Introduction
If you want a fast-paced city break. Book a short stay in Rome. I am here now and have walked across the city in a few days. You probably take your life into your own hands when you cross a road as traffic comes at you from all directions. Ironically, finding a great cup of coffee here is very hard. Instead of hunting the numerous cafes, I have resorted to using McDonald’s. Unlike the UK, a restaurant has a cafe inside that serves pastries, cakes, and barista-made coffee in china cups and saucers. I resorted to this after paying for an Americano coffee with milk somewhere else and receiving a thimble of coffee for seven Euros! Similarly, a pint of Guinness in an Irish pub costs eight Euros, with little evidence of Irishness, and the music is mostly UK and US hits.
The Italian Touch
Much of Rome is under construction, so some sights are covered in boarding. The Pantheon and Trevi Fountain are two of them, but I highly recommend the Vatican Museum, Basilica and the Coliseum. However, avoid the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum. Just a load of models and prints, and you will have walked around it in
five minutes. Yet Vatican Square is a stunning walk-by day or night with a lovely decorated Christmas tree adorning the square. The Pope came out this morning to give a papal address to a large seated and standing audience. A word of advice, though, is to try to avoid the hawkers in this area. Most sell the same thing: brightly coloured, cheap mobile phone battery chargers, wrist bracelets and fake designer handbags.
Rome is a beautiful city with some of the best exclusive designer shops, and you often find the best food when enticed into a restaurant. Sadly, it is not cheap here, but you can find reasonably priced pizza and pasta dishes if you go hunting. I recommend a glass of Chianti as your tipple with a meal and always order a cappuccino for your best coffee.
The Rome metro is relatively easy to navigate, and travel is reasonably priced, but don’t use the station toilets because they are horrible and not worth the fifty Cents you must pay. Beware also that the metro is closed during the week from nine pm as significant upgrade work is taking place on the lines. You also have to navigate many stairs; the escalators are long and slow. You tap in on the barrier butturnstyle, which lets you out on the exit. All the trains have 5G access, but you usually have to squeeze into the trains as they are often full. Luckily, the stations are close together on each line.
The Sistine Chapel is a definite must, with a breathtaking ceiling and ornate flooring. Whatever language you speak, most people in Rome speak English and are friendly and polite. Still, with the police and army out in force now, I wouldn’t recommend getting on the wrong side of the law, and the airport is nearly an hour away from Rome. When you have got your obligatory souvenirs and some wine and cheese to remind you of this picturesque city, you will be sad to leave, but make sure you take a short train ride to Florence before you go because, like all the great and good, it is another city you will fall in love with.
