Rome 2023
So, I decided I did not want anything for my birthday and Troy said that was not allowed, so I said let’s go on a quick break to Italy. I had always wanted to go so why not do that. I told him he had to research and book it as it was for my birthday. We told Kez about it, and she said ‘and me’ as her birthday is a week after mine. So, Troy did the research and found a 3-night 4 days trip to Rome, for £159 per person for 4 people (We had a 4th person). Flying from Gatwick into Leonardo Da Vinci Airport from 3rd – 6th May. This was booked through Love Holiday. We also booked our tickets for the Vatican tour prior to going as this was cheaper. We used a company called Crown Tours and the ticket cost was £32 per person. This allowed us to skip the que.
We decided that one couple would pay for parking and one couple would pay for fuel. This worked out about the same cost. The parking at Gatwick Terminal 2 short stay was roughly £54 for the 4 days.
We left at about 4:30am, for our 9:30am flight, to ensure we got there in time. We scanned the QR code on entrance to the car park, parked up and jumped on the shuttle bus to the terminal. Security was relatively quick as we only had hand luggage and we headed straight for Weatherspoon’s for Coffee and breakfast. We flew with Vueling. Our seats out were right at the back of the plane but were comfortable enough. Flight into FCO was about 2 hours.
We decided to get the train into Rome city centre. This was €10 one way. Really easy, you purchase the tickets either from a kiosk or the mobile stand, scan it to let you through to the platform and then onto the train. It took about 25 minutes. The bus station or Termini is right outside the train/metro station.
We had to try and figure out what bus we needed to catch to get to our hotel, which was about 2.6 miles outside the city centre. We used Google maps and found the correct bus. We went across to the ticket office and purchased a 3-day multi transport ticket for €27. This meant we could use any bus or metro for the 3 days we were there. NOTE: you must validate you ticket when you get on the bus, or you will get a fine and/or be arrested. That was a funny story.
We stayed at The Colony Hotel, and it took about 35 minutes as it had to navigate the streets of Rome. Once we found the correct bus stop it was roughly a 5-minute walk up a gigantic (I’m being dramatic) hill and our hotel was just off to the left.
The Hotel was basic and a little dated, but worked perfectly for us as we were only using as a place to sleep. We were in a double room that had 2 built in wardrobes a shower and toilet (and a bidet), it had a small tv and a little desk. It was quiet and tidy.
The walk to the bus stops to get back into the city centre was about 10 minutes and across 2 busy roads but took you straight back to the termini, where it was easy to navigate to the tourist spots. Unfortunately, we did not validate our tickets and the bus inspector got on the bus to check, our 4th person had already got off the bus but me, Troy and Kez had been caught. He walked us off the bus, tickets in hand. We all stood round waiting to find out what was going on and while the inspector was dealing with someone else, Kez ran away and left me and Troy to deal with it. The inspector asked where our passports were and we said back at the hotel, the next words out his mouth were ‘Polizia’ so me, being the fiery little whirlwind I am, so let’s go then and frog marched towards the Italian police. Troy was in a blind panic while I tried to explain we had no ID; the Police then said no ID arrest (see Rome tips). At this point the Inspector had realised Kez had run off and wanted to know where she was, we both shrugged. She was hidden behind a bus watching the whole episode. I managed to find a picture of my passport while Troy, who was visibly green by this point with sheer panic, frantically looking for a picture of his ID. Luckily, he managed to find one mere seconds before being arrested. We ended up with a €104 fine (which is now framed at Kez’s house) and were given our tickets back (they didn’t have a choice; I took them out his hands) and was reminded to VALIDATE our bus tickets (See Rome Tips). So, yeah, we almost got arrested in Rome. What a fun story.
We decided we would do the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour, which took you to all the tourist spots Rome had to offer. Graciously paid for by Kez after we paid her fine. Our first stop was the Colosseum. It was stunning. We didn’t have tickets to access this site, but we did walk around it and marvel at its beauty. We found a little supermarket and bought items to eat Alfresco. Me and Troy had Pizza, while Kez bought all the fixings to have cheese and ham sandwiches, with some little Italian beers to wash it down with. We took the opportunity to use the bus tour as little siesta. We sat up on the open top and watched as the we drove round Rome. You get given al little set of headphones that’s a tourist guide to the bus tour. We got to see where Mussolini gave his speeches and where Hitler met with Italian diplomats. This was brilliant and I would highly recommend using the little bus tour (Green bus), it was brilliant.
