ITALY | ROMA

'Another very spontaneous, last minute trip... nothing short of a typical Zahra arrangement.' 

Where to stay

When I travel accommodation is the most important thing. I rarely go for Hotels - unless situated in a perfect location or have a reputation that exceeds them. My father really doesn't like the whole 'Hotel thing' (unless staying in Burj Al Arab or something very similar haha) so we had to opt for an apartment on this occasion because he prefers his privacy... Thats when Mag Hotels saved the day! We decided to go for a family suite, and this is what we are greeted with:

My sister had the privilege of sharing the king sized bed with me... 

Meanwhile my dad immediately took to his private little suite above us... he definitely approved and since he trained in carpentry he admired the original ceiling pretty much every moment we spent in out little apartment. In our suite we had our own kitchen and dining room, bathroom, living room and a public balcony which is perfect for breakfast or just those quiet warm evenings.

Outfit 

Peplum Top | H&M

Black long shirt | H&M

Khaki Jeans | Dorothy Perkins

Scarf | H&M

Location

Our hotel was tastefully situated opposite the Piazza Venezia one of the main attractions of rome and literally down a side road of The Via del Corso. 

Via Del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is remarkable for being absolutely straight and is characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas - basically all of the main attractions branch off of this main road, With the exception of the Colosseum which is directly opposite if you walk in a straight line, precisely a 15 minute walk past vast areas of the roman ruins. Whats even more wonderful is that Vatican city is also a 40 minute walk to the East of our apartment.

What to explore 

• Piazza Venezia | Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emannuele II - this is a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of unified Italy. Since this huge piazza was literally opposite our residence it was only fitting to explore it first.

You can climb up to many different levels of this monument, go inside to a museum and go to a glass viewing area too. You can also go down a different route, to a different street, thats how huge it is. Bellow are the very steep stairs we took on the way down.

The beautiful views of the monument.

The monument also holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built after WWI to honour the dead. The body of the unknown soldier was chosen in 1921 from among 11 unknown remains by a woman whose only child was killed during WWI.

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emannuele II is beautiful and you can go up pretty high in the glass viewing area to enjoy the  stunning views of Roma. Bellow: Issra and Baba enjoying the sights before stepping down the very steep stairs back to the main road.

• Colosseum - Named one of the wonders of the world, It is also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. The infamous oval amphitheatre is right in the centre of Rome, a fifteen minute walk from where we stayed. The structure is Built of concrete and sand, it is the largest and grandest amphitheatre ever built.

The mind blowing view after you walking up the stair to the stalls. This was one off the bucket list, I recommend going mid afternoon or around sunset since everybody tends to turn up very early to queue - particularly the Brits who are notorious for their queuing.

So, selfie sticks aren't allowed, as per usual I was told off after taking this photo!

Above right was our first glimpse of the colosseum as we walked towards it from our apartment.

Absolutely magnificent.

The walk up to the Colosseum itself is wonderful, there are so many ruins and statues to admire. We especially enjoyed making this walk in the evenings after dinner when everything was so beautifully lit.

The streets are all so full of character and most of the time we opted to eat outside on the tables in little winding roads with motorcycles, pedestrians and the world going by, so magical.

The Roman Forum & The Palatino Hill - This by far is the most phenomenal part of the trip. If you thought the colosseum was amazing then you will be blown out of your mind by this. Located between the Colosseum and Vittorio Emanuele II monument, you find the Forums. The forums were the heart of the late Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire.

On the Palatino Hill you find the ruins of palaces, a museum and other beautiful buildings - this really helps you visualise the way in which the Romans lived their day to day life without the royal luxuries that they are always depicted with.

We found a little fountain/well with fishes. So sweet.

There was so much wildlife around including little bunnies. There are still temples and building that are intact, Don't forget to see the Temple of Julius Caesars burial chamber near the exit.

• Piazza Novona - With its ornate fountains, baroque palazzi (mansions) and colourful cast of street artists, hawkers and tourists, Piazza Navona is central Rome’s elegant showcase square. Its grand centrepiece is Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi , an ornate, showy fountain featuring personifications of the rivers Nile, Ganges, Danube and Plate.

Don't forget to try the roasted chestnuts, they were my favourite snack (apart from Gelato) while I was in Roma, I always had a packet to hand.

