When In Rome.... A Travel Diary + Tips

Where do I begin? Rome is such a lovely city!! Compared to the small village I live in in Holland, Rome is of course huge, and a lot busier, with a roaming nightlife and lots of things to do on every corner of the city. Traveling, no matter whether you've been to the city a thousand times before, or that you're going there for the first time, it's always an adventure of self-discovery and self-growth, even in small ways. It starts when you take your first step at the airport, where you are outside your comfort zone, and it ends the moment you set that same step back home at the airport, but with a new fresh mindset! 

You grow most when you travel alone, as you are forced to be your own best friend at that time. I would say, do not travel to escape life, but you should travel for life not to escape yourself. I traveled to Rome by myself, but while in Rome I was with my family, so it wasn't a complete solo trip, but, the end of June I am going completely solo to Florence to take language lessons there for a few weeks. I did that before last year, but wasn't feeling well, so this time around I hope to get a fresh start and really enjoy my stay there.

Maybe you can guess it already, it's a picture from the Swiss Alps, and it looks so pretty!! I didn't expect for it to be so much snow when it's almost June, but I guess that's normal. The weather in Rome last week wasn't so normal haha, it was 10 degrees below what it should be and it had been raining for about a week non stop. When I was there, the trees and everything never looked so green.

SOLO WOMEN TRAVEL GROUP ON FACEBOOK
If you love travelling too you should check out the Solo Women Travel Group on Facebook, it's a lovely group with women from 15-90 or maybe even older from all around the world. I discovered it some time back and it's really nice. People share their stories, give advice, and you can also arrange a meet up with fellow travellers to explore the city you're going to! I find it really helpful, as I'm sometimes a bit naive and tend and this group awakens me to potential dangers as well. It's absolutely not to scare  people away haha, but it always good to know where not to go, or how to be prepared for certain trips or countries. For example, someone posted a post about getting scammed in Paris, and she said not to go to specific people or groups on the streets selling tickets as they're fake, only go to the official office. There was also a post about a woman getting severely injured at a resort in the Dominican Republic, which she warned people to stay aware from that place. Was really good to know, and her Facebook post in this group a week later even came on CNN News! Overall, it's fun to see what people are up to and it inspires you to book a trip too!

The funny thing is, is that when I'm in my own country for a longer period time, and I book a flight and it's time to go, I always feel like I don't really want to go. But I think that is because my own environment feels safe. Having that safe environment around me brings comfort, and getting out of the country is a step outside my comfort zone. But in end, I always love it when I'm actually in the plane on my way to my destination and my initial fear is gone!

WHERE TO STAY
For my trip to Rome I was there only for 2 days. It was really short, but it was nice to change environment, as sometimes getting into a routine day in day out can get a big boring, so this was a perfect getaway break. If you're looking to stay in a nice hotel in Rome, I definitely recommend the Sheraton Parco dei Medici. The staff is friendly, and the rooms are really comfortable too, and there is an outdoor swimming pool. The breakfast is good too, with lots of different things, and you take a free shuttle from the hotel right to the city center. Back in April when I went to Rome I stayed in the Holiday Inn Aurelia, which wasn't very good. It's near a highway and no free shuttle service available, so I recommend the Sheraton.

Me taking advantage of the opportunity to have a relaxing evening in the tub because at home I don't have one aha! The bathrooms in the hotel are really nice and big, so it wasn't a problem to spend a few hours there.. :)

THE BEST PLACE TO EAT PIZZA AND PASTA
Of course, Italy is the country where you can eat the best pizza and pasta! There are so many places to go to, but I'll list two of my absolute favourite ones that you can maybe try out next time you are in Rome. If you want to eat delicious pizza and suppli's than you should definitely not forget to make a stop at Mister Pizza. They have many sorts of pizza and taste really good! You can also easily take it with you or it it there, it's a mini restaurant/bar.

For yummy pasta you should go to Da Giovanni in the shopping mall called Euroma2. It's a lovely place where they prepare the pasta fresh in a few minutes while you wait in line for it to be ready. They have many sorts of pasta, from ravioli, to spaghetti and many more. It's nice to go here in between shopping to rest a bit.

Thanks so much for reading my blog post! I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to take a look at the travel inspiration of Italy from Explorersaur for useful tips and fun ideas for your next trip to the land of the best food in the world and the lovely architecture! 

QUESTION TIME - DO YOU HAVE ANY TRAVEL PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER?