This week brings us to the final location in the Brown Lady in Europe series.  After an awesome few days exploring Naples and Capri, we head for the last city on our #flirty40 adventure… Rome!  With only two days in Rome, there’s no way you can see everything- not even close.  With that said, you can definitely catch some amazing highlights and get a feel for the city.

Benvenuti a Roma!

After an uneventful hour long train ride from Naples to Roma Termini (no running like we did in Florence!), we hopped in a cab for the short ride to iQ Hotel Roma.

We chose iQ Hotel due to the central location, knowing we wouldn’t want to be to far away from things with so little time to explore.  iQ is a really cute, seemingly new (or recently remodeled) and modern hotel.  The rooms are small, but clean- with nice touches throughout.

Including my personal favorite…

… the alcohol vending machine!?!  How are these not at every hotel?!  You can keep the chips and soda, I’d like wine.  Please and thanks.

Only Two Days in Rome, Hop to It!

While we chose to explore most of London on foot, in Rome we opted to do one of the ‘Hop on Hop off’ tours with Big Bus Rome.  The weather was a little iffy and by this point in our trip, we’d logged more than fifty miles of walking.  So the bus tour it was!  If you’re a history buff, headphones are provided for your tour, so you can listen along with an audio recorded history of the areas you’ll see along the way.  Like many tour buses, it’s two levels so you can choose to sit up top, with unobstructed views and the breeze, or sit down below out of the elements.

We spending some time at Castel Sant Angelo, then hopped back on the bus to head for the attraction I was most excited about – the Colosseum.  I couldn’t imagine visiting Rome and not seeing it.

Whether you are like me and have seen countless films and shows about gladiators fighting to the death in the arena (Spartacus anyone?), or that’s not your thing- the Colosseum is pretty remarkable to see in person.   I was struck by how amazing it is to visit places that are centuries old; places that capture your imagination long before you’ve ever set foot anywhere near them.

Spend An Afternoon at the Vatican

On our second (and final) day in Rome, the only thing on our agenda was a visit to Vatican City.  Much like the Colosseum, it didn’t seem like a trip to Rome would be complete without seeing the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.  I learned early on in the trip, I’m a bit of an architecture geek- and I have hundreds of photos to prove it.  From the countless photos of the Duomo in Florence, from virtually every angle, to my obsession with the architectural details and the ceilings in the Vatican- I was there for all of it.  I’m a visual person and I love pretty things, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

We opted for the self guided tour through the Vatican; you can rent headphones for about 7 euros for an audio guide through the Museums if you choose.  TK got one and I listened to some of it, but ultimately got lost in taking pictures of every ceiling in every room.  But really, can you blame me?  Are they not ridiculously gorgeous?

We continued through the museums and received a blessing in the Sistine Chapel.  A perfect end to our visit to Vatican City.

Custom Made in Roma

On our last night in Europe, TK was still on the search for her custom made Italian sandals.  Not finding a pair in Capri, di San Giacomo Sandals in Rome was her last shot.  Since I’d found my sandals on our visit to Capri (and also gotten more in both Florence and Naples), I was tapped out but along for the ride!  Or the walk… in the rain.  TK was determined, I’ll give her that.  As I followed her through the rain, down cobblestone streets and through corridors, I was hopeful for her sake that it would be worth the trip.  Turns out, it was.  On a busy street full of boutiques, cafes and restaurants, di San Giacomo welcomes you in with beautiful window displays full of jeweled sandals.  Part boutique, part workshop, there are materials in every color, ready to be custom designed!

We met the sandal maker, and chatted with her.  I helped her select the materials for TK’s sandals- she jokingly offered me a job.  I seriously considered staying… there are worse things than being an apprentice sandal maker in Rome.  After she had the design ready, the sandal maker told us she would need about an hour to work and then about twenty minutes ‘with TK’s foot’.  This design process is serious business.  On our way to the shop, we had passed a bar with outdoor seating and good music, so we made our way back to Bar del Fico and had drinks while we waited.

Brown Lady Travel Tips

Save Your Euros

If you go to the Vatican, ignore the hustlers in the area around the museums.  They will try and sell you tours and skip the line tickets for ridiculous prices… and try to take your money in advance before you enter the building.  We saw one poor tourist get hustled for 75 Euros per person (for his family of four) right around the corner from the museum entrance.  TK and I declined to join the group tour and continued around the corner and paid 17 Euros each for museum admission.  And there was no line to skip- we went on a Friday afternoon and walked right in.

I was really glad we weren’t in an organized tour, the groups were huge and were all following leaders with flags (flashback to our one group tour experience in Cinque Terre).  We ducked and dodged the large groups and were able to catch some lulls between tours in hallways with fewer people.  If you would like to do a group tour, go online and book through the museum site.  Don’t pay the fast talking guys outside any mind… or any Euros!

Just In Case

While I was hopeful that everything would go smoothly on our trip, covering three countries on planes, trains and automobiles, we figured it was a good idea to get trip insurance.  We got a basic insurance plan for a month through World Nomads.  It’s worth looking into before you head out, in case of any health emergencies, lost or stolen items.

Remember the Time…

If you’re headed out on a longer trip, use your camera or smart phone as a journal.  You won’t remember every restaurant or place you loved without some help!  Snap a quick picture of menus, signage and highlights of each day.  I was good about writing in a journal for the first two stops of this European adventure, then I fell off completely.  The photo albums on my phone have been a great tool to spark my memory.

So fam, we’ve come to the end of the Brown Lady in Europe series… almost.  You know I couldn’t leave you without an Italian food crawl.  Next week I’ll share all the yummy amazing foodie moments from our two weeks in Italy!

Ciao!