Travel Log: Rome, Italy

Today I want to share the final Travel Log in my Italy series! We recently spent twelve days in Italy visiting Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa, and Rome. Rome was the last stop of our trip, and we only spent a couple of days here before flying home. Since we had visited Rome before, we did not feel like we needed to spend all of our time sightseeing and instead focused on amazing meals and wandering specific neighborhoods. Please read on for more photos, details, and travel tips from our time in Italy's capital city.

We drove from Florence to Rome, leaving fairly early in the morning and arriving in time for lunch at our first stop: Aroma Restaurant in the Palazzo Manfredi hotel. This restaurant is located on the rooftop of the hotel with an unbelievable view of the Colosseum! Aroma has been awarded one Michelin star, so we knew the food and service would be phenomenal along with the view.

A closer look at the view - these ruins used to be gladiator barracks.

Saffron and courgette “Risotto” with octopus ragout and black ink air.

“Tagliolini” pasta with scampi and aubergine passata with basil aroma.

I asked for a "simple house salad" to go with all of the pasta and meat, and this is what they brought me.

Roasted lobster medallions in a tomato “Guazzetto”with broccoli and potato spheres. 

And finally, a selection of desserts. We were happy to spend a couple of hours here enjoying these fantastic dishes along with cocktails and local wine. It was a great start to our afternoon!

We knew we wanted to stay in the heart of the city for optimal wandering, so we chose the Palazzo de Cupis suites right on the Piazza Navona in the 6th Rione. The area was full of cute little streets like this! When staying in Rome, I absolutely recommend staying in the 6th or 8th Rione if you want to be able to walk to sights like the Campo di Fiori, the Pantheon, or the St. Angelo Bridge in ten minutes or less. Trevi Fountain is about a fifteen minute walk as well.

Our room was a junior suite with a gorgeous rounded ceiling and a patio that overlooked the Piazza.

The view from our patio was so pretty, and it was fun to observe all of the hustle and bustle of people from above.

We wandered around the 6th Rione and 8th Rione near the Pantheon before stopping for drinks at a chic bar called Salotto 42. This bar was located a few blocks away from the Pantheon and was packed with cool people, so we squeezed in and grabbed a couple of cocktails. Our rule of thumb is to do some research online but also follow the locals to the good spots!

After drinks we swung by Trevi Fountain since it had been closed for renovation during our last visit. It was great to be able to see the fountain all lit up at night this time and it was on our way to the restaurant we picked for dinner.

We chose another super cool spot called Retrobottega that I found on an Eater heat map list from last winter. It was packed when we arrived and we had to wait about 30 minutes for part of a table, but we didn't mind! One of the dishes we had are this lamb tortelli with nettles, pecorino cheese, and sage and you can see more below.

Kale bottoni with scallops.

Grilled pigeon with radicchio and agretti.

The next morning we woke up early and I was able to take a few photos of Piazza Navona in the morning light without any tourists. It was peaceful, a direct contrast from the afternoon before. Early morning walks around sunrise are my favorite in Rome!

The Roman Forum was on my list to visit this time, because we didn't make it there during our last visit. The Forum was the center of the city back in ancient times, and I have to admit it looked like a mishmash of different building ruins. The Forum evolved over time with different buildings, but also was not kept in one piece after the fall of the Roman Empire. The area became abandoned and people pillaged stone and marble from the area.

To see the Forum, I recommend buying tickets in advance online so that you don't have to wait in line. We went early on a Sunday morning, strolled right up to the window for repurchased tickets, and walked right into the Forum. Tickets include admission to the Colosseum and Palatine Hill as well, so you can plan your day to see all three.

If you arrive early like we did, you could have the place pretty much to yourself! We were able to wander around for a while and take photos without too many people around, but by the time we left it was starting to get crowded.

After the Forum we walked by the Colosseum before getting an Uber back to our hotel since it's basically next door. Unfortunately, though, we couldn't spend much time because we had to get to the airport to catch our flight. It was wonderful to be able to spend a bit more time in this beautiful city, and I hope you enjoyed reading my travel log. If you have a long weekend, I hope you also enjoy your extra day off today!