Last month Jack and I were fortunate to be able to visit Rome for a few quick days. It was in part a work meet-up for Jack and I tagged along as his lucky +1. It’s rare these days that we travel without the kids, but being just the two of us we were able to pack so much into our days despite the jet-lag and high temps.
I’ll be linking everything that I wore and my travel essentials at the end of the post, so scroll down for more of those details. I will say, cobblestone streets certainly put your wheeled luggage to the test! And when it came to clothing, I focused on packing lightweight pieces that would be practical for the 90 degree temps.
We took a red-eye over and landed around 7am. With very little sleep on the plane we both took a quick nap once we checked in and then hit the streets to explore. I immediately fell in love with the beauty of the architecture that was literally around every single corner. The details, the colors and the sheer beauty of everything around us had my jaw on the floor for the first few hours.
There was so much to see within walking distance of our hotel and we enjoyed walking because we wanted to look at everything there was along the way. Teva’s are not a shoe I’d typically gravitate towards, but they were so practical and comfortable in the heat while we logged mile after mile every day. The Pantheon was one of our first stops which we saw in daylight (seen at the top of this post) but also saw as we passed by it at night. We didn’t take the time to wait in line to venture inside, but I did wait for this delightful treat that I had read about in this little tour book…
The granita di caffe con panna (coffee and crushed ice with whipped cream) that we found at one of Rome’s top coffee shops, Caffe Tazza d’Oro, was so delicious. It was such a unique treat and so refreshing in the heat!
From the Pantheon, we continued on to see the Spanish Steps. It was crowded but not overwhelmingly so. We did a bit of shopping around and I found a Zara that I happily popped into.
We met up with Jack’s team for dinners which were planned and reserved ahead of time and took the thinking and planning out of the equation for us! Our first dinner was was a private event hosted by the fabulous Barbara. She prepared a six course meal from scratch (her lasagne was out of this world) and wined and dined us for hours! Definitely worth looking into if you plan a trip.
Happy and full following our dinner and heading back into our hotel.
We had a tour booked for the Vatican (as well as the Colusseum), which was very helpful to avoid the massive line to enter the Vatican. Our particular guide was a bit difficult to understand but it was breathtaking walking through the various parts of the Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica. As a side note, you were required to have your knees and shoulders covered inside.
The detail surrounding you inside is just incredible, especially when you realize the thousands of years it’s been in existence and how intricate every detail is.
Trevi fountain was another favorite of ours. Out of all the sightseeing, this location felt the most crowded, but I can understand why. Pictures simply don’t do it justice.
In an attempt to avoid the crowds, we circled back through at night time only to realize that Rome does not sleep! Midnight seems to be when things get started in that part of the world and we had such a wonderful time walking around at all hours of the night, our bodies not having any idea what time (or time zone) we were in.
For as much as we ate on this trip, we only managed to end up have gelato once and I think that’s our biggest regret! Mastro Cono was outside of the Pantheon, and after reading tips on how to find the best gelato, this place lived up to it!
On our last day (we were in Rome for a total of three full days), we toured the Colosseum. What I didn’t realize was that the tour would also include a tour through the Roman Forum. Our guide for this tour was wonderful and we learned so much about the history of the Romans culture.
The Colosseum is every bit as impressive as you’d expect it to be. We learned that it was built by 20,000 slaves in only 8 short years. It’s such a surreal feeling standing in an ancient arena trying to imagine all that it has been through.
I could, and we did, wonder the streets for hours admiring everything around us.
Front doors in America just don’t have the impact they do in Rome!
Jack was constantly reminding me how much of a ‘bloggers paradise’ Rome was. He isn’t wrong.
I wore a belt bag both day and night. They were practical and eliminated any worry of pick-pocketing. Jack actually carried this bag which was lightweight and perfectly held both of our water bottles during the day.
The last evening, we dined at Rione 13. They served our large party family style and this is where Jack and I became addicted to Carbonara. We now do our best to recreate the meal every other week! Everything we tried was out of this world and sitting outside along the quaint street was simply perfect.
It was certainly a whirlwind or a trip, but we made the most out of every day and hour. We are already dreaming of heading back to explore more of Italy. If it’s not already a place that you have visited I’d highly encourage you add it to your bucket list!
Below you’ll see links to similar and exact items I traveled with and wore while in Rome…
