August 2019

We had an early start as we set off from Agerola (Amalfi Coast) to make our way to Rome.

All packed and fuelled up on coffee and pastries from our favourite little local, our first leg of the journey was the bus from Agerola/Amalfi to Naples. Next up, the train from Naples to Rome. It sounds like quite the trek but it actually was pretty hiccup-free all things considered.

We arrived in to 35 degree heat (which, in a city like Rome feels like 55 degrees), hopped on the tram and made our way to our Air BnB. It was a little bit outside the city but with the tram, busses and metro it was really easy to get to and from. We dropped our stuff, quickly changed clothes and set off to explore.

First stop: the Colosseum. Please note, Ed's favourite movie of all time ever is Gladiator (he can literally quote every single word and sometimes he randomly starts doing it when I'm PMS-ing so naturally I want to strangle him), so he was literally like a child at Christmas in there. It was really cool and so crazy to think of all that went on there hundreds of years ago, and to think you're standing in the same spot. We didn't have fast pass tickets but the queue still went really quick and its super cheap to get in if you have an EU passport and are under 26. The guy at the ticket desk however thought we were Italian so we got in for €4 in total. RESULT.

As it is so SO big, there was no part of it that felt really packed or clausterphobic which was amazing, especially considering how hot it was. You're able to walk around the entire seating area of the Colosseum and it was actually really cool to see in real life the things you learn in school about where the different classes of Romans used to sit in the Colosseum to watch fights.

After the Colosseum we were pretty much melted into the floor (Ed insisted on taking thousands of photos in the million degree heat) so we decided to take a break and have some drinks which was a really nice chill and refresh. We strolled around the beautiful Roman streets some more, taking it all in and deciding where we would go for dinner. After a quick zip back to the apartment, a quick change and a slick of red lippy, we were on the road again ready for some food (and wine, naturally).

We found this absolutely gorgeous, authentic Roman restaurant off the beaten track - literally full of local Romans, we were the only tourists. As you can see from the pictures (I don't have many good ones, I was trying to be discreet and not look like a tourist among the locals) it was absolutely beautifully decorated, with paintings all over the walls and ceiling, the food was AMAZING and because it isn't a tourist trap looking onto the Trevi Fountain it was so affordable. The people working there were so lovely and knew every single local by name, having an animated chat and a laugh with each and every one as they made their way around the restaurant. This place was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.

Before heading home (with lots of vino in our systems so getting sleepy) we decided to take a walk to the Trevi Fountain to see it at night. It's really beautiful - night and day - and even at midnight was crowded with tonnes of people getting photos, chatting, laughing and singing. We even witnessed a proposal! (it was adorable, I may have shed a tear).

The next morning (our last day in Rome) we decided to head to the Vatican. Despite having no real burning desire to see the Pope, we still wanted to see the Vatican and what is was all about. We looked up the dress code only to discover that shoulders, knees and chests had to be covered... to recap it was 35 degrees celcius. ANYWAY, in a bid not to offend any of the devout religious attendees, sure enough we piled on the clothes and covered all offending areas ... only to arrive there (partially melted) to discover a plethora of tank tops and short shorts! Save to say the "cover everything" rule isn't really enforced - a good thing - but they might want to update the website (we quickly changed into the much cooler clothes we had brought with us).

After the Vatican, we stopped off to see the Trevi Fountain in daylight before heading back to our apartment, grabbing our luggage and jumping on the train back to Naples for our flight home the next morning.

I hope you enjoyed this Italy series, we really had the best time and it's a trip I would definitely recommend doing. I'm already itching to book more flights so please leave me any suggestions of amazing places you've been in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

S ✗

CONVERSATION

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Buongiorno, and welcome back to the 2nd of the 3 part Italy series.

Our second (or third if you include Naples) stop of the trip was the beautiful, irresistible Amalfi Coast. I have to say, this was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to and LET ME TELL YOU it did not disappoint. The time we spent on the Amalfi Coast was hands down my favourite part of the entire trip (which is saying a lot because I loved everywhere we visited on our Italy trip).

*DISCLAIMER: There are approx 7 million photos in this post so apologies about that in advance.

In the interest of saving money, we had chosen an Air BnB a bit away from the Coast itself (and by away I mean above - we were literally up the mountain) in a tiny little village in Agerola. When we were driving up the mountain to where we were staying all I could think was 'how long is it going to take us to get ANYWHERE near Amalfi,' but we were pleasantly surprised.

There was a bus that ran right outside the house we were staying in and cost just €2.20 for a 40 minute bus ride right into Amalfi itself, literally dropping you off at the port. Now, I was not being dramatic when I said we were up a mountain, and the bus quite literally drives the entire 40 minutes on the edge of a cliff - with a 2 foot wall separating you (and the bus) from falling to your death. Once you get over the feeling that you could die at any given moment and just focus on the view, it is actually a very enjoyable journey.

Because we arrived mid-afternoon, our first evening in Amalfi was spent on the beach and we just completely chilled the F out which was so needed. We swam, read, drank wine and Aperols, ate pizza - all on the beach - and just completely relaxed which was so nice. When the sun started to go down we had a little stroll around Amalfi which is just such a dreamy place and headed back up the mountain (on the bus, mind you) to our Air BnB.

The best part about the tiny village where we were staying was the pizza place. It was a 3 minute walk away from the Air BnB and was this little family-owned and family-run cafe and pizza place (complete with authentic pizza oven - I can hands down say this was the best pizza we had in Italy/ever) and for €4! A Margharita was 3 and even with every topping on the menu, the max you would pay for your pizza was €7. A litre of house wine (so nice) was €10 and coffees in the morning were 50 cent. Needless to say, we came here at some point (sometimes twice) for the entire stay on the Amalfi Coast. The owners were so lovely and friendly and because we were in a very rural, non-touristy town (hence everything was super cheap) they really looked out for us and explained everything from the bus routes and timetables, to where we could find the nearest Western Union and how to get from place to place (all with the help of Google Translate).

On our second day on the Amalfi Coast we went to the beach early and got to spend the day there, stopping only to eat and stroll around the beautiful streets and buildings. We found a little Italian grocery store and got some supplies for the house and ate at a beautiful little restaurant right in the main square, looking right on to the magnificent cathedral.

Next stop on the Amalfi Coast was Positano. Once you are in Amalfi it is so super easy to get pretty much anywhere you want to go on the coast.

Our third day on the Amalfi Coast we spent in Positano. We took the boat from Amalfi Port to Positano which was so lovely and only took 25 minutes, it's so amazing to see Positano from the water, it really looks just like it does in all the gorgeous photos you see, but even better because it's in real life. First, we grabbed a cocktail in a gorgeous little bar/restaurant right on the beach called Chez le Black. It was mermaid/marine themed (which I, of course, LOVED) and was such a lovely little spot to sit and chill.

THEN CAME THE STEPS.

As you can see from the pictures, like Amalfi, a lot of Positano is mountain. It's literally in the side of a mountain pretty much. We decided to get to the highest point we could so we could see the amazing views but LET ME TELL YOU there were approx 7468 steps. Ed kept telling me it was only a few more but he was lying, which was probably fair because I probably would've staged a full on protest if I knew how many more steps there were (it was HOT okay). But I have to say the views were definitely worth it.

On our last day on the Amalfi Coast, we packed a picnic and went to Positano to spend the day on the beach. We read and swam and picnicked and sunbathed before heading back to pack our things (and of course, grab a pizza in our favourite spot up the mountain) before our trip to Rome began the next morning.