We spent a week in Rome, just before this summer’s heatwave. We combined three days in Rome city centre with three quiet days at our holiday park.
The holiday park was about 50 minutes from the centre of Rome by public transport. It had a great swimming pool area with three pools, as well as football court and beach volleyball. There were also go-karts for hire and miniature golf, as well as a restaurant, bar, café, shop and gelateria (which I enjoyed!).
We had a small cabin under the trees, which helped keep it cool. However the cicadas made lots of noise during the day which I took a while to get used to. The cabin also had an air conditioning unit so that meant it kept cool.
On our days at the holiday park we just chilled, but we also took three days in Rome itself to see some of the sights. First we went to the Colosseum which was interesting to see. The guide for our tour was informative but entertaining. We followed the Colosseum by walking across to Palatine Hill and the Forum.
The next day we saw the Trevi Fountain which was very busy. I got a bit nervous around there as our guide had warned us about pickpockets. But we were okay. After a wander around the centre, we went out to the Olympic Stadium, which is home to AC Roma and Lazio football teams. There was a concert on that night which meant we could not see it all, but I still got a sense of what it must be like to play there. We went back into the city centre and saw the Spanish Steps before going to the Pantheon.
I was amazed that the building does not flood when there is heavy rain as the hole in the roof is quite large. Our guide, David, told us about how the Pantheon had been built and why it is the only building of its type in the world.
On our final day in Rome, the temperature was rising and we did not do as much as originally planned. We saw the Castel St Angelo and the Vatican, including St Peter’s Square. But that was enough for me, and we headed back to the holiday park for a cool down in the swimming pool.
I really enjoyed my visit and, due to the heat, was glad we had the days to relax at the holiday park as well as being tourists in the city.
One Boy and a Suitcase 