as 6 of our travel mates were flying off to Kos (Greece) at 6AM, and our flight back to UK in the mid morning, we decided to forgo one last day of accommodation- whats the point of paying 30 euro per person to stay till 4 AM? Our apartment landlord graciously allowed us to check out at 5PM as there wouldn't be any guests till the following day. We thus made haste and went to the Colosseum, perhaps the one must see attraction





It perhaps can be considered as the ancient world's Nou Camp or Old Trafford. Gladiator fights, sporting events etc all being held here. Tragically became ruins due to earthquakes

I really enjoyed wandering around inside.

The Colosseum ticket includes Palatine Hill and the Roman Forums, which are more ruins. If we had more time, we could've enjoyed it more (I am a fan of just chilling in green spaces)

But we've yet to try other famous Roman food and hence had just above an hour



This was Il Vittoriano, a huge government building. Majestic. Very palace like



This is a really talented busker on the steps of Il Vittoriano. Spray paint art. 10 euros for one. I would've bought it if I had enough space to carry it back safely

It was then off to the main tourist thoroughfare in the Old Town in search of Biscotti, coffee, Tiramisu and a certain flavour of gelato. :biggrin:

Coffee at Saint Eustacchio Square received good reviews in tripadvisor. Prices were about 2,60 euro for a caffe latte. (which is about double everywhere else) Whilst I am not a coffee connoisseur, I do enjoy my morning cuppa and the caffe latte here, whilst better than my Nescafe back in UK, doesn't taste better than the other random coffeeshops near where we stayed. Perhaps I'm not discerning enough



We also managed to find the special flavour of gelato... Viagra flavour!! :hello2:

No viagra inside, obviously. But just interesting trying it out! :biggrin:



(it's the blue one)

Thereafter it was back to the apartment to pack up and leave.

After checking out, it was back to Spanish Steps to try the famous Tiramisu from Pompi.

This time, it was much better than any tiramisu i've ever tasted! The girls went crazy over it. We ended up buying every flavour there was (seven iirc). 4 euro a pack, quite reasonable.



clockwise from left: Hazelnut, Strawberry, Pistachio and Classic

We then decided to chill at the Spanish steps till 10PM when we went to Termini for dinner.

Termini, being a major transport hub, has lots of services 24/7, and hence many restaurants open 24/7. Of course, Termini has lots of touristy restaurants and we went into one.

Not bad actually, 10 euros for 2 courses. 12 euro for other more "premium" a la carte dishes. Not something to rave about but if one is in the area, its more than decent for a nice meal. They open till 1-2AM as well. The restaurant is called "Ristorante Rosy"

Termini at night is dodgy...Lots of shady characters, policemen walking around, homeless people, beggars, all the weird and wonderful things one might expect from a big city train station. Not the best location to wander around aimlessly

We then took a taxi to the airport. fixed price to and from FCO is 48 euro but to and from CIA is 30 euro, which worked out to be 7.50 euro per person, not much more than the airport shuttle at 6 euro

I got into the wrong side of the taxi before realising I had a steering wheel in front of me :tongue:

CIA is a 30 minute ride out of town. Italians drive so quickly and aggressively. Weaving in and out, overtaking on the right, jam braking etc. phew... Can't be good for fuel consumption and profits though

Our taxi was also stopped at Ciampino airport by the carabinieri who asked to see our driver's licence or something. Not sure why

We finally reached CIA at 2AM. Departures were closed and all overnighters were shunted to the arrival hall...which had a grand total of 4 seats. We whiled the night away snacking, drinking and playing big 2. quite fun despite the surroundings

It was a long wait till our 10AM flight back to manchester. But it was all good... Rome is a nice place, but I think I enjoyed Barcelona more. more varied attractions lah. Though the food in Rome is much better.

it was a good afternoon in Manchester as well...pigged out on cheap and good Asian food which one can't get in Leeds

Next holiday in 2 months is to Vienna, Prague and Bratislava. Can't wait!

Thanks for reading this TR :smile: