Honeymoon in Rome Italy for 2 Days
Monday, August 28, 2017
#WalkwithChaMikeinRome
I've been wanting to visit Rome ever since I watched the classic film Roman Holiday and my all-time fave movie, Gladiator. Visiting all these historical landmarks I saw from various movies and read on history books made me appreciate Rome more. Rome is the capital of Italy, a city that has a perfect mixture of ancient & cosmopolitan making it an excellent place for tourists to visit. We spent 2 days in Rome 'doing what the Romans do.'
Be Marveled by the Grandness of the Colosseum
The iconic Colosseo. It is the most famous landmark in Rome and even in the whole of Italy. Built during the ancient Roman Empire 70 AD, the Colosseum is the largest amphitheater ever built. Because Mike and I were very much eager to visit and know more about its history, we decided to book a special tour where we went to the areas not allowed by ordinary ticket holders. On a separate post, soon.
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| Colosseum |
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| A special area for special paying visitors is the same spot where Princess Ann and Joe had a conversation. OMG! |
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| Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) and Joe (Gregory Peck) on the same spot as ours! |
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| Colosseum at night |
A rectangular plaza ruins of government buildings during the Ancient Roman times. The ticket here is the same ticket of the Colosseum. Will post more of the Roman Forum soon.
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| Roman Forum |
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| The only remains of the Roman Forum |
The largest baroque fountain in the city and the most famous in the world. Tourists go here to throw coins over their shoulders as the legend says that if you throw a coin in the fountain you'll surely return to Rome. Throw a second coin to seek love, and third for wedding bells! As for me and Mike, our wishes were neither to return nor to seek true love & wed (we're already married) but our wish was to have a baby which came true after 2 months!
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| Trevi Fountain |
How to go:
Metro | Barberini Station
Bus | Bus 40 express
Opening Time:
Open Daily
Ticket Fee:
FREE
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| From the Barberini Station walked around 8 minutes going to the Trevi |
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| Look how grand it is! |
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| There is a flock of tourists when we went there. It was so hard looking for a good spot to take photos |
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| The Trevi Fountain from our GoPro |
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| At last, a trick shot - no people around! |
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| When you throw a coin facing back over your shoulder means you'll visit Rome again |
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| Roughly € 3,000 worth of coins are thrown everyday. These coins were given to a charitable institute called Caritas |
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| Another shot where zero people were around! |
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| A #ChaMikiss at the Trevi fountain of course |
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| Accidentally visited this beauty again at night! |
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| The wish came true quickly. We were back in the fountain :) |
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| The fountain has its own charm at night. It looked so regal. |
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| This has been featured in many films including Roman Holiday and Lizzie Maguire the movie |
A great place to sit and relax after long hours of walking. The Spanish Steps was built in order to link Trinita Dei Monti Church under the patronage of the king of France, with the Spanish Square below. This was also the spot in one of the famous scenes from the movie Roman Holiday where Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) ate a gelato while talking to Joe (Gregory Peck).
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| Spanish Steps |
How to go:
Metro | Line A, Spagna Station
Bus | No buses are allowed here as it is a pedestrian zone area
Opening Time:
Open Daily
Ticket Fee:
FREE
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| The step's unique design and elegance made it very popular for tourists |
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| The Spanish Square packed with tourists |
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| Chanelling Princess Ana |
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| Fontana della Barcaccia of the Fountain of the old boat |
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| A scene from Roman Holiday |
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| My own version of Gregory Peck |
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| Tried to look for a gelato but there were none in sight |
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| The Spanish Steps is the widest stairway in Europe |
Located in Piazza della Rotonda is another spectacular site. The Pantheon was a former Roman temple now a church. Well-known for the large granite Corinthian columns. It is also a burial place for several important Italians like Raphael, and two kings of Italy.
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| The Pantheon |
Metro | no metro nearby, we walked from the Spanish Steps going here
Bus | No buses are allowed here as it is a pedestrian zone area
The Piazza is open daily
For the church
Monday - Saturday | 9:00 am - 7:15 pm
Sunday | 9:00 am - 5:45 pm
Public Holidays | 9:00 am - 12:45 pm
*Closed on some national holidays and if mass is on going
Ticket Fee:
FREE
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| Until the 20th century, the Pantheon was the largest concrete structure in the world |
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| From the Spanish Steps we walked for 17 minutes to go here |
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| Piazza della Rotonda is crowded with tourists, vendors and locals. It wasn't the cleanest sight. |
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| The church was already closed when we got here so we just roamed around the square |
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| One of the best preserved ancient buildings |
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| Ristorante caffe da Claudia |
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| G. Rocca Cafe |
Ride a motorcycle
As what the saying goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romas do.' That's exactly what we did - we rented a scooter and went around Rome. Another MUST on my list is to ride a scooter. One of Mike and I's favorite activities when we travel is to ride a bike whether it's a motor bike or a bicycle so we had to try it during our visit to Rome.
