Rome

Wow...what a city. We've just returned from a fantastic extended weekend in Rome, and after three hard days of sightseeing we had to take a day off by the pool to get our energy back.

We flew in on the Friday night, and after checking in jumped in a taxi to Piazza Navarro – mostly because if we vaguely said 'take us to the city centre' we were afraid we'd be permanently lost in a back-street. We needn't have worried – Rome is brimming with landmarks (you almost can't round a corner without finding one) so it is never too hard to regain your bearings (no matter how many winding streets you go down). We grabbed dinner in the Piazza, and if we paid tourist prices for the food, the setting (right in front of a beautiful fountain) more than made up for it.

Saturday was dedicated to Renaissance Rome, and shopping. We started at the Spanish steps with all the other tourists, and made our way north along Via Del Corso past big-name designer shops to the imposing Piazza del Poppolo, then back down along Via del Babuino, filled with more boutiquey names. This brought us down to the Trevi Fountain, where we grabbed a gelato and gawked along with the crowd – the fountain covers the side of a building and is more impressive than anything we've seen before.

The Spanish steps

A random doorway just near the Spanish steps

From the Trevi Fountain we lost ourselves in back-streets, heading vaguely in the direction of Piazza del Campo (our dinner spot) but checking out whatever took our fancy along the way. We stumbled across the Pantheon (a huge domed structure from Ancient Rome, preserved from the sad fate that faced many of the Roman buildings – being used as a quarry by Rome's residents – by its consecration as a church), and more statues, churches and monuments than exist in the entirety of most cities. Piazza del Campo and the alleys around it were buzzing with life, and a great atmosphere for dinner.

Trevi fountain, along with everyone else in Rome

The Pantheon

We had dinner in a place facing he French embassy which occupies the Farnese Palace. They left one light burning, giving just a taste of the artwork and treasures inside.

Sunday was dedicated to Ancient Rome. As you ascend the escalators out of the metro, the first thing that you see is the Colosseum – it is everything that you imagine it to be, its jagged-edged bulk rearing out of the piazza. We went first to the Palitanate Hill above it, where the largest ruins are strewn about the hillside (top tip – the ticket from the Palitanate works for the Colosseum too, which lets you skip the queue at the Colosseum). They are still part-buried by the hillside on the side closest to the Colosseum, so it wasn't until we came to the other side of the hill and realised that we were actually three or four stories up that the scale of the construction became evident.

The Colosseum does not disappoint

It was the first place that we've been with ancient structures to rival Egypt in scale, although disappointingly they were mostly brick, not the marble or stone that is normally associated with ancient Rome. The comparison with Ephesus (in Turkey) was stark – Ephesus was beautiful, but on a much smaller scale; the ancient Roman ruins were massive, but aside from a few spots in the Forum, much plainer.

The Roman Forum

After the Colosseum we were ruined-out, so took a couple of hours by the pool to recharge before crossing the river to the Trastevere area for dinner. As well as bars and restaurants lining the riverbank, the side-streets and alleyways were full of places that looked and smelled great – it became our favourite dining area. The restaurant we went to the first time was good, but when we came back the next day our LP led us to La Gensola Tratorria – simply sublime. We had the set menu, which three different antipasto plates, each a combination unlike anything we'd had before, and each genius (but I can't tell you what they were because the menu was only in Italian), a fantastic tuna pasta, grilled squid that was cooked just-so, and a chocolate pudding that looked heavy but was deliciously light – all delivered to the table with fantastic service.

Monday was dedicated to the Vatican city; our top tip #2 is to buy tickets in advance via the website to skip the queues (which otherwise stretch around the block). Since it was an early start, we picked up coffee Italian-style on the way, drinking it right at the bar, before entering the Vatican Museum itself. The place is jaw-dropping in scope, and cleverly arranged so that it just keeps getting better and better, with each room containing more impressive art, before you enter the Sistine Chapel for the main event. Even with the crowds it is amazing – it would be a magical place to be by yourself. The audio guide does a great job of bringing it alive.

Some shots from inside the Vatican Museum

We paused after the Sistine Chapel for lunch and a chance to regain our breath, before rounding the corner to St Peters and having our jaws drop again. The opening in front of the Basilica is a marvellous space, while the Basilica itself is overwhelming in detail and sheer volume of accumulated sculptures and decorated niches. The dome (cupola) is definitely worth a visit, too – we eschewed the elevator as being too cramped and full of sweaty people for our liking, and climbed all 515 stairs; the views (both inside the Basilica looking down, and outside looking out across Rome) were worth it!

Outside St Peters

Inside St Peters

A view of the Basilica from inside the dome looking down

St Peters Square from the top of the dome

Rome laid out in all its glory

Our final half-day in Rome was spent by the pool, just soaking up the sunshine – everybody warned us against going in August, but if you can handle the heat it was great. The city didn't seem crowded at all (since apparently most of the locals are on holidays) and the weather was sunny every day. So – good food, great sights, fantastic weather – what more could you want!