Rome was our 1^st location of our Europe Tour in 2015. My bestie flew from her country and we met at Dubai Airport and boarded the flight to Rome. As I met my friend after 2 years, the 7 hour journey flew in no time. We were chatting all the way didn’t sleep at all.  I pre-booked a pickup taxi at Rome airport, and when we came out of the airport, the driver was waiting with my name board. (I came across this service while checking taxi charges to Rome airport to city. They do not charge any extra). I joked with my friend saying that I have organised a VIP welcome for her in Rome, as it was Mercedes Bens cab, and was waiting for us on arrival.

We arrived at Best Western hotel in the evening and the hotel was at a very convenient location. Train station was close by. The hotel was very nice. The room was very spacious and clean with comfy beds. As I was tired after about 24 hr journey and as I have planned a busy schedule for the following 2 days, we did not do much on the 1^st day. Had shower and went to a nearby restaurant and had our first Italian dinner.

The next day we started by 9ish as the breakfast buffet closes by 10ish. It  was an international breakfast, and not Italian. 😊  (The spread was really good) It’s always a good idea to book the hotels with breakfast as you can save time looking for cafes or paying extra on the same hotel restaurant. After breakfast we headed to an office to activate the pre-purchased attraction tickets.  (It’s called OMNIA ROMA pass which covers entrance to Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill, Castel St. Angelo,  Borghese Gallery, St. John in the Lateran, Capitoline Museums, Museum of Rome)

Rome has so much history, art and culture. Roman architectures were amazing.  Lot to see. We were there for 3 days only. (I would say spending 4-5 days would be ideal if you want to see all tourist points in Rome) So we couldn’t see as much as wanted to see. The Churches were amazing. You can spend hours and hours admiring it. Specially Sistine Chapel  and St Peters Basilica. I would always advise to get any kind of fast pass, as you can skip the long queue and go inside quickly. We did have to wait for some time for Vatican Museums and St Peter’s Basilica. But when you see the normal queue, you would be thanking yourself for your decision to buy the pass. Vatican Museum was amazing. It would take nearly half day to see the place. We visited St Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museum on the same day.

You will feel happy and blissful when you are inside St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s kind of you have been blessed to be there feeling. It’s the most prominent building in Vatican City.  Again the architecture will amaze you. You get to see Michelangelo’s work there. Obtain a audio guide before you enter inside and it will help you to get to know about the church to a greater extent. I also suggest that you do a bit of reading before exploring Rome, so you will appreciate what you get to experience.

Colosseum was amazing too. Even though we had the passes, we had to wait nearly 30 mins to get inside. It was amazing to see such huge place which can hold nearly 80,000 people was built in AD 70. The architecture was amazing. It started to rain when we were there, and we  ended up spending more time there, and spent our time taking lot of pictures.

When the rain ceased we went to see Roman forum, ancient day market place, Palatine Hill and other places. The ruins were amazing, it takes you back in history. Trevi Fountain is another nice place to see. But to our disappointment it was under going some renovations when we went there. Still there were lot of people, and we weren’t totally disappointed. It was a belief, if you throw a coin using the right hand over left shoulder and if it lands in the fountain, your wish will come true. I did throw a coin, but unfortunately I don’t remember the wish I made on that day. Funny right? There were lot of people throwing coins, and wiki tells me that an estimated 3000 euros are thrown every day. Isn’t it amazing.

Eating out in Rome was a pleasure. After tiring day, every night we had nice Italian dinner with their local wine. If you don’t like Italian cusine, it could be overwhelming. But there are plenty of choices. General perception about Italian food means pizza and pastas.  But that’s wrong. There are plenty to choose from. My friend really enjoyed meals in Italy.

We had amazing 3 days in Rome and we took our train from Roma Termini to our next location in Italy, Florence.