When in Rome

Every year, my daughter and I venture out to another corner of the globe. We knew our latest adventure would involve Italy, but we found it exceptionally frustrating deciding on a location. Unlike our previous trips, we only had 10 days of travel including flights. Racing from city to city is no way to experience travel, so we had the arduous task of deciding on a location. It is Italy after-all. So many places to see with so little time. We had to choose between, Florence, Naples, Rome, Venice, Milan, Verona, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. I’ll admit, I’m always drawn to seaside destinations. Especially the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, I made this my daughter’s decision, and thus our Roman adventure began.

Where we stayed

I usually book boutique hotels when I can, but I had spotted a Sofitel (Sofitel Villa Borghessi) on Expedia, and I’ve never had a bad stay in a Sofitel. The check-in desk attendant held up two room keys.
Him – “Here you go sir. This room is on the 4th floor, and this room is on the ground floor.”
My daughter – Snatching the 4th floor key from his hands. “My dad is old, he needs to stay on the ground floor”
We settled into our respective rooms and they weren’t too shabby!
One of the main reasons for booking this hotel was the indoor/outdoor rooftop restaurant and bar. What an outstanding view of the city.

Getting Around Rome

Since I wanted a hotel within 5 kilometers from the main tourist spots, we walked from the hotel on most days. You also have the option to take a taxi, rental car and most hotels will let you rent a moped. I preferred the moped because parking was a breeze.
While in Rome, walking will be a large part of life for you. I suggest you choose your footwear wisely. If you choose to wear dress shoes or high-heels, you will pay for it dearly. Bring some good walking shoes. Your feet will thank you.

The Food

No matter where you go, the hotel staff and the locals know where to get good food. Rather than give restaurant recommendations or food choices such as the different pastas, I’ll advise you to ask the locals what’s good as they know best. If you’re hungry, there are no shortage of restaurants in Rome. Just pop in and grab a bite. If you are a foodie like I am, you might want to try a food tour. It’s about 2 to 3 hours of grazing the restaurant pastures of Rome. The first food tour I ever took was in Rome, and I have since taken about a dozen food tours around the globe. They are fun and you tend to meet some pretty cool and like-minded people.

Tours

For the most part, I don’t like tour groups. I like to explore and discover on my own, but it’s Rome. There are endless places to see and so little time to see them. The lines are long and so is the wait. Being part of a guided tour group or even a private tour will usually get you ahead of the line. In our 10 days, we barely scraped the surface. For most places, my daughter and I opted for guided tours. I forked over the extra cash for a private tour with just my daughter and I. Private tours are more intimate and you learn a great deal more in contrast to a full group. Having an endless selection of tours to choose from, I chose to book our tours with Viator. I know it sounds like a shameless plug, but Viator is my go-to when it comes to tours.

What to See in Rome

Having so little time, we couldn’t see everything, but I’ll touch on the must see places while you are there. Most are obvious while a few may be obscure, but worth the visit.