Italy - Rome - Days 12-15 (June 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th)

May 9
4 min read

Updated: Jun 5

Wednesday 6/3

As we departed Assisi Wednesday morning, the bus made a quick stop on the outskirts of the city to take a quick picture of the entire group. We then hopped back on the bus and hit the road...and today, all roads lead to Rome!

After about 3 sleepy and rainy hours on the bus, we arrived on the outskirts of Rome only to find that traffic had come to a screeching halt. After about 15 minutes of creeping along, we finally passed a downed tree in the middle of the road and noticed that there were numerous downed trees and some small buildings and sheds that had either been toppled or were missing walls or roofs. After a quick Google search, we discovered that a tornado had passed through that area a couple of hours before we had arrived. YIKES! Glad we missed that! We had no idea that Rome had tornadoes 🌪️

Once we finally arrived in town, we grabbed our bags and checked in to our hotel, the Hotel Museum, which is literally a stone's throw from Vatican City! We took a quick neighborhood tour with the group, had a brief rest and then departed to take a bus to central Rome to see some sights. I think we literally waited 45 minutes for our "5 minute" wait for the bus, but it eventually came, and was packed with about 100 of our closest Roman friends 😬

From there we saw the majestic Pantheon, which is now a church, but was created in the 2nd century as a Roman tribute to all of their gods (which they stole from the Greeks!!). Afterwards we had a nice dinner nearby at the Tonnarello Pantheon where we both had some great pasta dishes served in frying pans! Afterwards we walked about 10 minutes to the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed the fact that we were actually able to see the thing! The crowds were fairly large, but surprisingly, not completely crazy! It was completed in 1762 and is one of the most famous baroque fountains in the entire world. From there we walked about another 10 minutes and visited the Spanish Steps which are 135 steps built in the 1720's that climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and the Trinità dei Monti Church at the top. The area had a cool vibe and Katie and Mike finished the visit by singing along with a guitarist who played "Country Roads" by John Denver! From there we taxied back to the hotel and did some laundry at a nearby laundromat before bed.

Thursday 6/4

Today we arose and had a nice late breakfast at the hotel to get us going for the day. Our adventures first included spending an hour at St. Peter's square and basilica in Vatican City. What an amazing area and the actual church was incredibly ornate with many astounding paintings and sculptures. Mike's personal favorite was the "Pieta" sculpture by Michelangelo!

Afterwards we walked to the other side of Vatican City, near our hotel, and visited the Vatican Museums. This place was huge but we were able to get through it in about 2 hours. This museum had ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman artifacts. But the absolute highlight of the day was seeing the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's famous ceiling paintings. Katie might have secretly taken a few pictures of the artwork (shhhhh!!).

From there we had a nice late lunch near the hotel at Taverna Lino and ate a fantastic gluten free potato, sausage and mozzarella pizza complete with gluten free Peroni beers! Potatoes on pizza?? YES! It was surprisingly good!

Later after some down time at the room, we had an end of the tour happy hour with most of the group and concluded the day with a quiet evening to recover from the days events. Tomorrow? The Colosseum!!

Friday 6/5

Our last full day of vacation included the eastern part of Rome where we hadn't ventured yet. Today we took a guided tour of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. After meeting our tour guide, Leo, our group wandered towards the Roman Forum. There we saw many ancient structures (buildings, aqueducts, etc.) and received a nice historical, artistic and architectural overview from our charismatic tour guide. Please see the pictures below, my explanation cannot do our visit justice! From there we went up the Palatine Hill, which is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." To conclude our 2.5 hour tour, we passed the Arch of Constantine and traveled over to the Colosseum. We were given a nice historical background of it's construction and use through the ages. We were also lucky enough to go into the massive building and check out the interior.

Afterwards we had a nice pasta lunch at the Royal Art Cafe Roma under the shadow of the Colosseum. Katie had her usual double Aperol spritz (her European tradition) to go along with a nice bowl of spaghetti carbonara. Mike had a bowl of trofie al pesto pasta and loved every bite.

After heading back to the hotel to pack for the trip home and rest up a bit, we ended up going to dinner back at Taverna Lino (potato pizza and gluten free Peroni beer!) with a few new friends we made on the tour. What a perfect end to a incredible vacation.

Thank you so much for following along with us as we conclude our Italian adventures! It's been a wonderful trip and we are so happy we can share all of our voyages with you! ❤️

That's all for now, arrivederci and love from Katie and Mike.