Epic Honeymoon - Day 17 & 18 - Rome

The wonderfully touristy Fontana di Trevi.

Our last full day in Rome was dedicated to exploring the main touristy haunts of the city centre, starting with the annoyingly crowded Trevi Fountain. If you’re not aware, the story is that you take a coin in your right hand, back to the fountain, and throw the coin over your left shoulder into the water, wishing for a safe return to Rome. If you’ve done this before and you are back, your safe return has been granted, and so you now wish for something else. But apart from the coin-tossing tradition, the carvings of the fountain are quite spectacular. It’s hard to get a good photo of it, with the crowds around, but you can, relatively easily, get close enough to appreciate it.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 16 - Rome & Vatican City

The exit stairs in the Musei Vaticani.

On Saturday, 30^th September, we had made plans to visit the country within the city of Rome: The Vatican. As a separate city-state, crossing into Vatican City technically counts as visiting a new country – not that you get a stamp on your passport or anything. Obviously you can’t just wander around the entire grounds, but you can visit the various holy sites and museums to learn a bit about the history of the Catholic Church.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 15 - Rome

The exposed foundations of the Colosseum.

The next morning, we walked from our AirBnB to the Colosseum; an easy 10-15 minute stroll. This iconic and immense structure sits proudly at the south-eastern corner of Rome, neighbouring the ruins of the Roman Forum. I had seen the Colosseum on my Contiki Tour in 2011, but didn’t have the chance to go inside. On this occasion, I read up on it in advance and bought the tickets online before leaving home. 

Epic Honeymoon - Day 14 - Rome

Proverbially, all the roads will lead you here; it was the centre of the Roman Empire in the early days, and a powerhouse example of rich versus poor. The ritualistic executions by wild animals did not last, but thankfully, some of the amazing architecture has. Welcome, one and all, to the majesty of Rome.