When visiting Rome, many look forward to the endless historic and colossal architectural structures, the Italian cuisine or even the strong religious bearing over the capital city. All of these are mere factors as to why Rome is so well renowned as a tourist hot spot. But what you may not anticipate about visiting the Italian capital, is the sheer volume of tourists that flood the city, resulting in all surrounding areas of key places of interest incurring heavy inflation in prices relative to the rest of the city.
I possibly visited at a prime time, in the peak of summer in August, with sweltering temperatures of around 30 degrees centigrade, which was supposedly considered “mild” with normal temperatures apparently ranging even up to 50 degrees! Being British, naturally not accustomed to any temperatures exceeding 20 degrees, this was an obstacle during my stay. Luckily, there is an abundance of buildings to provide shade, and also many fresh water fountains scattered around, providing easy access to water if you were to walk around the city.
That seemed to be all we did, as there was so much to see in just 5 days, we averaged at least 15km every day, so I would advise to pack shoes that are comfortable to walk in, with many cobbled streets and tramlines to be wary of.
I was fortunate to be visiting a friend resident to the city, hence, for any longer journeys we were able to rent small electric cars available to locals, much like a self-driving version of Uber. I found this both impressive and scary, with it sometimes being difficult to distinguish a road from a walkway, resulting in several close shaves.
Rome possessed an abundance of classic cars, including small hatchbacks, mainly Fiats, and I was able to capture an almost pristine-looking vintage moped with a sidecar. Therefore, the addition of this new electric car didn’t seem at all out of place.
Having someone with extensive knowledge of the area was very beneficial, being exposed to a multitude of attractions unknown to the vast amounts of tourists present, as well as knowing the best times to visit the main attractions such as the Colosseum & St Peter’s Basilica etc. Unique to Rome, all of the city’s main attractions are lit up at night, with the night time being the best time to venture out into the city, both with fewer tourists and also a more moderate temperature not requiring you to gasp for air every step.
Most days in Rome we stayed out until the early hours of the morning, with the opportunity to pass by local bakeries just preparing their food for the coming day, enjoying the luxury of food fresh out of the oven. This was just one of the examples why Rome has been the best place I have visited with regards to food, if you are looking for a foodie holiday, look no further. I am generally quite averse to cheese, but I think I ate more cheese in 5 days than in a lifetime! When you think about Italian cuisine, your mind might immediately focus on the stereotypical foods such as wine, grapes, cheese, pizza and pasta; and you would be completely right! Once you have tried all of the wonderful flavours on offer here, Dominos and Ben & Jerry’s will never be the same and you will always be longing for a return to Rome to try it one last time.
We stayed close to the Trevi Fountain, so close you could hear the water, and one morning went for coffee at the Sant’ Eustachio il caffe located, just next to the famous Pantheon. Due to this, prices were high but well worth it, as I bought some chocolate-coated coffee beans, to take back home, but they didn’t last much longer than the flight. With all this excellent food, however, the crème de la crème had to be the GELATO! It was almost customary to have at least one every single day, as it was a perfect snack for the scorching heat of the city. There must have been almost a gelato store for every street in the city!
As we all know Rome is blessed with stunning architecture, none more famous than the Colosseum. Sadly, I didn’t venture inside the colossal structure, one of the few drawbacks of visiting at night, but it was a sight to behold even from the outside. There are a multitude of basilicas located throughout the city, with everyone forcing me to bask in the stunning craftsmanship of marble interiors. Fun fact, basilicas are distinguishable from churches due to primarily outranking them, but also being shaped similar to the cross.
Another monumental sight is none other than St. Peter’s Basilica, arguably with the prime location to view this being The Aventine Keyhole, providing a row of trees leading out on to the largest church in the world. I tried to digitally capture this spectacle, but a phone camera can only do so much...
Apart from the impressive man-made structures on show, Rome also has a plethora of natural gardens on offer, including the Villa Borghese Gardens, the 3rd largest public park in Rome after the Villa Doria Pamphili and Villa Ada, from which you can capture stunning panoramic views of the city from Terrazza Del Pincio.
Other places I was told were a must see in Italy, included Florence, Sicily, numerous areas along the south coast and Sardinia. But for now, it was a pleasure to experience Rome in all its glory and eagerly await my next venture back to Italy.
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