When in Rome

The first stop on our European trip was to Rome. Rome is my favorite Italian city, so I was excited to go back and for my boyfriend to experience it.

We got to Rome around 1PM. I’m usually awful with jet lag, but this time I wasn’t in too much pain. We checked into our hotel that we found through our Noken app and were pleasantly surprised. The room was amazing and I got even more excited about what was in store for us on the rest of the trip.

Our first day in Rome was pretty chill. We drank wine at a Trattoria, saw the Pantheon, did a little shopping, had a delicious pasta dinner and found a cocktail bar and drank way too much.

Our second day was another story. I was in the middle of my half marathon training during this trip and needed to get a couple runs in while in Europe. Sean and I woke up at 7AM (despite being hungover) and went running throughout Rome. First of all, running on cobblestone is NOT fun. However, getting up early and running through the city gave us the opportunity to do some sightseeing without the crowds. We ran past the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. We somehow found our way to a big hill which took us to the Villa Borghese Gardens. The view from up top was beautiful and we probably never would have found our way there if we didn’t go on that run. We then ran back to our hotel for a much deserved nap.

That afternoon we walked to the Vatican which is my favorite part of Rome. As a Catholic, I find it so moving and powerful visiting there. There are Catholics from all over the world that come to the Vatican to pray.

Afterwards we walked all the way to the Colosseum, which if you have been to Rome, you would know is on the opposite side of the city. (By the end of the day, we had walked/ran roughly 14 miles.) We made it there with about an hour before closing which I highly recommend. There were no lines or crowds so we were able to get in and out painlessly.

We went to dinner that night at a restaurant called Enoteca Ferrara, which was also recommended by Noken. Again, we were not disappointed. The red wine menu was bigger than the size of a fist and the food was delicious. The neighborhood the restaurant was in was super lively which was great for after dinner drinks. It was the perfect way to end our visit to Rome.

Day three brought us to Tuscany. Stay tuned!

xoxo - Kim