Rome Day 3

With a 12:55pm flight booked back to Manchester, it was a very early start to squeeze in the Vatican Museum. Luckily I had become a pro at the Metro subway system.

I honestly could have slowly wandered through the Vatican museum all day, photographing the beautiful ceilings and decorations. But I had one goal to conquer in less than 45 minutes: the Sistine Chapel.

I snuck a photo with my iPhone - obviously doesn't do it justice but hopefully you can see how amazing it really is. Everyone takes a seat and stares up at the stories above them in awe.

I was greeted upon return in Manchester with rain.

Rome Day 2

I woke up to a beautiful day of sunshine - perfect to sit on an open-top hop-on hop-off bus to explore the city.

I got off the bus at the Colosseum, built in 80AD and can only be described as imposing (as was the length of the queue to enter, fortunately I joined a tour group to skip it & learn about the beast of a structure).

The tour then took us to the Forum - a plaza surrounded by ruins of ancient government buildings, with a beautiful view over the city. As the oldest part of Rome, some of the buildings date back to the 8th century BC.

Entering VATICAN CITY

You can keep your Colosseums and your Pantheons - they most important sighting of the day was this little guy, who looked awfully like my first cat Lucky. RIP.

Rome Day 1

Ciao! I boarded my 8:05am flight to Rome in zombie-mode but as soon as I arrived it was GO GO GO. I bought a 3-day transport pass for 11 euros and may have gotten slightly lost in Villa Borghese trying to find my (wonderful) Hotel Sofitel but hey, it's a pretty park.

Once I dumped my luggage I wandered down to Trevi Fountain which was much larger than I expected. And much busier, packed with a leisurely Saturday afternoon crowd. Nevertheless, I discovered my One True Love - a gelateria with nutella, creme caramel, pistachio, etc etc

I followed the signs to the Pantheon and nearly burst into tears as I turned a corner and BAM, there it was, taking me by surprise. I think it is the greatest think I have ever seen. I don't even know why.

Piazza Navona was also beautiful

I spent my Saturday evening browsing the stores on Via Del Corso. Gee, they love their Zara over there, don't they?

I don't really know what this is but I liked it a lot.