Thriving 30, Volume 11: Rome in 24 Hours

Can I do Rome in 24 Hours? Oh yes you can! Rome sounds like a big city, but everything you need to see is in walking distance or a really short train ride away. Rome unlike the bay area has an amazing public transportation system, where you pay a flat rate 1.80 euros and your next destination is less than 10 minutes away. Originally I split up my trip in 2 days, where I visit everything on the right of the river in one day (the right consists of Collesesum, Trevini Fountain, and Spanish Steps) and left on the next day (the Vatican, Bastillica, and really good foods). Let me know if you want to see my walking route, I did a cool interactive on Google Maps. But despite my rigorous planning, I think Rome can be done in 1 day. Start early early, and end your day with amazing foods. Rome was probably my least favorite city through my Europe travels unfortunately. One of the reasons maybe staying really close to the Roma Terminal. The neighborhood was a bit sketchy and I wasn’t comfortable walking at night despite how many people were out. This trip has taught me what kind of destinations I enjoy and big cities that are extremely touristy are not one of them.

To eat:

Rome in all of Italy definitely has the best pasta. Don’t pass up the gnocchi at the restaurant I listed in my itinerary.  You will fall in love. It is made by this Italian grandma, I don’t know what’s in it, maybe its her sweat, but most likely its her craft. She has this permanent resting smile that I’ll never forget. Skip out on pizza and save it for Naples and/or other cities you’ll visit.  Gelato, please eat more gelato. Once you are back in the states, no gelato will taste the same. Since the weather is perfect, gelato at any time of day will be perfect. Can you tell I am love with gelato in Italy?

To see:

Definitely pay to see the Colleseum. It has been there for centuries. I saw a before and after picture and it is extraordinary.  Something I wished I did was to come here a much earlier to avoid the crowds. I definitely picked the wrong time to see it (1:00PM), where it was crazy busy.  I definitely encountered the most gypsies at the Colleseum. Please be aware of pick pocket-ers, gypsies, aggressively friendly people, and people selling you things. I try to see the best in others but in this location I lost a lot of faith in human beings here. A lot of my hostel mates mysteriously lost their wallets here.