Roma

Rome is a beautiful city. I've always had the image of Rome, growing up as a child I was inspired by 'Lizzie McGuire'. A romantic city, with the Trevi fountain and beautiful architecture. For one, the architecture did not fail to impress me. Old, ancient buildings that are hundreds, even thousands of years old are still standing. Sculptures, carved to every single detail gives Rome a charm.

Admiring the lovely tall, old doors.

The Colosseum was just as I imagined. Such a stunning, massive structure. Still amazes me that gladiators fought there.

 We went around the Roman forum, which strikingly reminded me of Ephesus, in Turkey.

 Passed by the Altare della Patria, which I would've loved to visit. It's even more impressive in person, and has been dubbed as a the 'wedding cake' as it is quite magnificent white structure. It is dedicated to the first king of Italy.

Levitating I question?

 Also, you'll see a lot of umbrella trees around Rome! I think it is so cute and such a unique tree. It was planted to provide more shade, as Rome is BLAZINGLY HOT. It's pretty cool during the morning, but by 11 o'clock, you can really feel the heat. I wish we had trees like that in Australia.

Of course we had to make a trip to Trevi Fountain. I made three wishes, using my right hand and throwing coins over my left shoulder. Legend says that throwing coins in the fountain will ensure a visit back to Rome. Hopefully I'll be back for you Roma :)

The only thing I would recommend is, visiting it maybe during night time? I've heard that it's less crowded then. The crowds in Rome are completely nuts, I've honestly never been to such a crowded touristy place (maybe besides Japan). So if you want to really enjoy the tourist attractions, I recommend visiting during early the day or evening-night time.

The Pantheon is another place you should not miss. I was pretty much wowed by it, just like the Celsus library in Turkey. You literally have to stand back and just take in the view as much as you can.

My parents' mango, pistachio and coffee.

The gelato is a must, especially in the blazing heat! Now, in Italy, there are hundreds of gelaterias, that you will not know which one is good and bad. However, I have read online a few tips to tell a real 'authentic' gelato.
1. Colour. Mint and pistachio are not meant to be vibrantly green. More of a subtle green, almost pale. The gelato colours should not look too colourful, but rather more natural.
2. The texture. Gelato should be creamy (made from milk), rather than icy. Icy, and you've got yourself a sorbet. I had an icy lemon & tiramisu gelato in Venice which wasn't very nice.

I recommend visiting the gelateria, Cremeria Monteforte near the Pantheon. It was recommended from the tour guide, and is definitely the best place for gelato. It was ultimately creamy, and not too sweet. I had mango, nutella and berries. I also tried my parents' coffee which was a good hit for coffee.

To be honest, there weren't really any food stand-outs in terms of lunch or dinner. We were with a tour group, and though we were given free time, we wouldn't have known where the hot spots are for dining. Sometimes, we had quick lunches because we had meeting points and we ended up having lunches at self-service places! Or else, we had dinner with the tour group in the hotel or in a restaurant. And we also left Italy without actually TRYING a proper Italian pizza which is thin and crispy, fresh from a wood-fired oven and served usually during dinner.

Thoughts on Rome? A beautiful, vibrant ancient city. However, a little too crowded for my liking, and my favourite city in Italy is Venice. I would come back to explore more of the food, and have two gelatos a day! I stand firm with my view that Italy has great authentic Italian food, as many people have said not to expect 'too much'. I personally think that we just didn't have enough time to really explore around the food gems of Rome.