If you’re traveling abroad, amongst all your weekends of European raging, you absolutely must make time to set aside at least one weekend for purely cultural and historical discovery. Unlike the US, Europe has centuries upon centuries of brilliant and exciting history. So like me, if you are a foodie and love the tales of adventure and romance of ancient civilizations, Rome is the place for you.
With endless beauty and history at every corner, I really couldn’t get enough of Rome. I spent three full days there eating, touring and eating some more and by the time I had left, I still hadn’t had my fill of the Italian culture. So much so that the minute I returned to my apartment in Barcelona, I checked for prices of flights to other Italian cities for possible trips on the few weekends I still have not booked.
We arrived at our hostel/Hotel Beehive that was conveniently situated right next to Rome’s central station, Treviso. Having made a pact to walk everywhere until our feet ached, we ended up not using the metro system until our last day. After checking into our hotel around 10:00 AM, our room would not be ready until after 2:00 PM, which gave us the opportunity to explore. Immediately I wanted to get our tickets to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
Tip #1: You can get access to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum all from one ticket, and you can get this ticket from any of these locations. We walked right up to the ticket booth at Palatine Hill/Roman Forum and five minutes later had our tickets to all three ancient sites. Once you have your ticket you can walk right into any of these sites without waiting in any outrageous lines. If you decide to buy your ticket at the Colosseum, you may wait anywhere from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours just for the tickets!
After purchasing our tickets, we listen to our growling stomachs and decided to get some food. Not at just any typical mediocre Italian tourist trap, but a true authentic Italian meal that wouldn’t break our budget. Some friends studying abroad in Rome had recommended we eat in an area known for its great food and good prices called Trestevere. We walked over there and, using this amazing app Triposo, were able to navigate to a restaurant with raving reviews called Ak Bar quite easily. At Ak Bar, you had a choice of purchasing 3 different size plates—the smallest starting at 6 euro—and you could fill it up with whatever you wanted from a buffet of a colorful variety of homemade delicious options, but only once. We were starving—and broke—so we did the typical broke student thing and purchased the smallest plate and STACKED it. Oh. My. Gosh. Those meatballs though.
Tip #2: For any new city you travel to, download the Triposo app for that city! It’s especially helpful for people who won’t be able to use data because it uses your GPS coordinates to tell you what great restaurants, bars and tourist attractions you are closest to ,and it has hundreds of restaurants, bars and cafes all rated by locals!
That evening, after the heat had subsided and we were feeling a little rowdy, we decided to hit up a couple bars. We headed to what we were told was the center for young locals and college students alike, Campo Di Fiore. Boy, did I feel right at home when the first bar we walked into, call the Drunken Ship, was filled with American students playing beer pong. After playing a couple games and reminiscing about all the WOW ragers I had just missed at home, we moved on to Sloppy Sams, another bar riddled with Americans being just that, sloppy. 12 shots for 10 euro? That’s the best deal I’ve seen all over Europe!
During the next two days we cashed in those Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum tickets for a ride back in time to when these magnificent ancient ruins were filled with life, death and action. There is absolutely nothing to compare it to. You will be walking home from a bar late at night and, oh look, an archeological excavation site for more ancient ruins right next to a Burger King. The last day we went to the Vatican. With an intimidating line to get in wrapping around the square spilling into the street, we thought we would never get in.
Tip #3: The Vatican is a MUST. The line might look scary but it moves CRAZY fast. We half-expected to be in line for 2 hours, but 10 minutes later we were at the front doors and I was getting denied entry because my shoulders were bare… D*mn. One in every 20 people were getting denied entry because their shorts or skirt were above their knees or their shoulders were not covered. So I had to get out of line, go buy a shawl and get back in line. Luckily the line was quick.
For our last meal in Rome, I finally satisfied my weekend long craving for homemade Gnocchi. It was absolutely, melt-in-you-mouth spectacular! Check out the Triposo app, Yelp, and Trip Advisor for good places! I always crosscheck everything. So if you love history, adventure, beauty and delicious food—go to Rome! Til’ next time.
Ciao!