ROME TRAVEL DIARY

Hello all, the time has come for another travel diary. I recently took a trip to Rome with the bf for my 22nd Birthday, so I wanted to share my experience as we had an amazing time - I also did another post recently about why you should visit in the winter, so check that out if you haven't already. 

We got into Rome pretty early on our first day so headed straight to our Air bnb. Luckily the owner was super nice and let us check in early so we didn't have to waste our morning lurking around with a hella lot of luggage. I'd definitely recommend Air bnb, we got such a good deal and our apartment was sooo central and cute, everything we wanted to see was a small walk away in any direction. 

I always thought I was pretty good with a map, turns out I'm not, we got lost as soon as we stepped out the door. Unintentionally, we ended up at the Victor Emmanuel II Monument (other wise known as the wedding cake) which was pretty beaut and had some great views. 

We actually planned to have a chilled first day to get our bearings but we kept accidentally turning up at monuments and sites we'd planed for another day. Checking out the Roman forum was not on the days agenda, but it was pretty breathtaking to see, especially by accident.

Yano when somewhere is so breath taking, your eyes pop out your head? This obviously happened and I broke the only pair of sunglasses I brought with me. I mean, It wasn't like I could break them any other way, like by flicking my hair back mid selfie, Pantene pro v style..

I don't know how you accidentally end up at the biggest monument in Italy, but we did, and we couldn't really turn ourselves away from the colosseum once we'd arrived.

I'm not usually suckered in by ticket men, but we got talking to some guy and ended booking onto a tour. We haggled a little and It basically ended up being the tiniest bit more expensive than the standard ticket and it saved us waiting in line to get in. 

 History is neither Ash's nor my forte, and I normally prefer to read up in my own time and wander around without a flock. However this tour was so engaging and took us all around the coliseum; under ground where they kept the animals and fighters then to the very top where the women were seated - women were lower ranked than slaves at that time, how typical. Most of this could only be accessed by tours, so it was worth while and super interesting - I'd definitely recommend it.

 The view from the very top was insane - especially in the golden hour of the day. 

The only problemo with tours is that some people ask the most pointless questions. I'm all for a interesting question, but the sun was setting, I was getting hangry (we hadn't eaten all day, due to getting lost and turning up at the colosseum and forum drama) and right at that point I did not care to know which type of brick this was.

Anywho, we made it out and obviously had to spend our evening demolishing our first lot of Pizza and wine, which was suuuuuurrr good. We were in one of the most touristy areas of Rome, so most of  the restaurants were big touristy chains which I'd stay clear of, but luckily we came across this little beauty and it was amazing.

Day 2! Time to throw a few coins in the Trevi fountain! We actually started of our day with the second part of the tour, which would take us around the Roman Forum. There is only 2% left of what used to be, so we mostly learnt about the history and random trivia.

Do you know where the term 'wrong end of the stick' came from? The roman outhouse obviously had no lights and toilet role didn't exist, so the Romans used to use a sponge on a twig instead.. So you can guess what happens if you get the wrong end of that stick.

We spent the rest of the day wondering the streets between the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona - there are so many windy streets round here full of restaurants and gelato stores. We found the most amazing authentic Italian restaurant which was recommended by our Air bnb host (can't remember the name but it was on the street, Via Di Parione).

The Trevi fountain was of course, rammed with tourists fresh off the plane. It was beautiful but we did just have to slip into the front to take a look and make a quick escape, before we were knocked out with a selfie stick. 

I'd suggest taking a trip in the night time, it's LIT literally. 

We always end up having the same meal as each other every time we go out - which is quite good for me because it means I wont get food envy. 

This area of Rome is buzzing in the day but once it gets past dinner time, everyone seams to go into a food coma and disappear. Maybe it's down to all the looky looky men trying to ask your name and give you a 'free' bracelet (Do I look like i'm gonna fall for your shit?!) or the old man that can't actually play guitar but holds it and waits for your money.. but anyway as we found out on the next night, it's definitely not the best spot to have a few and get tiddled. 

Nevertheless, we still had a lovely evening slurping down lots of bubbly Moscato. 

Day 3 was a Saturday, so we took a trip to the local market which was super cute. I replaced my bloody sunglasses and we sampled, probably too much, Limoncello at 11am. 

Times like these really make me want to learn another language, although it is always fun when you're tying to break the language barrier with locals and you end up in a game of charades.

We used the rest of our day to take a trip to the Vatican city. We did plan to go inside but when we got there the queue was so long (a good couple of hours), tours were quite pricey, and by this point all we'd heard was that it's extremely busy and most of the day you waste queuing even once you're inside.  I know it's beautiful but we aren't religious or museum advocates, so we weighed up our options and decided no to go in and just admired it from the outside.

Technically we crossed the line, so we did visit another country for a few minutes..

Vatican sacked off, we mooched around eating (what's new?), before heading home with a bottle of wine. Turns out there was a few games lurking about, so we got ready and pumped up for a good game of twister before heading out.

