The last city I’ve visited during my Autumn 2021 Italy trip was Rome. I’ve also visited Vatican City but since it’s technically a country, I didn’t count it as part of my Italy trip. I’ve had wanted to visit Rome for a long time. It was on my bucket list of places to visit because it has such a rich history, great architecture, and vibrant culture. Of course, delicious food was part of it.

I visited Rome in October 2021 and it was a wet one. It was a rainy season there. If you are planning to visit Rome during the month of October, make sure that you have a rain poncho or a rain jacket and waterproof shoes. I had to spend extra money to purchase boots there because my Nike shoes were not waterproof.

My trip to Rome started with a train ride from Bologna to Rome. In about 2.5 hours I made it to Rome, thanks to Italo high speed train. After I got out of the train station, a taxi driver approached me and offered his service. I didn’t think much about it so I said sure. He took me to my hostel and it cost me 25 euros! My hostel was 7 minutes ride. At that point, I realized that I got scammed and apparently this is a common scam.

Here are some tips to avoid this scam for your visit to Rome; wait in the taxi line, make sure the taxi will turn on the meter, and never say yes to taxi drivers that approach you. I wished I knew about this scam before I got to Rome.

I stayed at The Rome Hello hostel. I love everything about this hostel. It’s centrally located. It’s clean. The twin mattress was comfortable. They provided toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. They have activities everyday including free walking tour, community dinner, beer pong, and karaoke night. Another perk is that, it’s not a party hostel. Don’t get me wrong, I love parties and nightlife activities but sometimes I just need a good night rest and this hostel gave me that.

They have shared rooms and also private rooms so if you are not a fan of shared rooms, you can book private rooms here. Their kitchen is one of the best kitchens I’ve seen at a hostel. Their common room is also nice. Many people were working during the day there. I love the vibe of this hostel. I definitely recommend it.

During my stay in Rome, I walked a lot. My average steps were 10,000-19,000 steps per day. It was such a walkable city. I also took public transportation mostly buses and their public transportation system is definitely the worst out of all public transportation that I took. Their stops notification system was turned off for majority of the buses. Buses were packed at all hours. Their ticket validator machine didn’t work most of the time and I got a ticket because I didn’t validate my bus ticket! It was not my fault, the validator didn’t work on that bus but of course those inspectors didn’t care. I paid 45 euro for the ticket. If you are planning to be in Rome, just remember that you need to get your ticket validated and if the validator is broken, get off from that bus and take the next one so you won’t get a ticket.

Rome is such a beautiful city. All of the architectures, statues, and buildings were magnificent. I enjoyed the free walking tour from Rome Hello hostel. Just remember, any free walking tour is free but please tip your guides at the end of the tour. We walked from the hostel to the Vittorio Emanuele II monument which is definitely my favorite piazza in Rome. Then we walked to the Pantheon. I came back to the Pantheon at later date to visit inside of it. After the Pantheon we walked to the Trevi Fountain which was one of the most popular attractions in Rome. Our tour guide took us to get Gelato afterwards which was delicious.

Food in Rome were so delicious just like other parts of Italy. You can find restaurants and bars that offer affordable Aperitivos (it’s like happy hour in USA) where you can purchase a drink and then they will give you free snack or you can purchase meals at discounted prices. It was one of my favorite eating activities in Rome. Also if you got a bottle of wine at restaurants and you can’t finish it, the restaurants will gladly pack it for “to go” for you. I think every restaurant in this world should do this.

There are so many stories I want to share about my Roman Holiday, so I will make separate posts about my trip to the Colosseum and also to Vatican City. Thank you for reading this post and see you at the next one!