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Italy
WHEN: September 2019
WHERE: Rome & Tuscany
HOW LONG: 3 nights
where to sleep
Hotel La Genziana
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Location
Located outside of Rome about 20 minutes in a local town just outside of Cornelia
Likes:
The room was exactly how advertised. Comfortable, spacious, clean. The staff was amazing and very helpful. There's a bus stop right outside the hotel.
Dislikes:
There was no food options and nothing really in walking distance. We had to take bus to metro if we wanted to go anywhere. It was outside of Rome quiet a bit and wasn't as easy to get to (you had to count stops on the bus!). Also to no fault of their own > they were doing construction on power lines outside the hotel which was incredibly noisy and ruined our one morning of sleeping in. Lastly, the check out time is fairly early - 10am.
Price:
I believe we were charged 131 euros but they charge 4 euro per person, per night tourist tax (everyone in Rome does) and because we chose to check out at 2pm instead of 10am we were charged extra. We ended up paying I believe 180 euros in the end . 24 of which was the tax.
what to see/do
#1.Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum
- book your time slot in advance otherwise you will be waiting for hours to get in
- we didn't book a tour guide but we both wish we did
- we spent 12.50 to pre-book our time and skip the line where price at location is 12 euro and you have to wait to get in
- wear good walking shoes and give yourself plenty of time. We did the Colosseum in 20 minutes but I was also sick so we rushed a lot of our activities. Its recommended 3 hours for all 3 sites
- once you're done the Colosseum you head over to the Palatine and Forum and you will have to wait in line there but it wont take super long - I think it took us 15 minutes
#2. Vatican City
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- note the open and closing times and plan accordingly. Note that its not open on Sundays and closes early
- I would recommend also a tour guide and to prebook times > we didn't do either of these and it was about a 15 minute wait to get into the Basilica.
- You probably don't need a large amount of time here maybe 1 hour and a half?
- Must cover: Stomach, Cleavage, Shoulders, Legs
- they do sell scarves and cover ups close by if you needed to buy something (I did)
- certain days they do have the pope come out and make a speech so if you can hit that you'd be really lucky!
#3. Tuscany
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- get out of Rome! Go see the countryside. Go wine tasting!
- we booked a tour through Expedia and it was fantastic - it included a wine tasting and 4 course meal at a local farm
- stop at all the small little towns
- bring wine back with you
- only thing with the tours is that they don't pick you up at your hotels, even if you're located right in Rome - they pick you up at a square which is really easy to access and has a taxi stand located right in it
- I think we paid around 128$ total but I can't remember off the top of my head! It was worth it as Tuscany was honestly a dream and I would highly recommend.
NOM NOM NOM
So when you think of Italy or Italian food obviously the first things that come to mind are: Pasta, Pizza, Gelato and Wine. And you're not wrong. Now. My experience with food their wasn't the greatest, I think I spent like 20 euros on food because I was sick and the taste buds weren't likeing anything I ate. SO i'll speak in Brodie's mind as well as my own. Our reviews on food:
1. Pizza
The first Pizza we had we both said was the worst pizza we both have every eaten. The second one I didn't try but Brodie said it was good (not great)
2. Pasta
We both tried 2 different pasta's. I disliked both of mine. Mostly because of the sauce being too spicy. Brodie loved his. He thought it was very tasty.
3. Wine
Neither of us are huge wine drinkers - I hated the wine. He said it was ok. (We tried 5 different kinds). The other people on the tour said they loved it though.
4. Gelato
I didn't try any (lactose issues) and Brodie had ice cream and he said it was really really good.
End of the story > I like East Side Marios better but we'll be back to try some more!
Also: pasta there isn't like our pasta. They don't do Spaghetti and meatballs, they'll eat them desperate or one or the other.
When we went
We went towards the middle-ish of September (13th-17th). Weather was AWESOME. It was still very hot which we weren't mad about but defiantly made it hard being sick and walking around in the heat. As for crowds/tourists it was still really busy. Maybe not as busy as peak season but it was still really long lines for tickets and crowds in the main areas. I honestly thought with school starting up it wouldn't be as busy but I was wrong! I would recommend going end of September into October to avoid those huge huge lines and crowds/waits.
General tips/tricks
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Pre Book all of your tickets to skip the lines, you don't want to waste your day waiting in line with 3000 other people
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Book tour guides/audio guides
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Visit the museums
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Bring lots of water and a hat because the heat is sticky
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Stay at least 4 nights > this way you can leave the city for a day or two > they have trips that go to Pompeii, Tuscany, Almafi Coast, even Venice - so its an awesome change if you have it
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Don't get TOO excited about the food. Its good, but it's not worth all the hype (my personal opinion and I LIVEEEEEE off pasta and pizza)
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Budget a lot of money for food, its pricey because of the name
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Stay in the city. I personally think it was probably worth the extra money to stay right in Rome. Although we loved where we were it was just a bit of an inconvenience
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Taxi's to and from the airport are 48 euros flat > DO NOT take an offer from someone else at the airport claiming to have a taxi
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Where money belts or lock your backpacks - pit pocketing is bad and so is scamming
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Go REALLY early to the trevi fountain to avoid crowd. Like sunrise literally.
Final thoughts
Even though I was sick and it was hard to enjoy, Rome is stunning. The beauty and history makes the country all worth it.
Would I recommend going?
Yes but I think go when you're older and would appreciate the history more
Would I go back?
I plan on going back when me and my hubby are older - we want to see more of Italy!
Cost Breakdown:
Hotel: Roughly 180 euros (if you're right in Rome you're looking at 100 euro a night though)
Food: I think I budgeted 100 euros for each of us for the entire stay and I think we did only 70 euros TOTAL
Tours/Tickets: We spent I believe around $300 on it
Transportation: We did way more then we should have. Its only 1.50 for 100 minutes on the metro but we cabbed so much that it was probably around 200 euros in taxi fares :P Whoops!
Total Cost:
We Spent: I think approx. 600 euros (300 euros each)
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