I know I haven't written any posts in about 2 months, but my summer was pretty busy. And I enjoyed every (well, maybe most) of it so I would like to share part of it with you!
My boyfriend and I recently visited Rome for 10 days and here are some highlights.
It was lovely but HOT! People think being African means that you can survive all types of hot weather, forgetting that not every African country is located near the equator. I was literally dying lol but luckily, living in Belgium has taught me to appreciate sunny weather as such things are rare in rainy Leuven. Although, I did enjoy the fact that I could finally wear my summer clothes and shoes; some days we were literally either running toward every bit of shade we could find or praying for some clouds. I wish I could say I wasn't warned about the HEAT, I was but the thing is that we had already booked our trip and tried to prepare mentally as much as we could but alas no amount of mental preparation was sufficient. It was just HOT! But the heat had one great advantage, clothes dried by themselves, such a great reminder of Zambia :) (in October,the hottest month of the year.)
Apart from the heat that I enjoyed and dreaded at the same time, we met up with a great friend of ours who traveled all the way from a small town near Florence. Our first view of the city was with her. That day, we walked a lot but got to see the famous Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps etc. We ate some delicious pasta at Pasta di Roma and of course, we didn't forget about the ice cream. It took as some time to find a place with great ice cream at an affordable price but we did and it was super duper yummy. I got hooked on ice cream from then on.
After the first day tour with our friend, we took our time visiting the tourist sites since we had 9 days left.
We visited the inside of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum two days later, thank God that a classmate had advised me to reserve tickets ahead of time because the lines are EXTREMELY LONG. So when we arrived at the entrance it took less than 30 minutes to enter, which is far better than waiting 3 hours in the heat to buy the tickets. The Colosseum and Roman Forum are breathtaking, it was amazing to learn about how the ancients lived, the persecution of Christians and other minorities. The following night, we meet up with a classmate and close of friend of mine who was also visiting Rome for a couple of days.
The days in between visiting tourist sites were mainly relaxing in a park or spent indoors online or reading a book.
We also found a church inside the city, this was not an easy task because most churches were located outside the city, miles away from where we stayed. That Sunday we worshiped at Rome Baptist Church, the people are welcoming and the service was different from what we are accustomed to but still powerful.
The next week, we visited the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. Again, we had reserved tickets and entered the Museums with very little queuing. The Museums are LOVELY and their collections are extravagant, but it's impossible to see everything because there is more to see than there is time. So we decided to see whatever rooms were on our way to the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms and whatever we came across on the way to the exit. The paintings are absolutely breathtaking especially in the Sistine Chapel! St. Peter's Basilica was also spectacular, we entered through the Holy Door which opens every 25 years (We thought it was open every year but got to know this on the tour)!
We also did a free tour with "The Ultimate Tour Rome", it was about 2-3h and most places we went to like the Pantheon and Piazza Navioni for example we had already seen but what I loved was that we got to know the stories behind them. We also visited the oldest ice cream place in Rome, they have a 150 flavors! Their fruit ice creams are amazing!
Lastly, we did a day trip to Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope spends his summers. The train trip was about 45min and a return ticket was 4.20€! We spent some time swimming in Lake Albano and relaxing on the grass nearby. We had our last dinner here, I ate one of the most delicious seafood pastas I have ever had. However, we had to rush for the train since trains going back to Rome are hourly and we didn't want to head back too late.
All in all, it was worth it and super grateful to God who provided the time and finances!
If you plan to go to Rome some time in the future, here are 10 tips:
1. Accommodation in Rome is expensive especially during the summer, so book months ahead if you can. You also pay a tourist tax of 3.5€ per day, so when booking check whether this is included in the accommodation price or not.
2. Flying to Rome isn't expensive if you book ahead. We flew to Rome with Ryanair for 64€ return. Ryanair is not very luxurious but it works for short distances and short holidays.
3. Transport to Rome from the airport is easy to find and cheap so no need to book a taxi etc. We took a comfortable bus from Fuimicino to Rome for 6€ and arrived at Rome Termini an hour later. Trains take about 30min for double the price. If you are in a rush or short on time, take the train.
4. If you are going during the summer, remember it's HOT so pack accordingly. You will not need warm or long clothes of any sort, unless you plan to go to the chapels; they have dress-codes.
5. Always carry a bottle of water with you, when it's empty you can fill it again at one of the many fountains in the city. The water is clean and safe to drink!
6. Beware of the street vendors, there are many of them selling items from selfie-sticks to water. They are very persistent, which is understandable because that's how they make their living. The only big problem we had was with the rose vendors who wouldn't accept a "no,thank you".
7. You can always get a delicious meal for a good price away from the tourist sites, if the menu has translations then it's main customers are likely to be tourists and then you won't get to taste authentic Italian cuisine. Don't eat anything that is placed on the table that you haven't ordered and remember that restaurants have the service charge.
8. If you have time, do a free tour!
9. If you have even more time, go for a day trip to a non-touristy area near Rome. Most people go to the beach in the summer, but if you are looking for a peaceful environment that's a no-no. We choose Castel Gandolfo for that reason :)
10. Eat ice-cream at GROM and Della Palma (the place with 150 flavors)! My friend recommended the former, the later is one of the oldest ice-cream places in Rome so drop by if you can! We normally got the small cones for 2.50€, we could choose two different super yummy flavors of ice-cream balls.
Blessings and hugs,
Twisile
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| Roman Forum from Palatine Hill |
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| Sign post near the Holy Door |
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| Inside the Vatican Museums |
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| Saint Peter's Basilica |
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| Castel Gandolfo and Lake Albano |
