48 Hours in Rome

If I had to describe my honeymoon trip to Italy and Greece in two words they would be: Jam Packed! Seriously, I wanted to see and do everything in a matter of 10 days, so that meant packing our itinerary to the brim.

And so it went: Rome-> Sorrento-> Positano-> Athens-> Santorini

Looking back, I would've totally just picked one country and slowly made my way through. There's so much to see, do and eat that by the end of our trip, we were beyond exhausted. One thing that helped was allowing time for rest. Some days we literally chilled on the beach or on our patio all day long. And that was awesome.

I chose Italy and Greece on a whim..and the fact that Emirates was offering a two for one special from NYC to Milan- $900 flights for two people at the end of summer. Yes, please.  So I booked the flights and now we had a starting point. I then chose Greece because I had had my eye on Santorini for awhile now and whenever I thought about the ideal honeymoon, Santorini was at the forefront of my mind. The other cities we visited were a result of picking and choosing feasible itineraries for our timeframe.

But, Rome. We're here to talk about Rome.  We had to sacrifice so many Italian cities in order to make it to the ones we really wanted to explore. (Sorry, Milan. Maybe next time?) So we hopped a train (or two) from the Milan airport en route to Rome. And thus our honeymoon adventure began.

STAY

 We stayed in the Campo de Fiori area of Rome which is a little square filled with restaurants, shops and a daily market. It is popular amongst tourists and young people alike which means that it gets pretty crowded during the day and noisy at night. Those things didn't bother us as we found our location to be pretty central to the sites we wanted to explore. We were able to walk pretty much everywhere which helped us save a bit on transportation. We stayed at the quaint Mama's Home Rome which is a small, family owned boutique hotel in the middle of the Campo de Fiori. Our room was spacious and cute, but when I return to Rome, I have my eye on a couple of AirBnb's in the hip Trastevere area.

DO

The Eternal City is undoubtedly filled with ancient sites and things to do. We definitely could have spent at least one more day in Rome to really take in all the sights. Among the most popular sights is the Colosseum. After seeing the Colosseum in books and on Instagram, being up close and personal with this ancient amphitheater was amazing. If history fascinates you, definitely purchase a guided tour in advance. If not, still purchase a self-guided ticket ahead of time, otherwise you'll be waiting in very long lines.

Other sites to take in: Trevi Fountain ( beautiful but go early in the morning to avoid crowds) * Spanish Steps- were under construction when we went :( * Hang out at the Pantheon * Stroll through the Villa Borghese and the Centro Storico * Explore the Trastevere and Testaccio neighborhoods (Both known for their delicious cuisine and nightlife) *The Vatican & St. Peter's Basicilia (Arrive suuuuper early. Crowds and lines are ridiculous.)

EAT

Food is my thing. It is literally one of the things that excites me most about traveling and experiencing new places. So I was super excited to try some iconic Italian dishes in Rome. I've been hooked on food tours ever since we took our first one in San Juan, so I knew that Rome would be a great place to indulge in a food tour experience. We decided to try the highly rated Eating Italy tours and chose the tour that originated in Trastevere based on its proximity to our hotel. We enjoyed roaming the streets of Trastevere and learning about its history while sampling delicious food along the way. My favorite eat of the day was a tie between the tasty suppli (fried rice balls with mozzarella) at I Suppli and the creamy gelato at Fatamorgana. There was even a part of the tour where we got to sit down and indulge in pasta and bottles of wine. Yep. Bottles. Anywho. Whether you're a foodie or not, I definitely recommend food tours as a way to get introduced to the city, sample delicious foods and find new places to eat. Come hungry...you'll definitely leave full.

In short, Rome was a beautiful city and I wish we had alotted more time to explore more neighborhoods. You may find this to be the lingering sentiment of our honeymoon adventure. More Time Needed!

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