The Eternal City.
Rome has a way of polarising people. Many either love it or hate it and for varying reasons.
Me? I love it. And probably because it's where we spent the first leg of our honeymoon as newly weds. Tom, for more practical reasons, is not a fan. Rome is chaotic, messy, dirty and wonderful. I can't help it, I love Rome.
We were lucky enough to stay at the beautiful K Boutique Hotel, located right near the Colloseum. We had the most incredible view over Rome from our room, and the hotel also has a rooftop spa, outdoor shower and bar. What a dream.
Now obviously Rome is full of big ticket "must see" items like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Vatican City (which yes, isn't technically in Rome), Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, the list goes on. However, one of our favourite things about Rome was getting lost in the streets, buying a coffee and just exploring.
The little side streets and the restaurants are so magical, and simply wandering around (away from the tourism crowds) lets you really get to know a place.
Now having said that, it was REALLY cool to accidentally stumble across the Colosseum when we were looking for our hotel. We'd just gotten off a huge international flight from Australia, were tired and groggy and walking with our suitcases trying to navigate the hectic Roman streets. We didn't realise but we'd actually walked past our hotel and only noticed when we saw the Colosseum!
After locating our hotel and dropping our bags, we decided to make the most of our first day in Italy and do a guided tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. I must say, you do need to be skeptical of people flogging "tours" outside monuments in Italy, however you can also find good ones with really engaging and insightful guides. We were lucky enough to come across a guided tour, which we initially thought was dodgy, that ended up being amazing. Our tour guide took us through the Roman Forum, an area called 'Campitelli', which Tom and I loved as it's our surname, and provided us with many interesting facts along the way.
When we arrived at the Colosseum, we had purchased a 'Colosseum by night' tour, which I highly recommend as there are no large tourist crowds. Smaller, controlled groups are taken through at nighttime and you really get to experience the arena and imagine what it once was, without the interruption of tall people in front of you, pushing, shoving and getting their selfie sticks in your face.
By the end of the tour, we were literally falling asleep standing up, it was ridiculous. Good thing our hotel had a big, comfy bed waiting for us!