Rome: Fall In Love (Rome)

Member Name: GoldieGold

Product:	Rome
Date:	21/10/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So much do see & do

Disadvantages: Nothing

This will probably be a long review but there is just so much to say about the lovely Rome. I went there for five days at the end of last June & I fell in love with the place. There is so much to see and do whilst you are there day & night, it is a great place. This really is a great European city to visit.

I stayed in a hotel which was a 10 - 15 minute walk from the Termini (Rome's biggest rail station). I cannot remember for the life of me the name of my hotel but it was not that grand and I wouldn't stay there again.


--- The Termini ---
This is a really huge building it is really long and quite wide. The train station has trains going to other cities in Italy as well as local places & other countries. Out the back of the train station is a huge bus station/depot which has loads of buses that go all around Rome.
The top level is sort of like a mini high street fused with a train station. It has places to eat such as Chef Express and a McDonalds. There is also a shoe shop, clothes shops, etc. I ate a few times in the Termini but it wasn't really enjoyable.
Also as with any large train stations watch your handbags and pockets as pick-pocketing in this area is rife. Oh and also watch your bottom as I had some old man grab mine & to add insult to injury he followed me and my friends around the Termini for around 10 minutes. This isn't a usual occurrence and only happened once in the Termini but still thought I should throw the warning out.
There is a lower level to the train station which has shops like a pharmacy, souvenir shops, clothes shops & Sephora (I was dragged out by my friends after spending a fortune on cosmetics in there, I could not help myself!).
_Chef Express_
As I mentioned earlier this is a restaurant located in the Termini we were meant to have our dinner there every night it came in the hotel package we only ate there twice. It isn't that nice for meals but it is rather cheap I think if you were paying and it wasn't included in your package it was Euro8 for two courses. For starters they do pasta which is quite nice I had tagliatelle with mixed vegetables for my starter the pasta was actually really nice. The main course was roast chicken and chips, the chicken was extremely dry kind of like chewing card board and my chips were cold. It is good value for money but I do advise you to spend your euro elsewhere.
_McDonalds_
This is right next door to Chef Express and I do admit we had our lunch in there on the last day because we were in a rush. I usually avoid fast food chains when I am on holiday but sometimes you just cannot resist. The service in this McDonalds is grand, the staff try their best to assist you if you do not speak Italian. They got my order right the first time and understood immediately what I wanted (I only speak English & basic French). I usually feel guilty when I go to a country and I don't speak their language but they are lovely here.


---- Catacombs of St. Callixtus ----

There are different catacombs you can visit in Rome such as Catacombs of St. Sebastian & Catacombs of St. Domitilla. We visited the Catacombs of St. Callixtus it was included in our holiday package so we arrived on a coach. It didn't take too long to get to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and I am sure you can get there by bus.
I would advise you to take a cardigan to the Catacombs as once you get deeper and deeper underground it gets absolutely freezing cold. I would also advise that you wear some sort of flat shoe as the ground in the Catacombs is really uneven and it is quite dark.
You will be guided by a tour guide who will explain all the different crypts and tombs that you visit. You will probably be in a group of eight or nine people including the tour guide.
In the Catacombs of St. Callixtus there is the Crypt of The Popes it is the most sacred and holy place in the Catacombs. There were nine popes buried here and their names inscribed around the tombs, the crypt itself is like a little room and you can see the stone tombs where the bodies lay. The bodies are not there of course and have been moved to other grounds but it is still a good experience to visit the crypt and see it first hand. There is also the Crypt of St. Cecillia the saint of music before you get to the Crypt Of The Popes.
Visiting the Catacombs was a great experience and I would do it again it is incredible to witness such architectural structures and burial places deep under the city.

---- The Pantheon ----

This is a circular building with the famous dome which has a hole in it so you can see the sky. The Pantheon was originally built as temple to the Gods. It is really nice to go inside on a sunny day as the sunlight shines through the ceiling. The problem with the Pantheon is that it is always packed with tourists and people and it can be a little hard to manoeuvre around the building.
There are nice little shops around the Pantheon selling postcards, ice cream and souvenirs. There is also a McDonalds directly across from it if you are peckish.
The thing I disliked about the Pantheon was the seller men. The people who sell plastic toys, lasers flashing sunglasses and all that sort of stuff they mostly operate around the outskirts of the Pantheon. The just would not leave me and my friends alone even if we politely declined what they were trying to sell us.

---- The Collosseum ----
This is extremely busy and there are hundreds of tour guides touring around the Collosseum. The tour guide stops out side the Collosseum and explains it's history. You then have a chance to go through the stone ruins of the attraction. There are some lovely views from the upper levels of the Collosseum. It looks really stunning at night when it is light up all around the building.

---- The Spanish Steps ---
The steps are a great place to visit during the night or day. I went during the day and night, the atmosphere was great at both times. The Spanish steps are always extremely busy and bustling with people so if crowds aren't for you then I would steer clear.
There are a lot of fashion shops around or near the Spanish Steps such as Moschino, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino & Yves Saint Laurent (another shop I was dragged from before I sold my house, my soul & family to buy the whole store). There also nice little pubs and cafes around The Steps all in all it is a great place to visit as there are so many people. There is a nice restaurant/bar at the very top of the steps to the left although it is expensive and there are just as nice and cheaper places around the steps.

---- The Trevi Fountain ---
I visited the Trevi Fountain at night time when the fountain is all lit up and just looks absolutely stunning. The Fountain was one the most busiest attractions I had visited in Rome. Just trying to get near the Fountain is a task and adventure all in itself.
Apparently if you throw coins into the fountain you are likely to return back to Rome. Thousands of euro are thrown in to the Trevi each day. I heard that there is a hefty fine for anyone who climbs in the fountain and you will be carted of by police not that I wanted to try that.
There are men dressed as Roman warriors who take pictures at the fountain but be careful as some of them try to charge up to Euro30 euro for one photograph.
The Trevi Fountain is worth a visit just because of it's beauty. There are lots of nice little ice cream shops around this area and it really is worth buying ice cream as it is so yummy.


Rome is a great place to visit I advise anyone to visit Rome as it is so pretty and eye catching you may just fall in love. There is so much that I cannot fit it all in one review it almost makes me so sad to cut out parts of the trip.

Summary: One of the most amazing cities ever!