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After a glorious 10 hour sleep in the comfiest hotel bed, we were more than ready to take on the day's adventures that lay ahead.

Our morning started - as I believe all Saturdays should start - in Angelina's café. If you have never been to Angelina (or Paris, for that matter) it absolutely needs to go on your bucket list. I know that sounds dramatic for a café, but the hot chocolate (ask for L'African) made here is like nothing you have ever tasted, I promise. It's basically chocolate melted and mixed with unwhipped cream and it is to die for (yes, it is €8.20 but you get a whole jug of it and I promise it is worth it).

Angelina (the location on Rue de Rivoli) has been around since 1903 and became the place to be for the elite of the time - including Coco Chanel herself! They now have a few different locations around the city and in Versailles, but the original building holds the magic.

After filling up on a giant jug of hot chocolate, croissants, pain au chocolats and a crepe, we rolled out of there and made our way to the Musée d'Orsay, stopping on the Rue de Saint-Honorés for a look in all the fancy designer stores (pretending we were among the rich and famous fashion week goers) and Pont des Arts (more informally known as the Love Lock bridge) on the way to add a lock with our names and make a wish, throwing the key into the Seine (and narrrowly avoiding a boat of tourists, might I add).

The Musée d'Orsay is amazing and has all the different types and periods of art split up onto different floors so you can easily get to what you want to see most. It has a really chilled atmosphere - much different to the frantic queues of the Louvre - and is a really enjoyable place to have a wander.

Before jumping on the electric Lime scooters (scattered freely around the place with a QR code scan & ride system), we grabbed a drink on the riverside just underneath the Pont des Arts in this cute little bar café in a porto-cabin with seats outside looking on to the river and the locals skate-boarding and chilling.

As we were running out of daylight hours and still had more to see, we jumped on the electric scooters, cutting our 38 minute walk to a 14 minute "scoot" and arriving promptly - and somehow in one piece - at the Arc de Triomphe.

We were really lucky that it stayed dry out so when we climbed the 234 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe the visibility across the city was amazing. I always recommended going to the top of the Arc instead of the top of the Eiffel Tower because a) it's much cheaper and b) it's cool to be able to see the Eiffel Tower in the skyline from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Also you can see all the different rues that all lead directly to the Arc de Triomphe in the centre and it's pretty impressive I must say (see pics for clarity on that badly described scene).

Next up, we made a mad dash to the Eiffel Tower - the dash being mad due to the fact that sunset was happening and ... you know ... nothing like a Parisian sunset. Rather than going to the area directly beneath the tower itself, the Place de la Trocadero nearby is the perfect viewing point (and photo-taking point) and you can sit on the steps and chill while the sun sets. THREE couples got engaged in the space of 20 minutes when we were there (Ed kept pretending he needed to tie his shoelaces which of course he thought was HIL-arious, classic). There is a super fancy hotel on Place de la Trocadero too which looks out on the Eiffel Tower and there was a L'oréal party on there for Fashion Week at the same time (we could see all the cool people in the outdoor area).

(peep the side-eye at the people getting engaged)

As our energy levels started to wane due to our jam-packed day of exploring, climbing and scooting while dodging traffic, we made our way back to our hotel where we collapsed on to the bed and only managed to drag ourselves up three hours later to grab a McDonald's (only thing open close to our hotel - we were staying in La Defense which is the financial/business district so not a super touristy area, therefore no late night restaurants) and promptly passed out again until the next morning.

Thank you for reading,

S ✗

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 ✗

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Postcards from Paris: Montmartre

Postcards from Paris: Angelina's, Eiffel & Arc de Triomphe

Postcards from Paris: Mona Lisa & PFW

When in Rome

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