ASC IN ITALY TRAVEL GUIDE P1: ROME

Buon Giorno!Welcome to the first of four parts of my Italy travel diary! Here I'll be spilling all the deets on how my hubby and I traveled during our collective 2.5 days in Rome for our anniversary trip, our favorite eateries, and some resources on navigating Italy's largest and most populous city!First and foremost, I want to begin by giving a HUGE shout out to Rick Steves! His books have assisted us with our European travels both this year and last year in London and Paris. If you're visiting Europe, right after you finish reading these travel diaries for the most recent details, you need to head right to Amazon to buy his books!When planning our journey to Italy, we knew we wanted to see some of the country's major cities all in 10 days, and split our travels up into approximately 2 days per city. We began by spending our first day in Rome, days 2-3 in Positano, days 4-5 in Venice, days 5-6 in Milan, and days 7-8 back in Rome again, with at least two full travel days with Trenitalia travel in between....and man! It was fast-paced but great. This portion of the travel guide will focus on our time spent in Rome, separated by our travels in between. I hope it is helpful to you for your future travels! Stay tuned on even more details on the other cities as well!After our approximately 14 hour flight from LAX in Los Angeles California, we finally arrived in Rome, Italy (Roma in Italian).There are two major airports in Rome: Fiumicino (FCO) and Ciampino (CIA). Most likely if you're flying from the US or Canada, you will fly into FCO, as it serves the larger more popular airlines. That was our airport.Getting from the airport to our AirBnB in downtown Rome was simple enough; on our first day we were staying in Campo Fiori, a lively area with close access to some of Rome's biggest landmarks. To get there we only had to ride the metro and walk to our Airbnb. I will say this was probably the easiest transit we had the whole trip! 😁Things to note: traffic nor directions are as we know them in the US. Traffic lines may be present in some areas, but for the most part many streets are cobblestone with defined traffic directions optional. With that being said, if you see a vehicle or Vespa (motorbike) coming your way, quickly step to the side! Move as and when the locals do (especially when crossing intersections) and you'll fit in just fine! Also, look to the corners of buildings and edifices for street signs...you most likely won't see poles with them posted in most places in Europe.There are so many landmarks to see in Rome. If you're only spending one to two days in Europe, staying near Campo De Fiori will likely be best as it is not too far walking distance to many of the most popular landmarks.After settling into our AirBnb, we had our first meal at one of the small shops in the Campo de Fiori market square (a great place for people watching!). It was a tourist area so the food wasn't as authentic initially, but was still quite good. One of my favorite things about Italy was the sparkling water! But be warned...you do pay for it (but usually not more than 3 euros).Since we were only spending our first day in Rome until the end of our trip, we followed Rick Steve's "Heart of Rome" walk, taking us all the way from Campo de Fiori to the Spanish Steps for a lovely sunset. If you're short on time, this is absolutely what I would suggest.This walk includes major landmarks such as Campo de Fiori square, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and much more. See the Resources section at the end of this blogpost to see how to get the book with this walk.On our return to Rome towards the end of our trip, we had a whole day to explore the city. In order not to rush, we toured two of the major landmarks: the Colosseum (or Colosseo) and the Vatican.Our original intention was to see St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican gardens, but we were not able to due to the time constraints (something to make note of if you also want to do both in the same day).When scheduling to see these landmarks, know that you will need a ticket for both, and avoid lines by buying ahead of time online. I would urge you to do the same with your bus tickets as well if you are not planning to use Uber or taxi. Buy your bus tickets ahead of time at the nearest Tabacchi (Tobacco shop), buy the 24-48 hr pass for a little more to save money if you'll be in Rome that long, and know that Google maps might not always provide you with accurate directions.Some simple conversational Italian, such as "Dove" (pronounced doe-VAY, meaning where is....) and knowing how to pronounce general directions such as left and right will go a LONG way!If you do visit the Vatican, make sure to stop by La Zanzara for dinner, home of the best cannelloni pasta and mocktails I've ever had!You'll want to call ahead to make a reservation (which is the case with most dinner time eateries), but the food is absolutely delicious.On our final day in Italy, we left our Airbnb to the airport via Uber, which is what I would suggest unless you are very well versed on the trains/bus system.Another fun fact: in Italy they only use Uber black, and so it might be a tad more expensive than were used to here in the States (I believe our airport ride ended up being approx $60), but because navigation can be stressful if you are unfamiliar with the area, the price was well worth not missing our international flight.Our time spent in Rome included some remarkable memories and up close and personal views of historic architecture I only dreamed of seeing growing up. We had a fantastic time and look forward to going back.But remember, Rome was only the beginning of the journey...next up, Amalfi Coast!Have a fantastic Thursday!-ASCHave questions? Recommendations for next time? Let me know! I love talking to you all!RESOURCES:Rick Steve's Italy Book: https://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Italy-2019/dp/1631218328Trenitalia (high-speed train): https://us.trenitalia.it-inter.com/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=299009828&utm_term=trenitalia_e&gclid=CjwKCAjwyOreBRAYEiwAR2mSksFw49iipJlQYunq-s0w9Ca4I0suoX6DlI7OR8f2uYBJ_nwkcC8vrRoC3sAQAvD_BwELa Zanzara Restaurante: http://www.lazanzararoma.com/en/Colosseum Tickets: https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfmAirbnb website: Airbnb.com