TRAVEL SERIES - ROME AND NAPLES, ITALY

For my Italy trip, I visited Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Pisa, and Cinque Terre. Today's blog post highlights my four days in Rome and day trip to Naples. Check it out!

Since it was my first time in Rome I made sure to visit all the must sees. To get to Rome, I flew from SFO to FCO, with a layover in Germany. The travel time was about 14 hours. From the airport, I took the SIT Shuttle Bus for 6€ that dropped me near my hotel.

– ACCOMMODATIONS –
As a loyal SPG member, I stayed at Le Meridien Visconti and if you saw my instagram pictures or snaps, you saw how modern and chic it is. The 'Category 5' hotel recently debuted in February 2017. What I loved about the hotel was the MALIN+GOETZ toiletries, live jazz artists, and the superb location. The hotel is within walking distance to everything and also close to public transportation (M tram). The breakfast was great and should not be missed.

– SIGHTS –
The absolute must see places that I highly recommend visiting are:
  - Piazza Navona
  - Trevi Fountain - take an obligatory 'throwing coin into fountain' pic 
  - Pantheon - go inside to see the amazing 'eye' of the dome
  - Spanish Steps - great for luxury shopping. I purchased my Louboutin's here.
  - Colosseum
  - Arch of Constantine
 - Vatican City - tour the museum and Sistine Chapel. We paid an extra 4€ for a reservation. Worth it!

– EATS –
Pasta, pizza, wine, repeat. My favorite place to hang out at night was in the quaint town of Trastevere. This college town filled with local residents is home to my favorite restaurant, Il Miraggio. I ordered a caprese, cacio e pepe, and a carafe of wine of course. No matter which restaurant you go, I'm sure it will be amazing and delicious. Some of the favorites were:
  -  Dar Poeta for pizza
  -  Pimm's Good for drinks and wifi
  -  La Romana for gelato. This place is great. I seriously went three times.
  -  Box for a quick snack

– NAPLES –
Since Rome is a major hub and close to other cities via train, I took a day trip to Naples. The train to Naples was just one hour. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and known for the marinara and margherita pizza. With sweeping views of Mt Vesuvius and amazing pizza, Naples is definitely a place you must check out at least once in your life.

Between the food and views – it was absolutely perfect and I couldn’t have spent my first time in Rome a better way. It was truly magical!