Our 10 day travel through Italy began in Rome, the so called "Eternal city"  situated on 7 hills. 

We spent the first 4 days in Rome, then 5 days in beautiful Tuscany and  2 days in Milan, the fashion city.

We found an apartment for 6 people through Airbnb, a worldwide and very known booking site, that is situated right next to the Colosseum in Via Labicana. You can have a long and breathtaking walk from the Colosseum to the very centre of the city while seeing all the main sights that Rome has to offer.

Our host was Paolo who has his own website for accomodations in Rome, Roman Holiday,  and I have to admit that the apartment suited our needs perfectly.

This accomodation has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a small kitchen with a sitting area, but since we spent all of our time in the city and rested home only late in the evening, we didn't need anything more. 

Ps. If you come by car like us, I advise you to find a parking spot somewhere near your accomodation and visit the city by feet or taxi. The traffic is awful, noone looks at the road signs and you could easily get scratched by another car. Just saying, keep that in mind! ;)

We started our walk to the city from the right side of the Colosseum towards the imposing monument of Vittorio Emanuele II., the so called "Altar of the homeland" built in the honour of the first king of the united Italy. Walking through you will encounter many street performers and African immigrants that will beg you to buy some souvenirs.

On the left side you will be able do admire the ruins of the Roman Forum which used to be the political, legal, economical, cultural and religios centre of the ancient Rome.

The monument of Vittorio Emanuele II. & the view from the top.

On Campo de Fiori you will find a small market with some local products such as pasta, cheese, foreign spices, desserts...and you can also freshen up with a freshly squeezed pomegranate and orange juice.

Piazza Navona, a baroque town square in the shape of tha ancient Roman hippodrome, that was once situated here. 

On this square you can taste the famous Roman Tartufo, a traditional chocolate icecream that you will pay quite a lot in the bar Tre Scalini, 12 euros to be exact.

We did try it on reccomendation of the local people, weren't overly thrilled by it, though we must say it did taste good. Real chocoholics will definitely appreciate it, but you will pay only once 100,00 kn for an icecream if you're crazy!  :)

Pantheon, the temple of all Gods, built by Marcus Agrippa in 118–128 AD.

The well-known Trevi Fountain, the biggest baroque fountain in the city,always full of tourists. Built in the  18th century by the order of the pope Clement XII., even thought it existed in a much simpler form already in the 15th century. 

Legend holds that if you throw a coin in the fountain over your left shoulder, you will definitely come back to Rome.  Usually, you have to throw 2 coins. One is for your wish and the second is for your return to Rome. Is doesn't come as a surprise that an estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day. This money is used for maintainance of the fountain.

Obviously my wish did come true, as I did come back to Rome this year after 2009! :)

From the Trevi fountain, the road takes you to the Spanish steps, Piazza di Spagna.

Meanwhile,  you can admire the streets, coffee places, restaurants and window shops.

Zona Trastevere is the picturesque part of the city where you can find nice restaurants, coffee places and take a pleasant walk to the bridge of Sant'Angelo and the fort Castel Sant'Angelo, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, on the river Tiber.

The water from the pipes is safe to drink so feel free to fill your water bottles to the top if you get thirsty while walking, on many little fountains that you will encounter.

A great healthy corner Esco Sazio where you can drink smoothies or have a light tasty meal.

Besides, not only the food is great, but the interior design is awesome: simple & comfortable.

You can find them on this address:Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 135.

Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican in the background...

The bridge and fort of Sant'Angelo. On your way to the fort you can find funny and a bit different sorts of souvenirs that are much prettier than the ones in the city, some old books and plates for the gramophone, but also you can simply enjoy the romanitc environment that surrounds.

Piazza San Pietro

Several hours will pass by without noticing while sightseeing in the Vatican Museums, passing through the crowd and it's definitely worth seeing, especially the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica San Pietro, whose entrance is free.

I visited the Basilica 6 years ago, but this time due to lack of time we had to skip it, so no photos. 

And last but not the least, a thing or two about food ... :)

We checked out the pizza of course in 2 or 3 places but remained impressed with only one. A sort of Pizza cut place situated near Piazza Navona, Pizzeria Ap,  where you eat pizza "al taglio", by piece.

Also, we ate in a small restaurant "Il Fico"  that we found on our way back home from the bridge Sant'Angelo. The food was tasty, but the servings were not generous at all, even though for us girls it was enough with a side of a salad. The waiter  Armando really did his best to make us feel welcome and he treated us with some Limoncello before leaving, the interior is nice but nothing special. For a quick lunch, the place is more than ok. 

This is Rome in very short notes! I would love to hear your experiences if you visited this fabolous city, some reccomendation or if you have questions I would love to answer if I can. 

Until the next post from Tuscany, I send you a big hug! :)