This may be the shortest Rome blog on the internet but I still want to share what we did in our 48 hours there! I opted to spend $500 USD and hire a driver for a private transfer from Positano to Rome through Aequa Limo and it was money well spent. The driver picked us up right on time, the ride was about 3.5 hours and we were dropped right in front of the door to our apartment. I reserved our place through Plum Guide. If you haven’t checked out their properties, do it! This rental service seeks out the most luxurious properties so you won't be left disappointed when you open the door. Only three percent of the properties that apply are chosen to be listed!

Our apartment, Hot Off the Press, was located 5 minutes from the Colosseum in a mostly residential area. If you are in Rome for a short time, maybe this isn’t the location for you since it was a lengthy walk to see the major sites. We enjoyed the quieter area and didn’t mind exploring, but something to keep in mind. It was the perfect set up for us with three bedrooms and two bathrooms and very affordable at less than $300 USD per night. Since we arrived in the afternoon, we just changed our clothes and hit the streets.

There are hundreds of restaurants to choose from in Rome so research is key! I knew six months ahead of our trip that I wanted a reservation at the Roscioli Salumeria. It was an incredible meal! We ordered the grilled artichokes, grilled peppers, mozzarella di buffalo, chestnut ravioli, carbonara and the meatballs! I wish I would have taken more pictures! Add this to your list if visiting Rome and make sure you make your reservation well in advance. I recently saw that they opened up a location In New York City and I am so excited to go there and try the food again.

Since we only had one full day in Rome, I booked two different types of tours so we could maximize what we could see. I don’t always love a tour because I like the freedom to make our own schedule, but I can’t say enough good things about the two we chose. In the morning we scheduled a food tour through Katie Parla and for the evening we did a sunset golf cart tour through Rolling Rome.

Our food tour was great! Our guide Arianna met us in the Prati district (just North of the Vatican) and walked us through the neighborhood. We visited the market to try fresh mozzarella di bufala and roasted pork, tried the famous Bonci Pizza , had coffee at the cutest cafe and finished with gelato. I wish I would have taken more photos but we were too busy snacking and chatting. The tour lasts around three hours and cost $300 Euros plus gratuity for the guide. Worth every penny! I chose this tour because we needed a morning option but Katie Parla offers many different tours through different areas of Rome. I can’t say enough good things about our experience. Of course there are a bunch of other companies that offer food tours so definitely do your research.

After our food tour we walked to see the Vatican. We opted not to do a tour even though I could have pre booked our tickets. Given our short time there, we figured we would save it for another time. I couldn’t believe how log the lines were and it was very hot!

We spent the middle of the afternoon walking around Rome, taking pics in front of the Trevi Fountain with 1000 other people, eating Tiramisu from the famous Two Sizes and trying to keep cool. It was so fun to just see the people and the sights. Oh and the free water all over the city was a life savior.

I booked the sunset tour through Rolling Rome and it was so much fun! Like seriously we laughed so hard and our driver was the sweetest. She took us all over the city and we saw things we would have never seen on foot, especially with our time constraints. She took us by the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Palatine Hill and Circus Maximus. We got aperol spritzes to go and stopped for gelato! The tour was around 2.5 hours and the best part was she dropped us off back near our apartment so we wouldn’t have to walk back from where we started. Oh and we almost saw Tom Cruise come out of his hotel while he was in Rome for the Mission Impossible movie! Such a fun night and a great memory for all of us.

We grabbed a late dinner at a restaurant down the street from our apartment and couldn’t wait to get to bed. We had a busy travel day ahead of us to our next stop.. Florence!

Breakfast was cappuccinos, fruit and the famous Roman pastry, the maritozzo. It is a traditional sweet bread roll, filled with fluffy panna – like whipped cream and it’s delicious! Then it was time to head to the Roma Termini to catch our train to Florence. Taking the train is nothing like flying, no need to get there two hours ahead of time. I purchased our train tickets ahead of time so all we had to do was scan the QR code to pass through the gates to the trains. I highly recommend doing this.. makes it so easy!

Although our time in Rome was short, we made the most of every minute we had. We walked around 40,000 steps/ 20 miles over the two days we were there! We all agreed we would love to come back.

Happy traveling!

x, Julie