My Italy Trip (4 of 4) Rome

Rome: 3+ Days in an apartment a block north of Piazza Navona. Our apartment was great and the location was perfect.
Our apartment, marketed as Interno 8 on Trip Advisor (Vicolo della Palomba, 4, 00186 Roma, Italy) had all the character, and more, that we were looking for. It’s located down a quite back alleyway and away from the noise of the city yet it’s only a block or so from Piazza Navona. There are several good restaurants close by and taxi stand just outside the entrance to the Piazza. There are also main bus lines at each end of the piazza. The closest grocery store is the other end of the Piazza but there are also a couple “convenience” stores close by. I would stay in this apartment again without any hesitation! (Search TripAdvisor for a full review of the apartment.)
We went on two escorted tours while in Rome. This was our first time in Rome and this was going to be the end of our two week vacation so we only devoted three days. I knew my mother was going to be tired by this time so I treated Rome as kind of a drive-by so the wife and I could get a lay of the land. Our main intent was to hit the bigger sites and leave most of Rome for a future trip. Our two escorted tours were the Vatican and the Colosseum/Forums. Escorted tours allowed us to leave the tickets to someone else and get some “expert” commentary. While we weren’t disappointed in either tour, we weren’t overly impressed either. Also, each tour managed to reinforce the idea that Americans are the ugliest tourists in the world…
The Vatican was absolutely nuts. I would gladly pay triple what we paid if the Vatican would limit the number of tourists by 2/3s. I felt like a salmon at the height of the spawning run… It was shoulder-to-shoulder with people trying to push you out of the way (one way or the other) for four hours. On the plus side, the Vatican is absolutely mind boggling and should not be missed when in Rome. Also, the Vatican had greatly relaxed the rules for handbags and picture taking. The only place you cannot take photos is the Sistine Chapel. A side note, the tour operator had over-the-ear headphones available for those who wear hearing aids.
The Colosseum was also a solid stream of humanity trudging though. And, they have also relaxed handbag standards as well. While the Colosseum was impressive, I was totally unprepared for the ruins of the Forums. At the forums, the crowds lightened up quite a bit and it was much more relaxed. But, the Forums was the only place in Italy that we heard about a pickpocket incident.
My only comments about our Colosseum/Forums tour are that our tour guide, an archeology post graduate student, focused on the technical side of the subject and the tour operator did not have over-the-ear headphones for use by hearing aid users.

We tried to use public transportation is Rome but we found that taxis were almost as cost effective and much easier/faster. We didn’t use the metro because of the accessibility issue (few, if any, working lifts/escalators) and the buses were just too slow. From Piazza Venezia/Colosseum to Piazza Navona is only 7-8 euro.
Our third, and scheduled last day, in Rome was devoted to the Borghese Gardens and wandering around taking in the Roma atmosphere in a relaxing manner. We only scratched the surface of the Borghese Gardens and look forward to going back sometime in the future. It’s the perfect place to decompress after several days of hectic city sightseeing.

Of note – the Trevi Fountain was still “closed” and just before we arrived they “closed” the Spanish Steps for renovation. Oh well, there’s always next time.
I think what we enjoyed the most in Rome was walking around in the late evening when all the tourist crowds were at dinner or in their hotel rooms. St Peter’s square is absolutely sublime in the late evening and was only a 10 minute walk from Piazza Navona. Rome, like Venice, takes on a totally different personality after sundown.