travel with aimee

On the 8th of February we arrived in Rome. A major difference from Milan as the sun greeted us on arrival. The hostel we had booked was called Alessandro Palace and it was roughly £27 a night. It had a small communal kitchen (with free coffee!) and a little bar downstairs. Massive upgrade from where we stayed in Milan. As usual, we didn’t go out the day we arrived. Instead we had a lovely (warm!) shower, and sorted out our stuff then made our way to indulge in a drink. We had found some €1 rosé wine at a store and after Milan, we were very well and up for a drink. Surprisingly it was actually super nice. Since our diets weren’t the best and being on the go constantly, it began to hit us quite fast. We chatted to some people in our dorm, made friends with a guy called Cauã and another man who even put on a little performance for us. Honestly, hostels are an experience like no other. He literally perched on a chair, got his guitar and was singing. I don’t know if it was the rosé or what but I couldn’t stop giggling, I felt like I was in a fever dream.

We made our way down to the bar in time for happy hour (sex on the beach, yes please) and met up with another person who had contacted us via HostelWorld. Hostelworld is a perfect app for all travelers especially solo as when you book your stay you get added to a chat for that hostel and so you can message other travellers who are there at that time. We had a pretty good night, lots of booze and I made friends with two girls there too. I have a funny memory of them that makes me smile even now, as they called me Cassie all night. They told me I reminded them of the character from Skins and so that was me. Christened Cassie. They were super sweet and so complimentary, a perfect pick me up. Sadly they were leaving tomorrow so the friendship was short lived but I guess that’s the way of the travelling world.

Alcohol in our bloodstream and smiles on our faces, Ben and I had a lovely, much needed, sleep that night.

9th February –

The next day, after a late rise and the sight of someone’s sick all over the shower cubicle (gotta love hostels!), we set off to see all that Rome has to offer. It was a gorgeous day to be in Rome as the sunny weather had everyone in smiles. Gelato shops were bustling and aperol spritz’s were flowing. We ticked off the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Colosseum, while also strolling through all the Italian Piazza’s. We had such a lovely day and even stumbled upon some other sights which weren’t on our list but amazed us nonetheless. A very big mention and recommendation is going to Bona Pizza and trying their ‘suppli’….it is to DIE for. I had the bolognese one and I still dream about it to this day. I’d come back to Rome just to eat 20 of these.

That night we cooked some pasta, played some uno with people at the bar while Ben had a beer. I was not up to alcohol after the previous night so I indulged in a lot of orange juice which, I personally think you can never go wrong with.

10 February –

For our final day, we visited the Vatican city, which has a surreal vibe to it and definitely a cool place to visit. We also went to The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which most people know as ‘the one with the mirror’. It was stunning. The artwork in every cathedral amazes me. I can’t even paint a ceiling with a roller never mind a paintbrush for fine details! However, unless you really really want to get that viral mirror photo, I would say queuing up for a few minutes in front of the mirror with everyone watching you, isn’t worth the time. (Life hack: Either bring your own mirror or use someone’s phone and do your own DIY mirror)

Overall I was a big fan of Rome. It’s definitely somewhere everyone needs to go once in their life. The history of the place is so interesting and it’s just such a nice atmosphere. Just be careful of tourist traps such as the people who will try to put a scarf on you and then ask for money…they can be very sneaky!

MUST SEE’s :

• Trevi fountain
• Pantheon
• Colosseum
• Spanish steps
• Victor Emmanuel II Monument
• The Vatican
• Piazza Navona
• The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola