Weekend in Roma

Aside from the travel debacle (I forgot to mention the toddler across the aisle throwing up as we took off) it was great to be back in Rome! I had been 5 years ago for a weekend trip when I studied abroad in Florence and this time around I had approximately the same time frame to fit in all the sights before catching a bus to Perugia with the rest of the choir.

Our route through Rome

Our hotel was by the Castel Sant'Angelo (chosen for it's location near the big sites, the river, and centrality to Metro lines). It's the purple outline on the map that looks like the Pentagon. Use that as the starting point and follow along :)

Swag's guide on how to do Rome in a day and a half:

Piazza Navona.

We left our hotel around 8:30 after breakfast. When we got there, the piazza was practically empty, save a few art students. Our view of the Bernini Fountain of the Four Rivers was unspoiled by vendors and tourists!

Pantheon.

The Pantheon was only a few blocks away from Piazza Navona and again, we got there early enough to avoid large crowds of tourists. We signed a book to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification next to Vittorio Emanuele's grave.

Coliseum.

We walked along the Corso and stopped in various ruins along the way to take pics. At the Coliseum we waited in line for 45 min (not bad at all). In retrospect, we discovered that you can buy tickets that include the Forum and the Coliseum at the entrance to the Forum which would have spared us the long lines at the Coliseum.

Roman Forum.

Saw the Arch of Constantine, grabbed panini from a vendor, then made our way into the Forum. We did a bunch of walking among the ruins (Nero's Gardens, Palatine Hill etc) and throughout there were potable drinking fountains.

Spanish Steps.

We hopped the Metro at Colosseo and took it to Spagna to see the Spanish Steps. The station is literally right underneath the steps. We took advantage of the large palm trees nearby to take a gelato break.

Borghese Gardens.

The gelato powered us to climb the steps and walk past the Villa d' Medici and onto an amazing overlook of the Piazza del Popolo. It's truly one of the best places to see all of Rome. We made our way into the garden past magnificent fountains, chipped busts of exalted Italian literary masters, and onto a bench in the shade where we people watched.

Piazza del Popolo.

We backtracked a bit and made our way to the Corso which was filled with mainstream stores. After a few blocks we found ourselves at the obelisk in the middle of the circular plaza. We also went into one of the twin churches that are on the corner of the Piazza and Via del Corso.

Trevi Fountain.

Showers were definitely in order. We went to the grocery store next to the hotel to pick up breakfast for the next morning, cleaned up, had dinner near the Pantheon, and walked to the Trevi fountain after. It was crowded, like always, but it was a beautiful night. I made sure to throw in a coin :)

Vatican Museum.

Checked out of the hotel at 6:30 am and left our luggage in the hall to retrieve after our jaunt to Vatican City. After a 35 minute walk, we found the entrance to the museum and sat down in line (we were in the first 10!). Advice: If you want to do the Vatican museum, get there around 7 am. By the time the museum opens at 9, the line is wrapped along the wall down the length of the city's perimeter and you're screwed.

Inside was uncrowded! We were free to move around and see the museum at our pace which was important since we had to make our connection at the Rome airport that afternoon at 2pm. Some highlights were the Egypt exhibit (complete with mummies), The School of Athens, Henri Matisse, and the Sistine Chapel (breathtaking).

St. Peter's Square.

After the museum we hit up the square and took pics of the Swiss guards. Unfortunately, we were short on time so we didn't make it into St. Peter's Basilica (the line circled the square). But it was amazing just to even stand in the square and take it all in.