“OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO” – DR. SEUSS
My all time favourite movie in the world is Roman Holiday, so you can imagine my excitement when I arrived in Rome. I had high expectations of this historic city and it was everything I could have dreamed of and more.
Here are some of my favourite photos and places I visited during my short time in Rome.
A big thank you to my sister Stacey, owner of Sunsets and Suitcases, whose photos I’ve used from our time here together as I unfortunately lost a lot of mine.
THE COLOSSEUM
An internationally recognised amphitheater in the center of Rome. Built of concrete and stone, it is the largest amphitheater ever built and is a great piece of architecture and engineering. Rome is a very busy city, and thousands of tourists visit daily, so in almost all cases, there will be lines to get into everything; the Colosseum is no exception. It will most likely be the longest wait of the day, so get it over with first thing.
VATICAN CITY
A walled enclave within the city of Rome ruled by the Pope, the Vatican City is famous for its cultural sites including St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums – featuring the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures. My visit to the Vatican was a huge highlight from my time in Rome, and I think it was because I wasn’t expecting it to be. Everything about it was beautiful and you certainly don’t need to be Catholic to appreciate it. I’d definitely recommend a tour!
TREVI FOUNTAIN
In the Trevi District in Rome, this incredible masterpiece is the largest fountain in the city and one of the most famous in the world. The throwing of the coins into the Trevi Fountain is a popular ritual that tourists from all over the world partake in. It is said, using your right hand, throw two coins over your left shoulder – one coin to ensure you will return to Rome and the second will ensure love. All very cheesy, but still, Trevi Fountain collects over 3000 euro a day, so looks like we’re all a bunch of travel fanatics and hopeless romantics!
SPANISH STEPS
These monumental steps are dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top and have appeared in several films including Roman Holiday hence the reason I had to pay a visit. I bought myself some gelato and sat on the steps feeling very ‘Audrey Hepburn’ – it had to be done! As you can see, it’s no less busy at night than it is during the day.
THE MOUTH OF TRUTH
Located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, this artifact has also become even more famous from the movie Roman Holiday. The Mouth of Truth is said to play a role as a lie detector. It is believed that if one told a lie with one’s hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off (myth or not, I was still crapping my pants when I put my hand in the mouth). It’s a coin donation to have your photo taken, and you might have to wait half an hour or so, but it’s all for a bit of fun! When in Rome, right!?
PANTHEON
The Pantheon is one of the best preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, dating back to 126AD! It’s just remarkable, and more of a photo stop than anything else. There are some great little cafes and restaurants around the area, so why not grab some gelato or authentic Italian pizza and take a minute to absorb the magnificence that is Rome.
There’s still so many places I want to visit in Rome, so I am looking forward to returning one day soon (perhaps when it’s not 48 degrees!!). Any secret treasures you know of that I need to make sure I add? I definitely want to wander aimlessly through cobblestone streets and quaint neighbourhoods eating more gelato and pasta than my body can manage – sounds like a dream!
We almost went to Rome in February but ended up going to Paris. We switched because we were visiting my pen pal who came to NYC in summer of 2014. Can’t believe I have pen pals! I have one in Buenos Aires too. More like What’s App pals now. After seeing this post have to get to Italy soon!
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Paris is beautiful as well, and if I hadn’t of been to Rome before, I would have picked Paris too! But Italy is absolutely beautiful. You could spend weeks just traveling through Italy alone. That’s awesome! I don’t have Pen Pals but I have made a lot of friends around the world from my travels. It’s great catching up with friends in all different parts of the world 🙂
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Great photos! Always loved rome!
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It’s definitely a favourite of mine 🙂
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Lovely pictures of Bella Roma. I have so many happy memories of this beautiful chaotic city.
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Beautiful series of Rome – thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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Did you have a favourite place in Rome?
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Well, it was hard for me to pick because Roman Holiday is my favourite movie of all time! So being on the steps and putting my hand in the mouth of truth were all huge highlights for me, but I think like most, I was just taken aback by how spectacular the Colosseum was. No photos can prepare you for how magnificent it is when you’re standing right in front of it 🙂
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Loved visiting Rome! Like you mentioned, you can spend hours just walking around. Fun post!
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Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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Great post and photos. We visit Rome EVERY year in March and always stay same hotel behind Trajans Forum. Surrounded by everything we want and easy travel To outlying districts. Our favourite European city and we keep coming back despite our world travels!
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That sounds lovely! And a great tradition to have 🙂
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Stunning photos!! I love Rome
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Thank you! It is a magical city 🙂
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This gives me vivid reminders of when I visited Italy once. Nostalgia! Nice descriptions for each point of interest, they were pretty informative.
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I love going back and looking through them. I like putting a little bit of history with my photos if I can, just so I too can remember 🙂
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This is so well done and your photos are simply amazing! Feeling like I need to head back to Rome.
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Thank you! Any excuse is a good excuse to go to Rome 😉
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