Rome is a city that never gets old. There is always something new to see each time I go there. Rac’s sister, Karen is visiting for two weeks and it was a perfect opportunity to visit this amazing city. The only problem was, we only have ONE day to see the sights. This proved to be a challenge but having been there a few times, I already have an abbreviated itinerary so we can hit up the main spots of the city.
The past few times we’ve been to Rome, we’ve taken flights since they were cheaper and obviously faster. This time, we found that airfares were outrageously high so we decided to get there via the next best thing, train!
Train tickets were sold out for most of the times so we were lucky to snag some tickets on the sleeper train from Sacile to Rome. It took us about 8 hours to get there. On the way back, we boarded the regular train which took only 5 hours. The roundtrip train tickets set us back around 150 euro per person.
Boarded the train which was separated by cabins. We took our seats and got some much needed, albeit uncomfortable sleep. By 630 am, we arrived in Roma Termini. We tried to check-in our hotel but unfortunately, they were still closed. We then decided to start our Roman adventure by walking straight to the Colosseum. It was about 8am at this point so we had a very short wait since the Colloseum opened at 830. Entrance to this ancient marvel cost 11 euro each which also included entry to the Roman Forum.
Afterwards, we headed straight to the Roman Forums to explore and take it all in.
Next, we walked to the Mouth of Truth. Something I’ve never been too. There was a long line outside to get in.
Pretty tired at this point, we took a taxi back to our hotel. We checked-in and were about to rest when the manager told us that there’s been a mistake and that they’ve overbooked the hotel. They offered to transfer us to a sister hotel which was nearby. Too tired to argue, we agreed and was shortly in our new room. It was peak season in Rome because of the Canonization in the Vatican City that weekend. Rooms were pretty expensive and we were lucky to snag this room.
After a quick bite, we decided to grab a taxi to go to the Vatican. We were running late since it was already 330pm at this point and the Vatican Museum closes by 4pm. Once there, we got with a tour company to give us a tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Although pricey, it was worth it as the guide was very knowledgeable and we got to skip the lines. I’ll post more pictures on the next post.
Afterwards, we met up with our high school teacher for some snacks before walking all the way back to see the famous Fonatana Di Trevi and the Pantheon.
Not only did we explore Rome in one day but we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Vatican too!
Dead tired, we took a taxi back to our hotel and called it a night. We were getting ready for our big day tomorrow since it we were going back to the Vatican City to witness the Canonization of two popes! Stay tuned!
Here are the rest of the pictures..
TravelhackRR 