I have some awesome photos and memories to share from ROMA! Also, now that I'm back in the USA (SO happy to be back) my dad said that I have to finish up blog posts and I can't just leave everyone hanging. Here goes...
Whew. Those 3 full days flew by, but I can officially say that Rome was one of my absolute favorites. There is so much to see and everything is pretty close together. Most of it is free or relatively cheap to visit. And, most importantly, they have GELATO in Rome. That's a win in my book.
I had booked our Easy Jet flights a few months in advance and hadn't really looked at the reservation until they got to Switzerland. Our plane left at 6:50am. I think the total cost for three round trip tickets cost somewhere in the $60 range...hence why it took off at such an obnoxiously early hour.
Since public transportation doesn't run that early we hoofed it to the train station and caught the first train to the airport at 4:43 AM. Thankfully we traveled light with just backpacks and I only live about 15 minutes from the train station.
We got to the Rome airport and bought our bus tickets to the city. When we boarded the worn out looking tour bus I had a goofy feeling that it would be quite the ride. We only had a few minutes before it took off so we were one of the last ones on and were in the back row. Holy smokes. Traffic in Rome is absolutely CRAZY. The city is so loud compared to extremely quiet Geneva. So, we spent 45 minutes (felt like much longer) on an old tour bus that's celing was rattling apart and about to fall off, driven by a psycho driver who was a little too harsh on the brake and gas pedal.
Leaving that bus a little sick feeling we piled onto another crowded city bus for only a few minutes this time. Rome's public transportation was actually pretty terrible from what I experienced, but we walked most of the time so didn't have to rely on it. I think we were all a little bit worried after the crazy arrival, but Rome definitely did not disappoint!
We got started right away and saw a lot of the major landmarks in the city. It was so cool because you could round a corner and stumble over something that you weren't expecting. Mom led us around with her Rick Steves travel guide, which was actually really handy. We found an awesome restaurant that was recommended in the book and met the two owners. They were so fun and excited to see us. After the meal we were talking and Teo invited us back to see the kitchen and then insisted that we try the sauce he was cooking. Right from the spoon. It was so cool and worth it to venture into this little neighborhood for this gem.
Here's another gem: Giolitti. This place sells magic on a cone called gelato. We went here every day we were in Rome. So good. I tried the pistachio, carmelized fig, date, coffee, and tirimisu. They all came with a homemade whipped cream on top. SO GOOD. It was worth every calorie.
Carmelized fig and Pistachio.
I could go on and on about everything we saw and did in Roma, but it would honestly take forever. We were blessed with beautiful weather and saw many historic landmarks, and met some extremely kind and genuine people. I'm so glad my parents and I got to have this experience together!