Rome, Italy
Trevi Fountain
There truly is no place like Italy! They have it all- culture, beauty, food, and history. In order to see it all, you could spend months traveling across the country. We were fortunate to have two weeks across Italia but narrowing down which cities to go to was the hardest part! So with a lot of research and opinions from friends/family, we created our ultimate 14 day itinerary. The cities we decided on were Rome, Pisa, Florence, Lake Garda, Dolomites (Cortina d'ampezzo), Venice, Verona, and Positano in the Amalfi Coast. I will break down each city, why we chose to visit there, and all of our recommendations. It was truly the trip of a lifetime as we fell in love with this beautiful country! We plan to hopefully go back one day and check out places we missed like Sicily, Lake Como, Milan, Capri, and Naples.
Spanish Steps
ROME
The first stop of our Italian adventure began in the one and only, Rome. The city of history, love, and most important to us…. food! We stayed two nights in this magical city but wish we had at least 3 full days because, as we learned, it is very spread out with a lot to see and do.
We flew from RDU—JFK— FCO in late March of 2022 to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. The weather in March was just starting to warm up so it was perfect for walking and exploring as we didn’t build up a sweat. This time of year is out of tourist season which meant that lines were shorter and less crowded. I highly recommend visiting in March as hotel/Airbnbs are cheaper with more options before the summer rush. I also advise booking dinner and tour reservations ahead of time!
Balcony View from our Airbnb
Day 1:
We love staying in Airbnbs where we can to truly take in the neighborhoods of a city. The beautiful Deluxe Two Bedroom Penthouse was near the center of Rome and only a five minute walk from the Trevi Fountain. We were able to check in early at 11 am before we began exploring major historic sights like the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. For a quick lunch, we grabbed pizza at Pizza in Trevi. We wandered around and stumbled into a coffee shop near the Spanish steps called Trinitia Snack Bar for cappuccinos- a European must! After a long day of travel, jet lag, and sightseeing, we took an afternoon nap back at our Airbnb.
To get the most out of our stays, we enjoy booking food tours and learning from locals about ingredients and recipes native to them. Beginning at 4:30 pm, we enjoyed our four hour Sunset Walking Food Tour in the Pratti District. This ended up being private since most people tend to book later dinner tours but we were tired and wanted an early dinner. We had the most amazing pesto, cheese, and truffle tasting at La Nicchia Cafe (pictured below) then a tour of the famous cheese/deli shop- La Tradizione, world renounced Bonci Pizzarium, another pizza and cheese tasting at a restaurant the Pope eats at (fun fact), and ended the night with pasta (gnocchi) and tiramisu at Al Giardino Del Gatto E la Volpe Srl (Pinocchio themed). It was the perfect first day as we were able to utilize the time before the next full day we had in Roma.
Food tasting at La Nicchia Cafe
Sistine Chapel/Vatican City
Colosseum
Day 2:
We woke up and walked a short few feet away to enjoy coffee at Tre Caffe Bistrot just down the street from our Airbnb- you must try the pistachio croissant! To avoid waiting in lines, we woke up early and bought tickets for the Big Bus hop on/off tour along with skip the line tickets for the Colosseum and Vatican City through Discover Rome Tours. We rode the bus to the Colosseum at 10:30 am where we listened to to Rick Stevens audio guide- download the free audio before arriving! The tickets also included entrance to the Palatine and Forum which ended up being about 2-3 hours in total. We then hopped back on the bus to Vatican city and rode Bird scooters to Bonci Pizza (again) before scootering to the meet up spot for the skip the line tour at Vatican/Sistine Chapel- I recommend getting a guided tour for the beautiful art history you will learn at the museum. If short on time, go straight to the Sistine chapel and work backwards- you need about 3 hours to see it all.
We ended our day with dinner reservations at Osteria Barberini which was a five minute walk away from Airbnb. We loved the mushroom lasagna, cacio e pepe, and tiramisu!
Osteria Barberini
The Taste- gelato
Get lost and explore the streets of Rome
