Lifestyle of Rome
We loved Rome! Such a fun, vibrant and delicious city to visit. The picture above is from the window of our suite at the Lifestyle Suites Rome which sits right on Piazza Navona. Lifestyle Suites was excellent. They made everything about our stay perfect. The suite was huge, comfortable, and really conveniently located in the middle of Rome so we were able to walk everywhere that we went.
What To See
- The Colosseum and the Roman Forum
- The Vatican & The Sistine Chapel
- The Pantheon
- Palatine Hill
- Castel Sant’Angelo
- Trevi Fountain
I know, there’s a lot more to see in Rome than that. But, that’s all we ended up making it to during our 2-day stay. It was plenty and gives us a good reason to visit Rome again. We went on a guided “skip the line” walking tour to the Colosseum which included the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It was really nice to have a guide who was super knowledgeable and to guide us around vs us trying to make our way around on our own and having to wait in lines. We had plenty of time at each place to look around, take photos and ask questions. Highly recommended! We used Viator to book pretty much everything we did in Europe. Viator makes it easy to find what you’re looking for and offers lots of options and price ranges.
Here are a few options for Colosseum tours in Rome from Viator. The tour we went on was about 3 hours long and our last stop was the Colosseum
Time to EAT
After we wrapped up the tour we were starving! So we set off to find some pizza, some legit Napolitano Pizza! Nina found a spot by searching around on TikTok or Instagram called Piccolo Buco. It’s a small restaurant and there was a wait to get in, but it wasn’t bad and it was well worth it. The pizza was delicious! BEST pizza I had in Italy for sure.
After our late lunch, we headed back to our spot for some downtime and relaxation (NAP TIME). We got out a little later for a stroll through Rome in the cooler evening and walked past Castel Sant’Angelo (below) on our way toward Vatican City.
We walked all the way to Fontane di Piazza San Pietro, Fountains of St. Peter’s Square, before heading back to our hotel for some rest.
Our second day in Rome
On our second full day, we started off with our favorite little cafe, Caffè Portoghesi, which wasn’t too far. We love the way they do coffee and espresso in Italy. There are a few tables outside for outdoor seating, but inside, there are no tables. Standing room only. You have to enter and then find yourself some room at the hightop bar and then you can order. It’s better than any Starbucks I’ve ever been to!
After our quick cappuccinos, I couldn’t resist stopping at a place right next door called Forno Campo de ‘Fiori. It’s a Roman bakery with bread and other snacks. I came here for the Roman-style pizza. Don’t sleep on the Roman-style pizza! They sell it by weight, so you pick what you want, tell them how big of a piece you want and they cut it and throw it into an oven to head up. It is delicious!
We used Viator again to book a “skip the line” guided tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Having the “skip the line” access to these was even more useful as thousands of people were visiting these. It was crazy getting into the Vatican and having someone guide us in, get our passes etc, and walk right in was more than worth the $75 each we paid for the tour. Again, we had plenty of time throughout the tour and got a lot of info from our guide that would have been otherwise difficult to know or get without her.
The tour ended at St. Peter’s Basilica.
It’s the last day/evening in Rome
After the Vatican, we grabbed a couple of slices of Roman-style pizza and headed to get a massage at a Thai massage spot that Nina found. It was amazing and much-needed! Back to the hotel to relax a bit and get cleaned up and ready for a nice dinner.
We wanted to go to a local and authentic Italian restaurant that wasn’t set in the middle of all the tourist spots so I did some searching around for some of the best “locals” restaurants in Rome and found one called Eggs. Definitely doesn’t sound authentic, or even Italian for that matter. BUT, this was the BEST Italian food I’ve ever had. I can’t recommend this spot enough! It’s supposed to be reservation only, and we showed up without a reservation a bit before the dinner hours. We were greeted and asked about our reservation… “Nope, we don’t have one!” The gentleman looked at his watch, said something to the kitchen, and said, “Welcome, please come in and join us.” Always impressed with the service in Italy.
I had something called Tonnarelli Cacio Pepi e Bottarga di Gallina. Good luck saying that, I had help. Nina had been wanting a good carbonara and hadn’t had any yet so she got that. For dessert, Lo Zabaione. Description: Eggnog served with traditional biscuits. Everything was stupid delicious. After dinner, we strolled back to our hotel and started to get our things packed up and ready to go for the morning.
That’s a wrap
Ready to head to the next destination, Venice! We decided to take the bullet train instead of flying from Rome to Venice. At about 3 hrs, the train ride is slightly longer than the flight. But, because of “airports,” it ends up being a lot faster and more convenient – and more fun! I’ve never been on a bullet train so this was a first for me. We booked seats in the Executive Car on Frecciarossa which included a separate entrance into the station, Executive Lounge access, and dinner on the train. All for $350 for the two of us. Less time and less money than flying.
The train was super comfortable and fun to ride and see the countryside. If you fly to Venice, you have to fly into Marco Polo Airport and then take a water taxi over to Venice. The train arrives ON Venice. So we could just hop off the train and stroll right over to our hotel and relax. 10 out of 10 recommend taking the train if you can!
Rome was fun, loved the city, and would come back.
We’ll pick this up on the next post from Venice.
