When in Roma (Part 2)

Hellloooo!!

Hope everyone is doing well! Here is When in Roma (part 2)!! If you missed what we did on our first day, then you can check it out HERE!

Ahhh Rome! Let me tell you, Rome our second day was great! I mean we just knocked it outta the park!! We bought snacks, we took our time, and just went with the flow! And I think that is what made it fun!

Day 2 Rome:

Our awesome Airbnb rental was well situated! We were close to a grocery store, Vatican and the metro station. We stopped at the grocery the night before and bought croissants, fruit and snacks! We packed our backpacks, took the metro (easy to navigate) and started our day at the famous Colosseum. We left early and made it to the Colosseum before it opened at 8:30am!

So we had breakfast! Got in line for tickets and toured it! And of course, even fit some homeschool in there!!! What better way than to read it & see it, wow!!!

Two Tips: (1) buy your tickets to the Colosseum ahead of time, or walk to the Palatine hill ticket booth and buy your tickets there. There is no line, or short line, and you view both with one ticket! We lucked out and got there before it opened, so we waited in a 5 minute line and had pretty much the entire Colosseum to ourselves.

(2) Rick Steves ( awesome Europe travel expert) has a FREE app  that you can listen to while you tour! We used it for almost all the places we visited in Rome. Or you can purchase a audio tour, but we like free 😉

After leaving the Colosseum, we toured the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. And like I said, you get it all with just one ticket! Here is the Roman Forum, remember this picture later in the post! It goes with another tip I have…..

After touring all morning, we needed a water break! One of the things we enjoyed most of all was the water fountains all over the city!!! And I am not talking room temperature water. Im talking fresh cold water! It was so good! We took advantage of the fountains the whole time we were there. Just kept refilling the same water bottle! SCORE!

We are recharged and now we’re off again! We start making our way towards the Pantheon. Prior to our trip I had received some tips from my good friend Janette. She said there is a church to the back left of the Pantheon where you can see a Michelangelo sculpture up close! Of course his most famous piece is The Pietà.  This piece is called Cristo della Minerva (Christ the Redeemer). You can find it at a beautiful church called La basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Please stop and see this beautiful church. The statue and beautiful blue ceiling is so worth it. Plus its less than 20 steps from the Pantheon!!!

So we left the church, toured the Pantheon and by that point we were starved!!! We walked to a famous Rome gelato bar named Giolitti! They also had real food too! So we stopped for lunch! As soon as we sat down, a huge downpour came! It was perfect timing!!! And wouldn’t you know as soon as we were done eating, the storm passed, ahaha! We then made our way to do some shopping! The boys wanted to see the Disney store and I had heard of a neat wooden toy store!!

After some shopping, we found our way to the Trevi fountain! Very disappointing 😦  It’s under renovation and completely drained. So we took our tired selves back to the apartment! We walked a little over 2 miles, the kids did great! Michael napped the whole way in his stroller, ahaha! We ate dinner one last time at our favorite Kebab y Pizza shop that we have been eating every night since we arrived. Said goodbye to the sweet owner Martin! Oh Italy, they have the sweetest people!

After full happy bellies, we went home to nap!!! Joel and I love touring cities but most importantly we love touring cities at night. So final tip: Try to see cities during the night time! Monuments, buildings look so different & pretty in the evening! I know I have said this in past blog posts but its so true!  And Rome at night did not fail, just gorgeous!

Yup Roman Forum but at night!!! Remember the day time picture from earlier in the day? We used a wonderful company called Tiber Limousine Service.  No we didn’t travel by limo but a nice Mercedes van with a driver named Leonardo chauffeured us all over Rome! So glad we splurged. It was nice to be driven around, have a tour guide and not mess with parking or traffic!

Our trip to Rome was great! We probably could have stayed another day and seen more! But for our boys it was perfect timing! Maybe one day Joel & I will get to come again. Maybe one day my boys will come again on their own!!! Did I fall in love with Rome? Nah! But it’s one of those cities you HAVE  to say you been to! And I am so blessed to mark Rome off my life travel bucket list!

So what is on your travel bucket list? Is Rome on there?

Thank you again for taking the time to read my post(s)! I do enjoy reflecting our time here and sharing our experiences with you!

Blessings and of course When in Rome!!!!  Icela 🙂

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” Marcus Aurelius- Roman Emperor