A Memorable Weekend Break In Rome

Rome was top of my bucket list of must see places in Europe for too long. In the summer we finally got to take a long weekend city break to the eternal city. I must admit, I wasn’t prepared for what my eyes were going to see and my mind try and comprehend during our fantastic time in Rome. We wanted to see the ancient ruins like the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, also a visit to Vatican City and museums and of course St. Peter’s Basilica, and we did…and it did not disappoint! Our hotel we picked was no9colosseo.com from the great trip advisor reviews and the view of the colosseum from our bedroom was spectacular. I researched hotels and chose this hotel because of it’s view and easy walking distance to many of the historical places we wanted to visit. The best way to see and experience everything in Rome is to walk. Walking at night was best with the cooler temperature, less busy and very romantic with everything lit up.

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break

 

We found ourselves instantly walking amongst classical ruins and early Christian places of worship. Stumbling across amazing architecture, statues, ruins – it’s almost too much for you to take in and after a while it becomes normal to see an amazing detailed giant sculpture that must have taken years to create. It’s an incredible city. Some decent graffiti too. There were so many great neighbourhoods, shops, markets and a buzzing aperitivo scene. The gelato did not disappoint!

rome weekend city break

We saw this chap just hovering in the street – no idea how!

rome weekend city break

 

And came across the biggest salami we’ve ever seen…

rome weekend city break

 

Food was really delicious and fresh – especially if you enjoy pasta and pizza like us.

rome weekend city break

The weather was fine and hot both days reaching 90+ degrees in daytime. Thankfully there was hundreds of places to get ice cold drinks from. On Saturday we visited the Vatican museums – mid afternoon a storm blew in whilst we were inside the museums with torrential rain, thunder and lightening which just added to the amazing experience.

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break
St Peter’s Basilica was the highlight of the trip – we visited the Vatican first and then queued to go into St Peter’s Basilica – the sheer scale blew our minds like nothing we had ever seen before, nor are likely to again. We decided to climb the hundreds of steps to the top of St Peter’s Basilica. The lift was only 2 euros extra – in hindsight we probably should have done that and saved our legs as it was knackering and very tight passages in places….but wow the view was worth it!

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break
View from the top of St Peter’s Basilica

 

Inside St Peter’s Basilica was simply mind boggling! I can’t really put into words what this place is like and any amount of photos just don’t do any justice. It’s one of those places you have to see.

rome weekend city break

 

On Sunday morning we bought tickets for a Colosseum tour so we skipped the hour long queue and went straight in. It was worth seeing inside, it’s scale again like so many things in Rome is enormous – you find yourself imaging what it would have been like when the Colosseum was full of spectators watching the gladiators battle. The heat, the noise, the spectacle must have been incredible.

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break

rome weekend city break

 

We loved the experience and don’t think we will ever forget being inside St Peter’s Basilica. One day I’m sure we will go back with our boys – it’s one hell of a history lesson that’s for sure!

 

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