When in Roma
Our first stop in Italy was Rome - It had been many years since Jesse and I had been here so we were really looking forward to explore the city again but this time with our two girls.
Our taxi from the airport took us the most scenic way to our hotel passing Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. It took all our breath away. All of Romes monuments are just so much larger than you ever imagine them to be and even though i’ve been before I am always in awe. Our taxi couldn’t drop as right at the front door of our hotel so he parked as close as he could and we had to wrangle way too many suitcases and car seats a few streets to our hotel. It was definitely a nightmare haha. Our hotel was right near the Trevi Fountain so the streets were filled with tourist. It was a great location but it definitely meant it was a busy area and the cobble stone road was not our friend.
Once we settled into our apartment (it had a broken lift so I felt terrible for the baggage man who took all our suitcases, car seat and gear up to our room) we then headed out to visit the Trevi fountain is was early evening by this stage and packaged with visitors. We ended up wandering the streets hunting for the best restaurant to enjoy dinner. We found a little place tucked in the corner. It started pouring rain so we took this as a sign to head in and enjoy the warm restaurant and some hot food. We enjoyed some Carbonara and Bolognese. It was the best Carbonara I had ever eaten. After our early dinner we grabbed our umbrellas and embraced the less busy streets of Rome and explored before we headed back to our room for a rest. Our hotel was right next to Mancuso Gelati and it was so good! We ate lots of gelato here over the coming days. We ended up going back to our room and having a little rest/ nap. We woke up at 8.30pm and all of us were a little hungry. No fear though it’s still perfectly acceptable to eat dinner at 9pm at night in Italy so we headed out to grab some take away pizza.
Our next day in Rome I woke up early and headed out solo for a morning walk at 6am. The streets were so quiet and I was determined to get some lovely photos of the Trevi fountain for work. Later that morning Jesse and the kids joined me and we all enjoyed the most beautiful breakfast at a little cafe. We chose a table right across from the Trevi fountain and the cover charge for the table was worth the view! We loved people watching that morning. We ended up walking to the Spanish steps which had been dressed up in hundreds of pots filled with spring blooms! Followed by exploring Piazza Navona. We walked all the way to Trastevere town because we wanted to spend the day there eating from all the amazing restaurants and exploring its cute quirks. On the way we stopped by a place called Antico Forno Roscioli and enjoyed some sweet treats.
Trastevere is a beautiful town filled with colour and life. It is known to be a bit of a gem for great affordable restaurants. It certainly didn’t disappoint it was definitely one of the cheapest places to eat. We enjoyed morning cappuccinos before later enjoying lunch at one of the restaurants. I spent a lot of time taking photo here and enjoying the vibe of the locals. A must visit town.
That afternoon we headed to Villa Borghese which was absolutely a highlight to our room trip. It was fun for the whole family. It is a large public park in Rome and it has lots of attractions for the whole family. We hired a 4 person bike cart and enjoyed biking around the gardens and checking out all the sculptures. The kids really loved zooming around on the bike. We then headed to the small lake where you can hire a row boat to live out our “notebook” dreams. It started raining as we paddled the lake but we didn’t mind at all. We all had so much fun. A great activity for young families.
That evening we headed to “Cantina Dei Papi” a Prosciutteria that sells amazing panini and meat platters. There are few of these style places around Rome and we absolutely loved the experience here. They are often small and only seat a handful of tables the food is great value for money and the environment is cosy. Perfect for a rainy roman day. We finished off the day with more gelato of course!
Our final full day in Rome was here we had booked a trip to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We booked it through a website called Viator which by the way is so fantastic for day trips and tours. We loved this tour! Jesse and I had both done this tour before with another company when we first came to Italy but this time we had the most wonderful guide and learnt too much about Ancient Rome. We both studied ancient history in high school so it was really great for us. The tour did end up going for 3 hours instead of 2 as there was a massive thunderstorm half way through. The kids were definitely a little bored and hungry towards the end.
We then headed back to our hotel after getting another 3 course dinner finishing with more gelato - at this point we I am surprised we hadn’t turned into gelato.
The next day the sun was shining and we picked up our car and started our drive to Positano! One of our absolute favourite stops!
