DOING ITALY IN FOUR DAYS: PART ONE

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Correction...a few Italian cities in four days! Where did I go? Rome, Naples and Pompeii for a four day holiday. And what a hot, sunny, fun, jam-packed, pizza filled holiday it was! I've already posted a cheeky video of Rome here, so make sure you check it out! 

Two days in Rome: was it enough? I'd say for a taste of Rome, it was perfect. I made sure we saw (my housemate, Matty was my travel buddy) all the main/iconic sites and spend the rest of the time wandering around the Roman streets. 

The Colosseum was spectacular. Originally, we were just going to wait in line and check out the site by ourselves. However, we were persuaded into doing a tour, which was absolutely fantastic! If I can remember the name of the touring company, I'll write it in this post (update: still can't remember). Our tour led by the most knowledgable and hilarious Roman woman, took us through the Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine Hill. I learnt so much about the history of the city - I don't know how much I retained, but it was all so fascinating. I did learn that in the Colosseum, Gladiators were rarely used... mainly Jewish slaves (who built the Colosseum, may I add) were used as a source of entertainment. Barbaric, but that's the way it went down back in those days. 

The Palatine Hill...wow. The view was breathtaking. Photos are good but they do not do it justice. It's one of the Seven Hills of Rome, and stands above the Roman Forum. Many photos were taken at this location. Many, many, many photos. Of course, I had to make sure I was in some of them. As you can see, I went for the ultimate tourist look, camera bag and all. 

Capitoline Hill was the most majestic, yet intimidating piece of architecture I've ever seen in my life.  I guess I found it intimidating because of the chariot statues at the top of the building. I don't know... it just seemed larger than life. I was lost for words...I'm still lost for words! It is another one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Hopefully the next few snaps will explain what I mean by "intimidating".

Of course, the other two infamous sites of Rome are the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. Being the ultimate tourist, I made sure I threw a coin into the fountain. Here's hoping I will return to Rome very soon! 

Our second day in Rome, the only solid plan we had was to visit Vatican City late that night. So, with that in mind, we spend the day leisurely exploring, travelling along the river and sweating. We found museums, we found views to die for and we found the Spanish Steps (I'm sure we are all familiar with these from the Lizzie McGuire Movie?). 

If I could recommend anything for Rome, book a tour for Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel at night. There was something spectacular about going in the dark. I mean, I can't compare it to go going during the day because it was still extremely busy, but it was such a nice thing to do at night! My only regret was not being able to get some decent outside photos. Oh well, like I said, I'll be back Rome! 

Would I go back to Rome? Yes! The city is buzzing, it's historical and it spells like pizza. I probably would avoid the main tourist sites. Actually, I lie. I may chuck another coin in the Trevi Fountain. But, I think it would be great to explore more of the lesser known parts of Rome. I would also go back just for the gelato. That's a valid reason to go back, right?

Now, to be honest, I thought I was going to fit a small selection of photos from my entire trip (including Naples and Pompeii) into one blog post. Yeaaahhh, that ain't going to happen. Hence, the 'PART ONE' in the title. To check out my time in Naples/Pompeii, click here!

Ciao! x