• Spanish Steps - Unfortunately the steps were closed for renovation so we weren't able to actually walk up them however we were able to appreciate the ancient steps built in 1723 from behind railings. The steps were built in order to link the the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the king of France, with the Spanish square below, political tact at their best... Haha. Apparently this is a hot 'pick-up chicks' zone on a saturday evening...

• Pantheon - The Pantheon is the most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. However, it is unknown as to how the people worshipped in the building, because the structure of the temple is different from more traditional Roman temples such as in the Roman Forum. Its a wonderful place to visit (and pretty quick) but can get a little overcrowded in the afternoon.

As the brick stamps on the side of the building reveal it was built between A.D 118 and 125.When approaching the Pantheon look out for the inscription above which reads in Latin “Marcus Agrippa son of Lucius, having been consul three times made it” -pretty cool.

The temple is filled with ornate statues and decoration, there is also seating facing the front of the temple. There is no queue to enter, so the temple gets very busy at times. 

We walked to the Pantheon via Via Del Corso, the streets leading up are beautiful, there is so much going on around the Pantheon, and many crowds. 

• Trevi Fountain - Unfortunately when we went the fountain was under construction, funded by Fendi (yet another reason to return. The acqueduct takes its name from a virgin lady that the Roman soldiers met when they were thirsty and tired. She lead them to a source of water to recover. That source was in the land between the Tiburtina road and the Collatina road, two of the many roads that led to Rome. That source still today supplies the aqueduct. I think stories like this make me appreciate everything I come across just that little bit more.

• Piazza Del Popolo - This Piazza is right at the end of Via Del Corso, we walked there on an evening after spending the night at The Spanish Steps. The square lies on the Via Flaminia which was built in 220 BC to connect Rome with the Adriatic coast and was one of the most important roads leading to Rome. Many travellers entered the city from the Via Flaminia, passing through Piazza del Puopolo. The square is mainly characterised by the Egyptian obelisk. The 23.2 meter (73ft) tall obelisk was originally built around 1300 BC and stood at the Sun Temple in Heliopolis. In 10 BC the Roman Emperor Augustus had the obelisk transported all the way to Rome. The obelisk was erected at the Circus Maximus to commemorate the conquest of Egypt. 

• Arch Of Constantine - The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312BC. The arch itself is very intricate and detailed.

Our first glimpse of the arch and The Palatino Hill from the coliseum arches.

Unfortunately for us tourist the Arch is gated off to a pretty high level, so you aren't able to get too close. There are some small pillars to fence off the grass opposite so we took a seat and took advantage of being opposite this beauty while we snacked and appreciated the view.

Castel St.Angelo - This castle is between Roma and Vatican City. It was built in 123 AD by Emperor Hadrian as a monumental tomb for himself and his family. The land on which it was built had been used for burial purposes since ancient times and was in a favorable position next to the river. 

The monument consisted of three blocks, one on top of the other - a little like a three tier cake, and must have been an imposing sight. On its summit was a statue of Hadrian, dressed as the sun god, driving a bronze four-horse chariot. The whole gigantic building was covered with precious marble and statues. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to visit The castle on this occasion but we will definitely be back to Roma soon!

I hope you enjoyed reading a little about my trip and history. My next post will be on Vatican City!

Tips

• Do NOT be fooled by the Cabbies at the airport who will con you into taking a €90 taxi into the city, instead take the city cabs (which are Yellow) or fight fire with fire and haggle the con-men - which is precisely what we did (I think its because we are Arab to be honest). By chance we ended up with our driver Marino in a taxi share - which was fine because we were all friendly chatty brits.

• Take bottled water with you everywhere - luckily our hotel provided bottled water for us daily which we took out with us to refill at fountains, water is very expensive in Europe.

• Do NOT take taxis if you stay in a location such as ours.

• Book you tickets for the Vatican here to avoid the long four hour queues. Make sure you print out relevant paperwork for the entrance.

• Book your tickets for the Colosseum here to avoid long queues.

• Do not take photos with the guys dresses as Romans unless you're willing to pay €10 and up.

• Take care when crossing the roads in Italy, unlike England cars are NOT obliged to stop at zebra crossings. When the coast is clear run, run for you life.

• Be careful with your belongings, I would suggest only taking either your camera or your phone at any one time so that you are able to keep an eye out for your valuables. Pickpockets operate everywhere in Roma.

• Take Snacks with you if you have a busy day scheduled, sometimes its difficult to squeeze in lunch when in touristic areas, there tends to be long queues.