Just back from Rick Steves’ Best of Rome tour. If you really want to delve into all that is Rome, this is definitely the way to do it. I had been to Rome decades ago, but wandering through the ruins with a guide book did not give me the in depth knowledge that Rick’s fabulous guides imparted. Our guide for the week was unfailingly upbeat and cheerful. In addition we had four native Romans who led our group tours through the Forum, Pantheon, Ostia Antica and the Borghese. This was the first time I had spent a week in one city and I truly enjoyed getting to know Rome. Some random thoughts and observations:
The Hotel Lancelot was fabulous. The owners were welcoming, the staff accommodating. My adult son and I each had single rooms. Both were plenty spacious and had small balconies. The showers are on the small side, but little me was fine with that.
I had done a lot of research (thank you for your recommendations!) prior to the trip to decide what to see prior to the start of our tour and each afternoon in the areas of our morning guided tours. That worked well. One of my favorite sites was the Parco degli Aquedotti. There are the ruins of seven Roman aqueducts in a peaceful park. (The website maps and explains each aqueduct.). We visited early on a Sunday morning and encountered dog walkers, runners, biker riders and even a vendor offering pony rides. It is a short metro ride from central Rome.
The guides talked often of the “Roman lasagna” where new buildings are built over ruins. This was nowhere more evident than in the Church of San Clemente. I don’t think I would have gotten near the understanding of it, however, without our guide.
Late February was the perfect time to visit as the weather was cool. I can’t imagine doing this tour in hot weather. We averaged 21,000 steps (about 10 miles) per day. It’s a very walkable city. And I ate pasta and gelato without gaining weight :).
Many of the toilets lack seats. It helps if you are comfortable doing the “Texaco squat.” Carry tissues as many lack toilet paper, too.
We are not foodies and did not make any restaurant reservations. But we were always able to find a place to eat.
Our guide commented on how uncrowded Rome was and thought all the talk of the Jubilee was keeping people away. That said, the popular sites like the Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican, etc., did have crowds and you need to purchase timed tickets in advance. Lesser sites like the Doria Pamphilj and National Museum we just walked up and purchased tickets. We visited, on our own, two of the churches on the Jubilee pilgrimage and were able to just walk in with only a minor wait to get through security.
As far as what to pack - dress how you are comfortable. There were blue jeans in our tour group as well as REI / Eddie Bauer type clothing and even a dress. You will see a bit of everything on the street. Just make sure you have comfortable shoes. We walked on lots of cobblestones (slick when wet!) and literally rocks that made up the old Roman roads.
We used a couple of Rick Steves audio tours for neighborhood walks which were enjoyable. And a fun afternoon is spent at a cooking class (this is part of the RS tour.). We have already made homemade pasta since returning home.
Finally, I used Pimsluer audio language lessons to learn a bit of Italian before I went. I found this useful and I think locals appreciated my attempts to communicate. If nothing else, learn how to ask for dark chocolate gelato!