click any snap to view & then click the image to zoom in?
We then went for a stroll & had pizza… we went back for a nap & then walked to the bridge of angels Ponte Sant'Angelo & stopped there for dinner:
This is about our visit to Rome during our Italy Trip in May, 2019
ps: sadly, this isn't set for iPhones/smaller screens… :(
Rome is one of the world's best known
cities,
built up over many centuries & surrounded by 7 hills, each of which (or so it seemed!) we managed to go up & down ;)
We had gotten a copy of Rick Steve's 2016 tour
book
on Italy & used that to help make an awesome plan…
one of Rick's suggestions was to literally tear out each section & haul that along as we travelled — a magical method!!
After a great flight to Italy on a Tuesday evening, April 30th, we arrived in Rome on Wed, May 1st, and successfully made it to our room in
the Vatican Roof Inn,
our "cost effective" hotel — very close to the Vatican… getting in was a tad tricky, but really a.OK!
We then went for a stroll & had pizza… we went back for a nap & then walked to
the bridge of angels Ponte Sant'Angelo & stopped there for dinner:
On Thursday, we hiked to
the Borghese museum & gardens
for our 2-hour visit that started at 11am; I had a croissant en route. Yes, it was up a hill!!
The Borghese gallery is internationally known for its Bernini sculptures, specifically his statues
of David, his Rape of Proserpina and
his statue
of Daphne & Apollo…
There are also many images & statues…
After that, we hiked to the Trevi fountain via the
Spanish Steps…
We stopped after that at "ToTo" for lunch… I had a Mohito along with an awesome veal Schnitzel & a 0.5l (Heineken) beer — my wife had a Mohito too & we bought [some stuff] for €106… pricy but nice!
We took a taxi back to rest for an hour or so ;) & then headed out for dinner @6:30 or so & wound around to the Pizza joint next to the Vatican Roof… my wife had white wine with yummy lasagna & I had a Calzone w/ham etc & a 0.75l of special beer (€14!) / off to bed!
We spent Friday morning (the 1st of our 3 Fridays in Italy) visiting the
Vatican
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such a great investment!
Got to check into the museum smoothly, with lines outside already loooong! We toured the museum, the Sistine Chapel, Saint Peter's Basilica & Saint Peter's Square.
After an hour (of the 3), we were getting "boatloads of data" about the statuary, the pictures, the floors & ceilings & walls.
After the tour, we revisited the statue of Michaelangelo (for a pic), & we worked hard to depart (!) to head for some lunch.
Took a taxi back & relaxed (a nap for me, etc) for a couple hours.
Late afternoon/early evening was spent at the
Coliseum 
to
try & redo our pre-booked Saturday tix as the forecast was heavy rain… not a great strategy for our walking shoes!
Although we couldn't change them, we did have a walk & grabbed a couple snaps [not yet shown] of the ancient walls.
We hiked back (via a stop for a beer & a snack of ham, sausage & cheese) to visit #3 of the top-10 restaurants; couldn't get a table until 8pm or so — …open for 7pm on Saturday, which we booked!
We went down the street a bit & sat down for dinner; I had meatballs (avg) but my wife's fish with tasty stuff was great! They were able to get us a taxi & we were back by 9-ish. As our 3rd ride, it was only €10 vs €15 earlier, & €22 beforehand… rip-offs!
On Saturday we awoke to some expected quite heavy rain & agreed to blow off the morning Coliseum visit…
snoozed in until ~9am / hopped out for breakfast nearby (still sprinkling) & headed back to room.
As the rain stoppped (~1:30 PM) we took the Metro to get over to the Coliseum & managed to get in for no extra cost!
We spent an hour or so tnere, up- & down-again on the *massive* stairs; the audio-guide was a bit of a repetitive yawn!
We then went across to the Roman Forum
When we were done, we hiked to a nearby bar around 5:15pm (up & down the huff-puff stairs again/at least they were dry!!)
for a beer and a Mint Julep (as it was Kentucky Derby Day!) & had an enjoyable dinner!
Mint Julep
After eating, we headed back to our room to sleep.
On Sunday, we slept in a little (10am or so) & then headed out for the Pantheon, stopping on the way for brunch at Ottavio — great!
Our next visit was to the Piazza Navona, where we also grabbed 2 opera tix for tonight @ 7:30pm!
Spent a great afternoon snoozing… we then spent a few minutes pre-packing for Monday departure/checked we had a couple things tagged too!
At 7:30pm, we went to the opera — really amazing!
A non-electric bass-player, 3 violinists and a male & a female opera singers… it ran for about an hour, worth every penny!
After your visit with our time in Rome, you could continue on to our luxury area in Sorrento, visit with Florence, Lucca or Cortana or return to the main trip page
This part of Rome is about our return home…
We came back to Rome on our last Monday, May 20th for our flight home, driving south from
Cortana
to the Rome airport, where we then stayed (and ate) overnight…
we then made it to the airport in time on Tuesday;
a snap from our airport lounge:
Our flight home was ~10 hours, arriving at Atlanta in the US at 5:30pm or so; we passed thru the airport seamlessly… so was the taxi ride HOME!!