Rome was an interesting stop. It was one of those that I’ve had preconceived notions about what I would want to see and what it would be like. Rome is mentioned all the time in books, movies, day to day life even as the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” is a popular one.

With all of that anticipation – I tried to not let myself become too caught up in the romance of Rome. And for the most part I succeeded!

I’ve mentioned it before – but I’m definitely slowing down. I was in Rome for 2 full days and 1 half day, and while I went out each day – they definitely weren’t full days. I slept in each day until I naturally woke up (not as late as some of you are thinking!!!) and then I relaxed for a while before I actually got moving. I’m loving the lazy mornings and I’m glad that soon I’ll be leaving the EU and won’t feel as under a time crunch to see everything, that’ll let me enjoy the lazy mornings even more!

Day 1

My first day in Rome was spent wandering around town – specifically in the direction of the Colosseum. I wanted to see it an the different ruins scattered around that section of town. I took some great pictures of the outside, but I didn’t head inside. I found out when I got there that they closed much earlier than I expected them to with the last ticket issued around 3pm and everything closing by 4pm. Because of this, I decided that it wasn’t worth the cost of admission. Only to later find out that November 4th tickets were free – you just had to get a ticket because of numbers. I was kicking myself over that trust me.

What’s worse, is I actually had seen online when I was checking the cost that in 2023, November 4th was listed as a free day – but I couldn’t find anything confirming if it was this year. When I got there, I heard someone someone talking to a worker who said something similar to “You can get your ticket at that stand”. But there was no mention of the fact that it was free and with the limited amount of time I had I moved on.

Oh well – live and learn. I now know that the 1st Sunday of the month is free for most monument style attractions around Italy and that, in Rome at least, things may be free on November 4th. And now you all know too – if you ever find yourself in Rome at the beginning of November, ask!

Despite all of that – it was still amazing to see everything from the outside. I enjoyed my time exploring around as I typically do.

Day 2

Day two was spent in much the same way that Day one was – exploring by foot. I set off in a different direction though and had my lunch in a park – something I haven’t had a chance to do as much since coming to Italy as so many of their ‘parks’ seem to actually be Gardens that you have to pay to enter.

One of the first things I did after lunch was head to the Trevi Fountain. I had gone there yesterday in my wanderings, but I had only taken a look from a distance as I had a) forgotten to bring a coin to make a wish and b) just gotten gelato and didn’t want to deal with the crowds and risk something happening to my treat. So on day 2 I knew I would get there. Thankfully, as is often the case, there was another solo traveler there and we took pictures of each other in front of the fountain.

Weirdly, as I wandered around I saw a couple of different couples taking wedding pictures around town. I’m not sure if Wednesdays are traditional wedding days in Italy – or if maybe it’s cheaper or what. But I saw quite a few different couples.

I ended my day with a beautiful sunset seen from one of the highest points in the area that I was in.