When in Rome... (Part 2)

St. Peter's Square at night.

Cheese and egg soup - unusual but surprisingly yummy.

Day 2 - Colosseum and Palatine Hill

We took the metro from Ottaviano to Colosseo, involved a changeover at the main Termini station.  It was easy and straightforward.  The interior of the metro looked exactly like Singapore's MRT.  The metro ticket was a flat fee of 1.50 euros per person per trip.  There were some steps involved, though, so Kevin had to carry the stroller up and down.

We ran into some new friends who said they did a guided tour of the Colosseum, so we decided to do the same.  The Colosseum isn't very big and the guided tour made it a lot more interesting.  The guide had an extensive knowledge and spent a good chunk of the tour telling us things about the Colosseum.

Cross-legging at the Colosseum.

View of Palatine Hill from the Colosseum.

After a brief break for lunch, we headed over to Palantine Hill where another guide took over.  He was again very knowledgeable and made the ruins come alive.  Otherwise, we would be just looking at clumps of stones without appreciating their significance.

On both tours, we brought the stroller along.  There were steps involved but not excessively high, so it was ok to carry the stroller up.  The fact that Lucas could walk helped a lot as Kevin didn't have to carry the stroller and him together.  We did get a lot of offers to help from the other members of the group so it was nice.

What was originally a chariot track at the Palatine Hill.

A once-opulent Roman villa.

Exiting Palatine Hill on very bumpy cobblestones.

We then took the metro to the Trevi Fountain.

Everyone wanted a piece of the Trevi action.

It was quite a majestic sight.

The Pantheon at dusk.

Another dramatic fountain, this time at Piazza Navona.

Day 3 - Villa Borghese and Spanish Steps

Our B&B owners told us at breakfast that there was going to be a demonstration in town and advised us to avoid certain places.  They suggested we visit Villa Borghese so we set out after breakfast.  It was about half an hour walk.

Pasar malam on Rome's shopping streets!

Lunch break on the way to Villa Borghese.

Piazza del Popolo near Villa Borghese.

Strolling up to the gardens.

More steps..

Beautiful sunset from Villa Borghese, on the way down to the Spanish Steps.

Masses of people hanging out at the Spanish Steps.

Pompi - the only reason why you should visit the Spanish Steps!
Best tiramisu in Rome, in convenient take away boxes.

We were fascinated by the presence of these stalls on the streets of Rome, so we took another photo.   This one was in front of a respectable looking Trussardi outlet.

When in Rome... (Part 1)

We finally made it to Rome, so I guess all roads do eventually lead there.  Now we can leave Europe without any regret since we have visited this 'must-see' destination.  

We dutifully checked out the 4 big sights: 

Lucas and daddy at Vatican City.

Deadly entertainment at the Colosseum. 

 Trevi Fountain (we didn't throw a coin in). 

Hanging out at the Spanish Steps, hola!

I am tempted to end this post right here.  You would probably have seen hundreds of photos of these world famous attractions.  Or you might even have hundreds of your own photos.  But, oh well, let's just add a few more.

We flew Easyjet.  1.5 hours from Amsterdam.  Lucas ate his fried rice as we took off, promptly went to sleep and woke up when the plane landed - perfect.

Shaking leg at Schipol.

Day 1 - We arrived at our B&B (http://www.quodlibetroma.com/) around 4pm.  We had a wonderful driver, Alessandro, arranged by the B&B.  

B&Bs in Rome are typically an apartment on the top floor of a building.  Ours was ranked no. 4 on Tripadvisor and had very good reviews.  We discovered that everything said in the reviews were correct.  Here's why we liked the place:

#1: The room was spacious.  It had a double bed, a single bed, baby cot, small table, wardrobe and still had ample space for our 2 luggages, stroller (unfolded) and Lucas to amuse himself.

#2:  It was very well-maintained and clean.  This unit was just opened in July 2012.  The colour theme for our room was a tasteful all-white.  White sheets, white curtains, white furniture, even white television and remote control.  The room also had a safe and mini fridge.  It had both air-conditioning and heater.  Every evening when we came back, the room was warm and toasty, all clean and smelled wonderful!

#3:  It was very quiet, we had wonderful sleep at night.

#4:  Free WIFI works!  Signal was excellent throughout.  No English channels on the Smart TV but we could access youtube.  Lucas could watch PSY horsing around while taking his bath.

#5:  Wonderful friendly hosts.  The place is run by two brothers-in-law.  On the first day, Agustino sat us down with a map and showed us how to walk to places of interest, where to take the metro/bus, where to eat where we won't get ripped off, where the locals shop.  Every morning, either he or Gianluca was around to answer any questions we might have.  It was like having a personal tour guide.

#6:  Location.  We were just 5 minutes walk from the Vatican City, great when you have a tour that would start at 9am.  But being near the Vatican City meant that it was away from all the other sights.  It was about 20 minutes walk to get to the other side of the river.  Despite the distance, we walked almost everywhere, day and night.  Rome was surprisingly safe.  We did take the metro a few times.  The metro stop was only 2 minutes walk from the B&B.  We avoided the taxi as it would have cost 15-20 euros per trip on average.

#7: Value for money.  We paid only 69 euros a night, inclusive of a hearty continental breakfast served in the room every morning.  The kitchenette was well-stocked with coffee, tea and snacks available all the time.  And there was a 24-hour bakery in the basement of the building.  Our fresh  croissants at breakfast were from there.  Kept some to eat the next day and still wonderfully moist and tasty.  

Day 2 - Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica

We purchased a three-hour guided tour of the Vatican City, via viator.com.  It was not cheap - 32 euros per person not including the entrance fee which was another 21 euros.  

There was a time when I would have trawled the internet forums and do all the research before we go on a holiday like this.  I would have mapped out all the details - where to buy tickets, what type of ticket, how to best maximise our visit.  Now all that is just too much hard work.  

For this tour, we just had to turn up.  We were given individual headsets which meant that we could walk many feet behind the guide and still hear her live commentary.  It was great!

In the courtyard of the Vatican Museum.

Nudity was the way to go in those days.

Red marble bathtub and sarcophagus (below). 

Opulent artwork everywhere you look - on the ceiling, on the floor, on the wall.

Photography is forbidden in the Sistine Chapel, so this is our stolen shot.

View of St. Peter's square from outside the basilica.

This is the Holy Door which is only opened every 25 years and is otherwise walled up.

St. Peter's Basilica (exterior).

Inside St. Peter's Basilica.

Please see below as to why I have no idea what these photos are about!

This is how we got around Vatican City with a stroller:

It was definitely better than not having a stroller.  But we could do this due to it being low season.  I can imagine it would be impossible to push a stroller at any other time.  The Vatican City had 5 million visitors last year.

St. Peter's Basilica was the only place that did not allow a stroller in.  So Lucas was let loose and proceeded to clean the floor:

To stop him from being a mop, I carried him for the rest of the tour of the basilica.  I missed all the commentary as he kept taking the earphone out of my ear to listen and occasionally talk to it.

Our visit continues in the next blog post!