On our way back to the Hotel we stopped at a little restaurant to eat. Troy had Caccio e pepe, I had pasta with tomato sauce, Kez had spinach and ricotta ravioli and our 4th person had Mussels and pasta. I think for all 4 of us with drinks and chips and garlic bread it was about €90.
We spent a whole day visiting the Vatican and to say it was phenomenal would be a complete understatement. Vatican City was just two stops away on the metro, it can be walked but we didn’t do that. We arrived and found our tour guide, checked in and waited for our time slot. Unfortunately for me, the second we stepped over the threshold for The Vatican City, I became ill. Think hot sweats, burning temperature, stomach cramps the whole shebang! I tried not to let it deter my experience but can only vaguely remember the amazing artifacts the Vatican Museum had to offer. One thing I will state is, we queued for The Sistine Chapel and while it was one of the most beautiful masterpieces to ever exist, the room it was held in was not so much. We were ushered into this room without any instruction and didn’t realise it was above us. It felt like we were in a waiting room to be shown to it. Completely anticlimactic. Still, we can now say we have saw it and may or may not have a photo of it!
We decided to have lunch at the Vatican restaurant and got to experience Suppli for the first time! Now this was an experience. I knew I would have to replicate this when we got home! After the museum we walked round the corner to go and que for St Peter’s Basilica. The que was long, Troy and Kez ended up getting some Gelato and water at the eye watering cost of €27. This was while I was off trying to find a toilet. St Peter’s Basilica! This was the real masterpiece! I have never seen anything quite like it before! There were no words. We were completely in awe. This was the whole reason Kez wanted to visit Rome, so she was ecstatic. We left shortly after this as I was still feeling unwell. The second we crossed back out of The Vatican City; all symptoms were gone! We now tell this story as the Vatican tried to kill me. We laugh now, but at the time I was unwell.
We managed to grab some food on the way back to the hotel. There was a little pizza shop that sold pizza by the size you wanted. Yes! You told them how much, they cut it, weighed it and packaged it up for you. It was by far the best pizza I have ever had.
Across the 4 days we managed to visit the Trevi Fountain, where we threw our coins and made a wish. We went to the only Gothic church in Rome, where troy was scared by a Nun. The Pantheon, where we got gelato and marvelled in the view. From here we went to the Spanish Steps which, in my opinion, are completely overrated. However, the McDonalds just up from the Spanish steps are the most iconic McDonalds in Rome featuring ancient roman architecture.
Troy had obviously googled the McDonalds menu prior to coming to Italy and there were things he wanted to try. We had McToast for Breakfast while I had a pink doughnut. We had the McTasty wrap which was either burger or chicken strips (we opted for chicken) this was delicious. They also offered other things, but we didn’t try any.
We visited a total of 7 different Basilicas. On our last day, we checked out and decided to take the metro a few stops away to go and see the original Michaelangelo’s ‘Moses’ because Troy wanted to. He failed to realise that it was up a million step (once again, I’m being dramatic). I’m glad we did because it was stunning and a complete hidden gem as not many people go here, and the church is only open for a few hours a day. We then went on to find a cute little Basilica to take pictures of and a little coffee shop to have a drink and pastry in.
Our final stop was the Basilica Papale Di Santa Maria Maggiore in the town square. It was beautiful. After this we needed to go to the Termini to purchase our train tickets back to FCO. This was difficult as we didn’t understand what ticket we needed. We ended up going to the opposite end of the Termini and using the self-service machines. We purchased our tickets and off we went. Security was easy at FCO, and we had a wonderful flight back to London. I watched Queen Charlotte while Troy watched The Witcher.
At the time of coming back we had originally decided we did not want to go back to Rome due to some negative experiences with our 4th guest. However, upon reflection we decided we would like another trip in the not-so-distant future to see all the things we did not see. Maybe for our anniversary.