts across Europe but some of the vehicles were menacing.
