We landed in Rome late Saturday, April 11th after a long flight to an 8-hr time difference. So I thought fatigue and jet lag would have us off for a couple of days, but we actually adjusted pretty quickly. We headed out for a full day of sightseeing on Sunday and were immediately charmed and overwhelmed by the city. It was so crowded! There were so many tourists! Everything is expensive! We understand the money! Look, an adorable cafe with outdoor seating! Did you see those random ruins? So many churches and monuments and ornate buildings! Every single restaurant serves pizza and pasta!

Our first stop was to figure out the bus tickets so we could get around for a few days. It was easy and then we were off to see the Trevi fountain. The crowds were crushing, but they have a new (to me) system of ticketing to control the crowds. We bought our €2 tickets and shuffled through, getting our obligatory photos and throwing our (one for the six of us because we never have cash) coin over our shoulder into the fountain to ensure future visits.

From there we walked to the Spanish Steps, passing by beautiful buildings, cafes, shops and monuments. We stopped at Trinità dei Monti church before making our way down the steps.

From there we wandered the streets, admiring the architecture, doing a bit of a shopping (Luisa got her much-desired Labubu and we saw the biggest Legami store which was very exciting), had lunch and then made our way down to the River Tiber.

And then we entered the Castel Sant’Angelo. It had a few interesting rooms with artwork and some beautiful architecture but the views were the real star. There was a wraparound “porch” area with gorgeous views around every corner and then one level higher, a panoramic terrace with 360 degree views.

And then it was time to walk back to our apartment, have some dinner and crash. Our jet lag eventually caught up with us! On the way back, we caught a glimpse of Saint Peter’s Basilica. Gorgeous!

Day Two started with a bit of school and then a lot of sightseeing and learning about history. We took the bus from right outside our apartment to one end of the Roman Forum. (Side note: our apartment was a bit small and higher priced than we usually like to pay but the location was perfect!) We ended up entering the forum from the exit, which turned out to be a great “choice” since the line at the entrance was sooo very long.

We had a hard time getting tickets for the colosseum, so we ended up with an audio tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill from klook. I would have preferred to have an in-person guide, but for the forum, the audio guide actually worked really well. We each had the app on our phones and brought our own headphones and could wander and pause and skip what we wanted.

Then we walked up and explored Palatine Hill, where we saw some beautiful views, fountains and ruins.

And then it was time for the main attraction: the Colosseum. We had some trouble getting tickets, but in the end it worked out, and we got to go inside! Steffen really wanted to go to the “arena” level which is the level that the gladiators stood on. We were unable to get tickets for the arena and another area (you can go up some of the tiers and/or down into the underground area) and, as I wrote above, were unable to get an in-person guide. But we had plenty of time in the arena area, had our audio guide and took advantage of eavesdropping on a few other tours as they passed through. 🙂 There was a huge downpour in the middle of our visit, but we did go back out afterwards for a quick family photo. All in all, a success!

Then we walked back toward the exit of the forum, where we had started. We passed some more ruins (so many ruins all over Rome!!) and ended up at the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. Most of the family was done learning about history and sightseeing by that time, so just Hannah and I stayed out. We walked around the monument and then chose to spend money on coffee and cake rather than museum tickets. 🙂 It was a nice little date!

Then it was time for a little shopping before meeting up with the rest of the family for a delicious pizza dinner. We have been getting our fill of pizza and pasta here, much to everyone’s delight.

Side note: we have seen this “blind dating with a book” idea in bookstores around the world, and I love it! I think it would be a fun way to exchange used books with friends–everyone brings a few wrapped books that they have already read and then picks a new “date” (or two).

I think I will wrap this up here, since this is already very long! More from Rome soon…