12 hours in Rome!

On Saturday, July 23, we spent 12 hours in Rome! Last week we were looking into going to Rome for part of the weekend and we didn't know if we wanted to stay the night or not. Everyone just kept saying to do day trips because by train Rome is only an hour away and it's not going anywhere. So we decided to just do a day trip. I was looking online at train times and I saw one that got into Rome at 9am and left Rome at 9pm. I was like 12 hours in Rome seems like a good amount of time for our first trip. I asked Clark if that sounded good and he said yeah! It should be noted about 8 hours into the day we were both singing a different tune. 12 hours straight in a city with no place to come back to and regroup (a.k.a A hotel or Airbnb) is a lot. But in the end it was great and I don't regret going that long at all.

So like I said we took the train from Naples to Rome. It was about an hour and we used the train Italo. At one point it was going 180mph so yeah we got there quick. Drive from Rome to Naples takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes so the train ride is nice. Once we got to Naples we bought all day metro tickets that cost $7 each and used them to go from the central station to the Colosseum. As soon as we exited that metro station the Colosseum is right in front of you and it's amazing and beautiful and huge and definitely a great first look at Rome for us! Our only scheduled thing for the day was a tour at the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel which was at noon so we had a little time in the morning. We didn't end up touring the Colosseum this time but definitely next time.

From the Colosseum we walked to the Trevi Fountain or Fontana di Trevi in Italian. It is amazing. I joked on instagram that Rome was living up to all my Lizzie McGuire Movie expectations but seriously it did and than some. The fountain is very awesome and 110% worth the visit. Don't forget to make a wish and toss a coin in. After that we headed to the nearest Metro so we could get over to Vatican City. (The metro system in Rome is really very easy!) Once we got close to the Vatican we stopped for some lunch. You guessed it, PIZZA! Always haha. It was delicious per usual. Then we went into the Vatican, definitely buy your tickets online so you don't have to wait in line. We headed straight for the Sistine Chapel and I am so glad we did because there was a lot to see and look at before we even got there. Unfortunately, there is no AC inside the museum so we were boiling the entire time. But the Sistine Chapel alone is worth it and I even snuck a photo (shhhhhh, don't tell!)

After that we got tickets to do the sightseeing bus tour which takes you in a big loop around downtown Rome and you get headphones and get to listen to history and facts about the different sights you are seeing. I also love how the photos I took from the top deck of the sightseeing bus turned out. I always love doing sightseeing bus tours in new cities because you learn so much. We got to see where Julius Caesar was murdered and see a ton of different historical sites which would have definitely burned us out if we decided to walk there. Even with our hop on/ hop off sightseeing bus tickets and all day metro tickets we ended up walking 14.4 miles which is more than a half marathon! I walked 26,000 steps via fitbit! Needless to say we were so tired by the end of the day. 

We had gelato twice and it was great each time. The second time we found this little hidden gem Frigidarium which has a 4.8 out of 5 rating with 250+ reviews. It really is so good. My favorite gelato flavor so far is definitely peach (pesca in Italian)! I just love it. The fruit flavors are really very yummy.

Shirt: Old Navy

Shorts: American Eagle

Shoes: Nike

Purse: JCPenny