Decided to do Rome in 48 hours even-though just 2 days in Rome wouldn't be doing it justice. Landed in Fuimicino airport early morning, which is quite far off from Rome centre. I took the fast Leonardo Express train into the main city station (Roma Termini). My Hotel was well situated just couple blocks off the Termini station, and a short walk to all of Rome’s central sights. I didn’t use any public transport in the city, pretty much did walk extensively in order to see everything I wanted in a short period of time.
Crossing the road in Rome is not something for faint hearteds..loads of tiny scooters paying scant attention to the road signals, treating them as suggestions, taxis who honk at every opportunity... You just have to "Go for it!" and the vehicles will stop.
On the first day I explored the Colosseum and Roman forums , Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona areas. First, a visit to the Colosseum, perhaps the one must see attraction. The Colosseum ticket includes Palatine Hill and the Roman Forums, which are more ruins.
After spending the entire morning here, it was lunch time, so time to try some Roman food. Not sure where to go and to avoid the typical tourist trap restaurants that are around the Colosseum, I decided to head back to the main train station, Termini. Termini, being a major transport hub, has many cafes and restaurants that are open 24/7. We went into one of the pizza restaurants. As my hotel was near Termini, I ended up coming here for dinner also. Termini at night is dodgy...Lots of shady characters, policemen walking around, homeless people, beggars, all the weird and wonderful things one might expect from a big city train station. Not the best location to wander around aimlessly.
Afternoon, it was to the world famous Trevi fountain. An extremely huge and striking fountain, it is perhaps the world's biggest wishing well. Loads of people and everyone seemed to be more interested in throwing coins into the fountain! Walked around the area surrounding the Trevi Fountain and towards the Spanish Steps, lots of shopping and eating around this area.
The pantheon was up after that- basically a church with a huge hole in the middle. It was fascinating to take a step off the main streets and explore the side squares and alleys around this area
Next day I visited the Vatican City. The Blog post is here
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