We then spent the evening around the S.maria in Trastevere area. This was the best place we found for night life, every little street was lined with endless choices of restaurants, pubs and bars. 

As we had such a nice night in S.maria in Trastevere, we went back for our final day, which was even more beautiful in the day time. This is were we had the BEST PIZZA EVER. We definitely ended on a high on the pizza scale.

LOOK AT THAT BEAUTY (the pizza not Ash)

We wanted to have a nice relaxed day, and the sun was shining again so we wandered around soaking up our last day in Rome with gelato in hand. 

That's all for Rome! Bye or now.

9 Perfectly plausible reasons to visit Rome in the winter!

                You know the drill - it's been way to many months since you've seen the sun and if you                            look at one more amazing Instagram, you're going to cry (or is that just me!?).  

       I spent countless hours googling cheap winter getaways, with the majority of searches listing the snowy, in-season, and not to mention expensive, top spots or some fab places that I've already visited;    such as Paris, Amsterdam, Prague etc. Finally, 7364 flight searches in I decided on Rome, which                               turns out to be a great (yet unexpected) winter getaway! Here's why...

1. Less tourists

This is definitely the biggest selling point. Rome has tourists all year around, as you'd expect, however being in Rome in January was so care free. I've heard the stories and seen photos of peak season and every street is jam packed with tourists, especially around the coliseum and Trevy fountain. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a ghost town, but we walked freely around the whole city and didn't have a second thought about other tourists getting in our way.

2. Better photos

My partner and I absolutely love photography, so visiting Rome when the sites and streets are emptier was a massive perk. It's bliss taking a photo that's not blurred after being barged into the road mid pic and getting a clear shot of the coliseum, without Aunt Sandra, from Glasgow's mug shot in front of the frame, spoiling your beautiful candid. 

3. Smaller queues/No pre-booking

Without spending a summer in Rome, I couldn't say how long you have to wait in line for the biggest sites or if you ever need to book (from what i've heard, it's a long old wait), but on our first day we ended up at the coliseum and just 5-10 minutes later we were inside. We actually ended up doing a guided tour, which was not planned but was amazing - I will go into this more in my travel diary which is coming soon. Less time queuing = more time eating.

4. It's the perfect temperature

I personally love being hot and in the sun, but when theres no beach nearby and you're walking around all day, surrounded by people, it's not all it's cracked up to be. We were very lucky with the weather! We went at the end of January and every day was sunny, with temps of around 12°C. Half the time I didn't even need a coat and could dress for (English) Autumn. Even if it's not so warm, It will still likely be above freezing and you can snuggle up in your winter bests and maybe even see a bit of snow, if you're lucky!

5. It's cheaper

It goes without saying that off peak is a whole lot cheaper. When I first checked out the flights for January, prices were just £40 return! (To get these deals make sure you check out Sky Scanner to find the cheapest airline, preferably book on a weekday, and make sure you delete your cookies before finally booking). It's not just the flights though, of course all tourist operators are slightly desperate, so you can easily haggle yourself a good bargin (leaving you with more money for pizza, yay!).

6. It's easier to book last minute and get some amazing accommodation

Rolling on from the last point, accommodation is obviously a lot cheaper, so you can grab yourself a bit of luxury for your money. We had a look around and Air B&B was by far our best bet (first experience with them was amazing, I feel like i'm becoming an ambassador). There were so many options, but we finally chose an little arty apartment, that couldn't be more central to everything! (Although everything is walking distance, so being central isn't essential) Best of all, we booked this less that 2 weeks in advance! (Under £100 each for 3 nights). 

7. Outside dining

One (out of an ongoing list) thing I love about traveling around Europe is eating - but not just because of the food. Almost everywhere has outside dining, so you can soak up the beautiful scenery and architecture whilst you slurpe up your carbonara.  The reason this has made my list, is almost every restaurant was complete with outside heaters. So you don't miss out on the atmosphere and not to mention, you get that natural light - got to get a good food pic for your Insta. When in rome, ay.

8. You'll eat and drink more!

Some may not call this a perk, but it's definitely making my list. When it reaches the cooler months, all I tend to think about is food and drink! Italian is one of my favourite types of food and I absolutely LOVE a glass of Italian white wine. Everyday I looked forward to warming myself up by going face first into a pizza. In my eyes, getting to make the most out of more amazing dishes should be my number 1 travel tip!

Budget tip - we made eggs on toast every morning in our apartment, to save money for a luxurious lunch, dinner and not to forget, endless gelato! 

9. Hot chocolate

Final one, I discovered near the end of the trip (sadly), that Italian hot chocolate is amazing! Forget your typical watery, 19 cal machine cuppa, every mug I drank was almost pure melted chocolate - So thick and creamy! You can't enjoy mug after mug of this when it's 30°C outside. 

All in all, Rome would be incredible all year round, so why not enjoy the out of season perks! So, what are you waiting for?! Don't sit inside with the winter blues, book yourself a flight, grab a buddy and get going!