Treno e Scooter Rental
I pre-booked a scooter at Treno e Scooter Rental which I saw on the net. We rode a Piaggo Liberty for € 30 a day with GPS. We availed in advance so we got a 20% discount. We used it for only 2 hours but the trip was so worth it!
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| Scooter Ride |
Metro | Roma Termini
Located in front of Rome's Termini railway Station, in the middle of Piazza Dei Cinquecento, inside the parking area near the cashier
Opening Time:
Daily | 9 am - 7 pm
Rate:
For more information about renting a scooter, visit the site HERE
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| Treno e Scooter Rental - Pay, get the scooter, get your helmet |
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| Aside from helmets, a lock was also provided for parking |
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| Availed a GPS for € 5. It was so useful. |
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| It was just my second time to ride a scooter. So I'm a bit rusty. |
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| It was Mike's first time. So. Good luck. |
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| Figuring out how this scooter works. It was so hard I almost gave up. |
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| Because I couldn't figure out how to do it, we were even thinking of returning it until Mike tried it for the first time |
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| He was able to learn how to drive |
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| First we were just going around in circles |
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| Then we got bored and started to use the GPS |
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| He became an expert rider in a jiffy and was able to figure out a way to go to the Colosseum |
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| And after a few minutes, we were at the Colosseum! Huraaaah!!! Such an accomplishment. |
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| The main reason I wanted to ride a scooter is because of Roman Holiday (again) |
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| Ann and Joe riding a vespa around the Colosseum |
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| We paid for a whole day rental but only used it for 2 hours just for the experience. It was one exhilarating ride! |
Eat Italian Cuisine
It was our last city in Italy so we figured we might as well eat authentic Italian pasta and pizza; we tried several restaurants.
First lunch in Rome was in front of the Colosseum. It was the first restaurant we saw after our Colosseum tour and because we were so hungry, we weren't able to look for other options. I didn't remember, or should I say I was forced to forget the name of the restaurant as it was one of the worst Italian restaurants we tried. The food wasn't at all appealing and delicious, even the service sucks.
Bianca con 4 Formaggi e Mozzarella | € 12
Pizza with four cheese
Spaghetti al Pomodoro e Basilico | € 10
Pasta with tomato and basil sauce
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| Carbo loading |
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| Pomodor |
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| Quatro Formaggi Pizza |
Dined in one of the restaurants in front of the Pantheon. Chose a seat outside so we could people watch.
Fettucine Pomodor r Basilico |€ 13
Pasta with tomato and basil
Gnocchi 4 Formaggi | € 15
Potato dumplings in cheese sauce
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| Ristorante caffe da Claudia |
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| Fettucine Pomodoro |
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| Gnocchi Quatro Formaggi |
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| Our last dinner in Rome |
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| A restaurant overlooking the Pantheon |
Eat Gelato
Gelato or Italian ice cream is celebrated as much as pasta so eating gelato is a must in Rome. We tried a popular gelato brand named Venchi which has different branches all over Italy and some of cities in Europe. Mike and I shared a cone with a scoop of chocolate and pistachio.
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| Venchi |
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| Located around the pedestrian zone of Piazza della Rotonda |
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| Our chocolate and pistachio cone gelato |
Side Trip to the Vatican City
The Vatican City is a state surrounded by Rome. It is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and is the home of the Pope. Allotted a whole day to visit this city-state to meet the Pope up close and to see the marvelous Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. A separate post soon.
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| Vatican City |
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| Hello, Pope Francis! |
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| Vatican Museum |
The two full days in Rome weren't enough. We skipped a few attractions on our list because of the limited time we had. We supposedly planned for a 3-day tour in Rome but unfortunately airfare rate from Rome to Nice would double if we would spend another day in Rome. So I do hope that our wish at the Trevi Fountain would come true so that we could come back to Rome and complete the things on our list.
Next stop. Nice, France!
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