Tuesday 23 October 2012

Italy. ROME

ITALY!
Finally I have uploaded my photos! Computers are so frustrating when they don't do as they're told...

Italy is amazing... Unfortunately we were very limited for time as we had to be in Spain to meet up with parents. I had planned to do Capri, Almalfi and Cinque Terre as well as Rome and Florence. Because of our time restriction we only got to do Rome and Florence... not that I'm complaining. It was fantastic!

PART ONE
Rome. 

We arrived in Rome after an overnight ferry from Dubrovnik. 
Rome was stinking hot! Literally over forty degrees until 6pm at night! So so hot that you could not stop sweating! I gave up on makeup in the day and opted for 30+. 
For once city, there is so much to see and do!
All the Roman ruins seem to be scattered across the city giving it an ancient feel. There are so many iconic landmarks and I really couldn't believe I was standing outside the Colosseum! 

We went to Palentine Hill where we saw PLENTY of Roman Ruins. There was no shade and it was soaring above 40 degrees... it was exhausting but there was so much to get done. 

The Colosseum was fantastic. You really believe you are in Rome when you get to the Colosseum. 

Vatican city! It was so impressive. I think it was one of the highlights for Gonz. St. Pauls cathedral is beautiful and decorated elaborately. The marble and the gold decorations everywhere is incredible. 

The Trevi Fountain is so beautiful, I really loved it there. It felt so Roman and pretty. You must go at night, the crowds die down considerably!!!

Spanish Steps... mmm. They are nothing special... seriously they were a staircase. We took pictures... but I wasn't impressed. 

The Pantheon. Quite impressive and you don't have to line up. It a huge dome with a circle cut into the roof. It is the most intact and preserved Roman building. 

Our room. 






Inside the Colosseum 



Inside the Pantheon.

I loved the Trevi fountain. 
Our dinner was SO shit, so we went out for desert. 



Spanish steps.



DO
  •   Buy a Rome pass. It was reasonable in price and included all public transport for 3 days and 2 attractions where you could skip the que. The que skipping is the best feature!! It saves you SO much time. Besides, who wants to be queing outside in 40 degrees. 
  • Sleep in. Why not. No really, you might as well. The sights are FILLED with tourists and the busiest time to go is in the morning! We would go out at around 12, have some lunch and then get to places at like  2pm really was perfect as most people were ready to escape the heat by this time! The ques were half, if not one quarter of the size as earlier in the morning. 
  • Pack sunscreen and take a water bottle with you. It may sound weird, and a little unhygienic. BUT there are taps across the whole city of Rome with fresh running drinking water. You can literally fill your drink bottle at any of these and they appear frequently. The water tastes as good as the bottled kind you buy in a supermarket. 
  • Prepare your Italian language skills! Seriously, this saved us! So many times we wanted to know where something was or how to get somewhere. I learned off an audio book that was on my kindle. We were surprised about how little English the Italians spoke so be prepared! Plus it is fun and the locals are much friendlier if you give it a go. We would go into restaurants and try to order everything in Italian. We could also go into cafe's and bars and ask for what we wanted. I might even write a post on the audio language books I used!
  • Eat lots of ice cream and drink lots of wine.

DON'T
  • Try not to visit in early August. For one the weather is almost unbearable. In thoery it might sounds manageable... but when you have SO much to see and do it is VERY difficult. Also, we had many experiences of trying to find authentic pasta restaurants that sold quality fresh pasta etc. We were 99% unsuccessful finding good food because all the family run and owned restaurants closed for two weeks at the end of August! All the great little trip adviser finds were closed! We would trek the whole way across the city only to find it closed, so annoying!
  • Expect much from the Spanish steps. 
  • Expect too much from the food. We tried really hard to find places but were pretty unsuccessful. 



Friday 19 October 2012

Back home....

I'm still here... JUST.
I've just started work, been back in Personal Training AND decluttering my room while trying to see as many friends and family in the meantime! I am so busy!
I will have a new post up by next week! Stay tuned!! Italy is coming!
Post Europe depression is so awful. To travel Europe has always been my dream and goal. Now that it's over it just feels sad!!! I need a new goal or something to plan for...
My new goal is to run a Half Marathon (21km) eeeesh, just thinking about it hurts my legs!


See you sooner rather than later, I promise!!