After going to Naples, I took the bus over to Rome which took about 2 hours, when I arrived in Rome, the heat was killing me as it was in the middle of summer. I walked for 20 minutes to find my hostel and left my bag there. I decided to go for a walk around and found that near the tourist attractions, there are loads of people trying to scam tourists and some of them can be quite aggressive.
I was very tired, so I just decided to get something quick to eat and went to sleep. I got some pasta from a place next to the hostel and the guy literally took pasta out of the microwave, if you go to Rome, make sure you eat at reputable places.
The next day I spent the whole day seeing the sites, first off I went to the Trevi Fountain which is an incredible site up close, however you should be wary of pickpockets as it’s a crowded area. Close to the fountain is the Pantheon which is an Ancient Roman temple and it’s incredible that it has been well preserved over the years. However, the crowds around the building put me off actually going inside.
Then I went to Mausoleum of Hadrian which is actually known as a castle and tourist attraction, this place is worth visiting and the sheer size of the place is impressive.
On the walk towards the Colosseum, I took a look at the Altar of the Fatherland, an impressive monument dedicated to the first king of unified Italy. It is a completely white building and there are statues of important Italian figures inside.
After that I headed towards the Colosseum, which involved waiting in line for about 30 minutes for my ticket and it only cost 3 euros for admission of both the Colosseum and Roman Forum which is incredible value for money. Despite the fact it’s quite crowded and that there are loads of obnoxious scammers preying on tourists, the Colosseum is impressive and deserves its spot as one of the seven wonders of the world.
The Roman Forum is also amazing as you can get a view of the Colosseum and see some Ancient Roman ruins up close. I definitely recommend spending about two hours walking around here.
After that, went for a walk around looking for a place to eat, just by chance I found a very nice and affordable restaurant where I had a really good carbonara. I also met some Brazilians who I spoke to in Portuguese for a good hour, finding out about their whole lives.
The next day, I walked over to the Spanish Steps which is a site that was built almost 300 years ago, the heat made it difficult to walk around and the views from the Spanish steps were quite nice. It’s also near the Vatican City, which I went to when I was a kid, it’s worth going to if you haven’t been before.
What I can say about Rome is that you should definitely avoid this place in the summer, even the Romans get out of the city during this time because it is unbearably hot. You should also be careful of people trying to scam you around tourist attractions.
If you enjoyed this post, you should take a read of: