June 2017
Rome isn't visited in a day
At the start of our summer vacation, we decided to spend a few days in the ancient city of Rome. My last visit is actually over 20 years ago and Alex thought he could do with a re-visit. We wanted to explore the classics of which there are so many in Rome as well as trying to find the side of Rome that the Romans like. But we quickly realized we would need more than three days to achieve that. Our three days were enough to see the classics of the city but not enough to venture further out further. So I guess we will have to come back, but maybe this time during a cooler period in the year. Exploring a city at thirty degrees celsius can be quite testing sometimes... We flew to Rome with AirBerlin from Berlin in just two hours and took a taxi to our hotel, the Sheraton Roma. Usually, there is a train going directly to the center of the city (Rome Termini station) but our hotel was a little further out and it was inconvenient to take the train. A taxi from Fiucimono airport has a fixed price going to the inner city and costs at the moment 48€ one way. We arrived at our hotel quickly and noticed that it was a nice hotel, but it was also inconvenient if you are in the city to sightsee. It is a large business and conference hotel, halfway between the city center and the airport. To get to the center of Rome you need to take the underground which can be reached from the hotel on foot, but crossing some bigger roads. We booked this hotel at a friend's rate and got a good deal. Everyone was professional, the beds were comfortable, the Wifi was working and the breakfast was tasty. I would however not necessarily recommend it if your sole purpose in Rome is being a tourist. But once we bought ourselves a 48 hours ticket (12,50€ per person) for the public transport we were mobile and able to use the metro and busses as we pleased. The system is pretty straightforward, the price is fair and it is a great way to get to know the city. Rome was everything I expected and more. Three days are definitely not enough, especially if you want to go beyond the classic sights. There are so many of them that you need a good few days to see them alone. We found some areas apart from the usual and will have to come back during a cooler time of year to re-visit. Love the city and the vibe, it just never gets old...
