Rome – No place like Rome

An early flight from London Gatwick encouraged us to get there the night before and to stay at the Bloc hotel, which is right in the terminal and takes out all the stress of rushing to catch a flight.

A simple train journey from the airport into the city had us at our Hotel a little early for check-in, so bags dumped we went in search of sustenance and sights.

The Spanish Steps, famous for being a popular place to sit and enjoy the feel of Rome were closed for public access when we visited making for an even better view.

Two things Rome is not short of, things to see and Gelato. The first we came across was Grom was also possibly one of the best we would visit during the trip. The hardest aspect of a visit there is choosing which flavour(s) to go for. Between us we tried Peach and chocolate chip both of which were exceptional.

Buzzing from the sweet creamy goodness we stumbled across the Pantheon, this would be our approach to finding most things on this visit.

The inside was even more impressive than the exterior.

Turn a couple of corners and you end up Piazza Navona were you will find probably my favourite fountain.

Ruins sit amongst the current day housing seamlessly.

There isn’t much in the way of high rise but there is plenty of grand buildings with impressive views. One of which has to be Altare della patria, a monument built to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first King of a united Italy.

It’s has a lovely museum to walk around with beautiful sculpture and a good cafe to rest those weary feet. It’s defiently worth paying the small fee (€7 I think) to take the elevator to the top for some breathtaking views.

With the bright sunny day suddenly becoming a torrential downpour, we aimed for the Hotel and a good nights sleep.

Day two came clear and sunny, along with a tasty buffet breakfast, a short walk to the nearest metro took us to possibly one of the most famous sites in Rome. The Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Colosseum. Pre-booked tickets for each were exchanged for entry and allow you to skip the insane queues.

Once in you are free to roam around the huge site of the forum it is a testament to the building ability of the Romans that so much still exists for us to enjoy. Although I recommend bringing a sun hat and plenty of water as there are very few places to shelter from the sun and, you’re not going to want to miss a thing.

Make sure you don’t miss Palatine Hill and the museum.

At the top of Palatine Hill is where you probably find the quietest view of the Colosseum.

It would be possible to spend days enjoying all that the Forum has to offer but as you get a timed entry for the Colosseum and starting to feel hungry, we opted for a spot of lunch with a pretty spectacular view.

Its worth doing a lap of the outside first to appreciate the scale before heading in.

Inside the bones of the building are laid bare to see how it must have operated 2000 years ago.

Timed to perfection the clouds come rolling in blotting out the clear blue sky as it had the day before, just as we are leaving the Colosseum.

The sudden change weather had encouraged a large number of tourists onto the metro and the queue to get tickets was huge, but a handy shortcut appeared in the form of newspaper sellers who also sell valid tickets at the same price as the machines.