Get ready for the third and last part of our adventures in Rome! The last few days were definitely feeling like a treat for us as we knew that we were lucky to get more than just a week in this beautiful capital.
On Sunday morning, the sun was shining but the weather reports were telling us that it would get quite stormy in the afternoon so we thought it was the best day to spend around the Appian Way. This area is well known as it's just outside the city walls and seems to be concentrated with fascinating catacombs. Before walking all the way to the catacombs though, we stopped at the San Sebastiano Gate, where there was a small exhibition (and it was free!). It was quite nice to walk around the walls and from the top, we had some nice views of the area.
I think we're a bit crazy because even though my feet were still not feeling that great, we walked all the way in the heat along the Appian Way, and by the time we arrived we were dehydrated and desperate for food!
After eating a massive panini, we took the time to visit the Villa di Massenzio ruins, which was previously a palace built by a rich family who decided they wanted to offer their sons a nice place out of the city as some kind of retreat. Nice! The best part of the day though (and Jason would agree more than me!), was when we got to explore the Catacombe di San Callisto (the biggest one in the city as there's almost 20km of underground tunnels). We obviously got to see only a little section of it, but it was great to have a guide who could explain to us when and why this place was created. Long story short: before Romans became catholics, the people who were practicing this religion were persecuted. The Romans however were allowing them to bury their dead in these catacombs. It was a little spooky and you definitely can't be claustrophobic as it's all a bit narrow inside, but it was another face of Rome and certainly quite different (sorry we weren't allowed to take photos)!
For our last full day in Rome, we wanted to finish with a high and arrived really early in the Trevi area where we were looking forward to see the famous fountain. But when we found it, we were absolutely gutted to realise that it was undergoing some maintenance! It wasn't even a fountain anymore as the water had been drained. Oh well! It didn't stop us exploring the area and we had a great time. Palazzo Barberini was closed but we managed to stroll around the pretty garden, and Chiesa di San Carlo was nice to explore as it's completely different from all the basilicas and churches we'd seen. Before stopping for lunch (where we had the best pizza ever!), we went to the huge Piazza di Quirinale and watched the change of guards, which was actually quite funny as it felt a bit amateur compared to the one in Buckingham Palace!
In the afternoon, we climbed the steps into Il Vittoriano, and we were surprised at the views we where getting from the terrace! The sky was already turning grey and it made the whole city look a lot more dramatic. We couldn't resist but enter the church on its side, and we couldn't believe the amount of chandeliers that were hanging from the ceiling! They were absolutely everywhere and we thought it was a bit over the top. Inside Il Vittoriano, there was an exhibition about the political and military past of Italy which was really well presented.
At the end of the day, we just relaxed, feeling so lucky to have done so much in the past week and taking it all in before going back to our apartment and getting ready for our flight the following morning.
Thank you for following and I hope it inspired you to book your own adventure in Rome!
