So it's official, I left my heart in Italy.
♥️Italy has definitely become my new favorite place on earth. I never wanted to leave. You all know how that feeling when you're on vacation and the last few days you're itching to get back home? Well, I never had that feeling.
We did SO many different things while in Rome and Florence that I figured the easiest way to share my trip with you would be to break it down by day and then by city. You can read my
Florence Recap Blog Post Here. I just want to add that if you are considering a trip to Italy- absolutely do it! It'll change your life. I think every place I am sharing with you was
amazing, so I hope this gives you some guidance if you are planning at trip. Also, feel free to reach out to me if you have any specific questions!
Thursday
We arrived to the Leonardo De Vinci International Airport at 6:30pm which was about a 40 minute drive to our hotel. We ended up hop
ping on The Leonardo Express, a Trenitalia train to the Roma Termini (Roma Central Train Station). It was 28 € for me and Rob. The train ride was quick and relaxing. There is a lot of traffic in Rome so I personally feel that public transit/walking is way quicker than taxi. Our first hotel was a 20 minute walk from Termini Station.
We grabbed our first Italian dinner at
Fuocolento. They have the cutest outdoor seating and the food and service was awesome. After dinner we walked around and explored a little bit before heading to back to our hotel for bed.
Friday
We started off our day by heading back to Roma Termini to pick up our "Roma Passes". There are a few different options for Roma Passes but we chose the 48 hour pass. This allowed you to ride public transportation for 48 hours. I must say, although public transit is faster than taxis- it can be hit or miss. There were times we couldn't get on a train or bus because it was too full, and there were times when it showed up to the stop 15 minutes delayed. Patience is key in Italy. 😂
After getting our passes we checked into our AirBnB and then headed out for the day. It was HOT everyday, but especially on Friday. We got to the Trevi Fountain around 1pm and we were sooo sweaty lol. I loved being able to see it in person. I had my Lizzie McGuire moment, obvi! After snapping a few pics we wandered into a nearby restaurant to cool off with a nice cold beverage and then proceeded to wander around the city.
Around 5pm we headed back to the AirBnB to shower and get ready for dinner. We found a rooftop restaurant called
Restaurante Rossini, which is on top of a hotel that was only a few steps away from where we were staying. The atmosphere, food and service was incredible! They had a live musician playing the entire time and we were able to see the sunset. I'd highly recommend visiting this restaurant if you are looking for a rooftop dinner.
At night we ventured over to a bar called
Voodoo Bar. This was definitely one of the coolest experiences we have ever had. It felt like you stepped into a tropical oasis and there were like six different bar areas (maybe more) scattered all over the area, along with pools, live performers, tiki torches everywhere, etc. We definitely stayed out way too late for our 8am four hour tour the next day. I will say I was surprised when I saw their poor reviews on TripAdvisor. I can only speak on the night scene, if you're looking for a party you definitely need to check it out.
Saturday
We woke up bright and early to head to a four hour tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. The early morning was so worth it. We booked
this Colosseum, Pantheon and Roman Forum Tour through TripAdvisor. We met our tour group at 8:30am and the tour started at 9am. I highly recommend booking a tour to visit the large attractions, because there were already long lines when we arrived and luckily we were able to skip past them. It is also interesting to learn about the history vs. just wandering around by yourself and wondering what took place. Being able to see the Colosseum in person was the best experience!
We were so tired after our tour that we did as the locals do and took a siesta: aka a short nap that's taken in the afternoon after a midday meal. After we woke up, we headed out to explore and get some pizza.
We went to dinner at
L'Angelo Do Napoli and enjoyed some live music. I recommend the margherita pizza at L'Angelo's. After dinner we headed towards the Colosseum to see it lit up at night. It was just as amazing as during the day.
We left Rome at 8am and headed to Florence by train! We booked this roundtrip train ride a few weeks before our trip through ItaliaRail. It was about 80 euros for both me and Rob. Our train ride was only an 1 and 1/2 ride and the seats were comfortable and there were outlets to charge electronics. The views were so beautiful.
Monday
We left Florence by train around 4:30pm got back into Rome around 6pm. We checked into our last hotel and then headed out on the town. For our last night in Rome we decided to check out the Trastevere neighborhood for dinner. This neighborhood was beautiful and probably my favorite! It is picture perfect and filled with SO many different restaurant options. We ate dinner at
Grazia e Graziella. I highly recommend the calamari for a starter and the homemade pasta with meatballs. Rob recommends the carbonara!
Tuesday
Go home day! We just wandered around Rome and soaked up the last few hours of being in Italy. We visited the Spanish Steps and walked through the Villa Borghese Gardens. We could have spent hours walking through this large park. There was so much to see, and live musicians playing throughout. It's super romantic and highly suggest checking it out if you're looking to escape the crowded city center. We did a little shopping before hopping before heading to our flight.
