She is the Cat's Mother : When in Rome { Italian Getaway Part 1 }

Before I go to a big famous city I'm always a little nervous that navigating it is going to be tricky. I think this comes from having lived most of my life in Sydney and even working in the city and still feeling a bit lost when I am in there. So I'm always pleasantly surprised when it's actually easy as pie and right away I feel at home. This was my immediate experience in Rome and I fell in love immediately. And what's not to love? The cobblestoned streets lead you through narrow lanes that open into wide squares holding the architectural treasures of Rome. You can't help but feel you've just stumbled across them. The same goes with gelato and food, every corner holds some new delicious wonder and while your eyes and mouth feast on all there is to see and eat, you experience a little piece of heaven.

Our first afternoon was just that. We arrived from the airport to our great little Airbnb right off the Campo di Fiori. It's a large open square with a popular market in the day and your pick of Italian restaurants at night. We got straight into the food, eating at the pasta restaurant below our accommodation where little old Italian ladies kneaded pasta in the window. From there we just wandered and it doesn't take long to find yourself gazing at some beautiful, ancient building. My favourite was coming up unexpectedly on the Pantheon. At 2000 years old it's hard to believe it is still there, an imposing, impressive monument. The oculus is incredible with the light pouring in illuminating the building. We spent a good while just taking it all in. I feel like every monument in Rome drew that from you, respect, time, appreciation for the privilege of this glimpse into the past. In our wanderings Levi bought himself a panama hat before we decided to take a siesta and eat a late dinner than night. When we awoke we headed to the Campo di Fiori and had our first full dinner in Italy. It did not disspoint. Bruscetta, pizza, pear salad all while we watched sellers show off their light up sticks gliding through the air. I don't think we had one meal in Italy that wasn't accompanied with dessert and that first night it as crepes and gelato and then back to the apartment for some reading before bed. A beautiful first day.

The next day we woke up and scouted the market for breakfast. We found a great little bakery and loaded up on pasteries, then juice and fruit from the square. We wound our way through the streets of Rome on foot and our first stop was the Trevi Fountain which was a funny experience because council workers were vacuuming up all the coins from the previous day. We moved on to the Spanish steps and were told off for eating our cannoli! No food allowed. We walked up to the top and were repaid with an incredible view over Rome. Later that day we had a tour of the Vatican booked so we slowly made our way in that direction. We stopped for lunch at a great little cafe and discovered limonta, worlds best drink and the first of many for the trip. We had time, which is how we like it so we walked the streets and found ourselves at the river. We headed down and walked along it for awhile before making our way to the Vatican. The Vatican is huge and imposing and a bit confusing. After some said confusion we made it to our tour site and along with the masses of other tourists got in for a bit of a look through a small amount of the Vatican. The highlight for most people is arriving at the Sistine Chapel, so before we headed out on the tour our guide explained in some depth the history and the main features of Michelangelo's work. It feels like we have some strange/random experience on every trip we take and the Sistene Chapel was it for us. There was just so many people that when we entered this apparent sacred place the guards were screaming 'Silenzio', 'No pictures!' in an attempt to make people be quiet, to no avail. I ended up next to a girl trying secretly and repeatedly to take pictures of the roof with her camera. The shutter sound was loud in there and in the end I told her to give it a rest which she didn't. We ended up leaving and discussing how disappointing it was that somewhere that is mean't to be sacred actual means nothing to people. We carried this conversation through to St Paul's Basilica and in the end concluded how grateful we were for the restored gospel and truly sacred places where the spirit resides. After our huge day of walking we were tired! Some gelato on the way set us up nicely for our siesta and then that night we ate at a new restaurant and discovered the incredible combination of prosciutto and melon.

Our last full day in Rome started off much the same as the last with a delicious breakfast but this time we headed in the direction of the Colosseum. Wow, wow, wow. Huge, giant, spectacular. We spent a bit of time wandering the exhibit which was very detailed and interesting. I loved seeing how the Colosseum was used at different times. Always standing but left at times to overgrow and be inhabited by wildlife. The paintings of it then seem otherworldly. It was really something to just walk the perimeter and imagine what has been. From there we went next door to the forum. Leading up to this holiday and on the plane I was reading a book that really detailed life in the forum and it was very cool for me to be there and imagine from the rubble this incredible place. We walked and wandered, ascending to Palentine Hill, noting how different and incredible the trees are. After the forum we took a different way home and enjoyed looking, exploring and eating. We ate some of our favourite gelato on this jaunt - pineapple - delicious. Then it was home for a siesta and then out to eat some of the most delicious fresh buffalo mozzarella on earth, I'm sure.

The next day we woke up ready to head to our next destination. We grabbed our usual breakfast and headed off to find a taxi only to note that the city had completely shut down for a marathon! We had train tickets booked so we half walked/half ran a very long way until we finally found a taxi and made our way to the station. Nothing like a little drama to say 'Ciao' to a beautiful, historic, incredible city. Rome you were exactly what I dreamed of and more. I'll never forget you or your gelato. xx

ROME DAILY LOG
❤️ for favourite sites
✔️for favourite food

Thursday 14/9

Wanderings through streets of Rome ❤️

Piazza Novano

Pantheon ❤️

Campo di fiori ❤️

Bought a Panama hat

Ravioli in butter and sage

Fettuccine cabanara

Conotti

Passion fruit gelato

Chocolate orange gelato