One Week in Rome, Italy | Notes from the Archive
my first ever travel journal, detailing my sixth year holiday
*SHARED TO THE BLOG IN SEPTEMBER 2025.
ARCHIVE / aar•kive / (noun): a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people.
Welcome to a new Notes from the Archive post, a series in which I am sharing some of my old & well documented travel notes to the blog. I’ve been keeping detailed notes and journals from my travels abroad long before I ever started sharing that content to this little corner of the internet. For some reason, it only dawned on me recently that, although not as thorough as my note-taking and journaling of today, this information could a. be useful to someone out there planning a trip, b. offer a glimpse into my travel days of yore, or c. just be fun for me to relive briefly under the pretense of being useful — so I figured why not share them here!
If you have stumbled across this post on a deep-dive through the blog archives, hello! I have done my darndest to make sure every piece of information shared here is just as relevant today as it was the day it was scrawled in my journal. I would also like to take a moment here to apologise in advance for any poor-quality photographs. You have been warned.
Today’s Notes from the Archive post — One Week in Rome, Italy — is all about my 2011 trip to the Italian capital with my then-partner & four of our gal-pals. I was 17-years old back in the summer of 2011, and this trip to Rome was actually our 6th year holiday! Most girls in our year went clubbing in Magaluf or Santa Ponsa etc. — but we were never into that kind of thing. Over the course of our week in town, all six of us fell head-over-heels for Rome; the cobblestone streets, the food, the hand gestures, the beautiful architecture, the colours, and the people!
Listed below is all the legible information I could garner from my trusty ole journal, broken down into the following categories: getting there / where we stayed / where we ate / and where we tourist-ed.
Enjoy, friends!
getting there
Here’s how we made the journey to Rome for our sixth year holiday:
we flew direct from Dublin airport to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport — aka, Fiumicino — with Aer Lingus. The flight time was a little under 3-hours.
from Fiumicino airport, we had pre-booked a private driver to collect us and deliver us straight to our accommodation. The journey took 30-minutes, and, at the time, cost €70 in total for the six of us + luggage.
if you were so inclined, you could alternatively take a train from Fiumicino airport into the city centre. The Leonardo Express arrives directly into Rome’s central train station, Termini, in around 32-minutes. From there, you can connect to the metro and make your way all over the city. More info here.
where we stayed
Purple Home Apartment // such a fantastic base! Ideally located a quick 10-minute walk from Saint Peter’s Basilica, we were able to walk all over the city from here! There was also a very handy little supermarket up the street from us, and many a restaurant & gelateria lining our daily route into the city centre. Would recommend. Address: Rampa delle Mura Aurelie, 9, 00165 Roma
*2025 UPDATE: sadly, now no longer a rentable apartment!
where we ate
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that, nowadays, I consider myself somewhat of a foodie. However — this was certainly not the case back in 2011, when we were just looking for a cheap meal in a convenient location! Listed below are the handful of restaurants I actually named in my journal, which I am listing here for posterity only(!); I cannot speak as to how good any of them may or may not be today.
Antica Domus // apparently, quite nice. No idea what we ate here. Very close to the Colosseum, just a 3-minute walk. Address: Via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, 6, 00184 Roma
Sugo // a nice pizzeria, just a quick 3-minute walk to the Spanish Steps. Again, no idea what exactly we ate here. Address: Via di Propaganda, 22, 00187 Roma
I San… Pietrini Ristorante Pizzeria // a convenient 2-minute walk from our apartment, I believe we ate here a couple times. Address: Via delle Fornaci, 89, 00165 Roma
Tavola Calda // a handy 5-minute stroll from the Pantheon, we stopped here for pizza, which was apparently “lovely and nommy”. Address: Tavola Calda, Via del Corso, 321, 00187 Roma
Ghiottonerie 33 // the local gelato spot on our street, which we stopped at at least once or twice every single day! My favourite flavours were stracciatella and nocciola. Address: Via della Fornaci 33A, 00165 Roma
*2025 UPDATE: sadly, now closed.
where we touristed
Bearing in mind that this is the first time any of us had ever been to Rome, we set out to see as much of the city as humanly possible! Listed below is everywhere we tourist-ed during our one week in town. For ease, I’ve divided the spots into paid attractions and free attractions.
paid attractions
The Pantheon // my absolute favourite place in Rome. Awe inspiring, huge, silent-yet-deafening, and entirely perfect. Aside from the obvious architectural masterpiece, I was captivated by the inscription on the tomb of Raphael, which read: “Here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die.” Isn’t that just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever read? It still stops me in my tracks all these years later. A must visit. Address: Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Roma
*DISCLAIMER: it was actually free to enter the Pantheon when we visited back in 2011, but since 2023, there is a small €5 entry fee.
Castel Sant’Angelo // the final resting place of Emperor Hadrian and his family. Initially, we headed in here without really knowing what it was — but, by the time we left, it was one of my favourite places in all of Rome! The main draw for us was the gorgeous terrace area on top of the building, where, according to my journal, we spent more than an hour admiring the Roman rooftops around us. Would recommend. Address: Lungotevere Castello, 50, 00193 Roma
*DISCLAIMER: as I was under 18 back in the summer of 2011, my ticket was actually free. However, seeing as most of you reading this are over 18, I’m including it in the ‘paid attractions’ section of this post. Today, full priced tickets are €16, EU citizens aged 18-25 are €2, and under 18s are still free!
Roman Forum // my second favourite place in Rome. The Forum was the centre of day to day life in ancient Rome, and the inner archaeology-student-to-be in me absolutely loved it here! Being able to walk along the Via Sacra — the main street of ancient Rome! — blew my mind. The very pathway that every Roman emperor walked on thousands of years before us?! Mind boggling. A must visit. Address: 00186 Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital
*FYI: today, self-guided combi tickets to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, & Roman Forum cost €18. In 2011, we bought €25 tickets from a peddler outside the Colosseum, which included guided tours of each stop.
Colosseum // according to my journal, I was underwhelmed by the Colosseum. I think maybe it’s because I’d seen it in so many movies and TV-shows, that it somehow was just meh when I saw it in real life? Sorry — honest thoughts only on this blog! Address: Piazza del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma
*FYI: today, self-guided combination tickets to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, & Roman Forum cost €18. In 2011, we bought €25 tickets from a peddler outside the Colosseum, which included guided tours of each stop.
Palatine Hill // according to legend, Palatine Hill was the original location of the cave where babies Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that reared them! Legend goes on to note that Palatine Hill also happens to be the very place where Romulus later killed Remus, and where he chose to found the city. Crazy! Excavation of the area has found remains dating back to the 7th century BC, so the legends might be more credible than they sound! Would recommend. Address: Via di San Gregorio, 00186 Rome
*FYI: today, self-guided combi tickets to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, & Roman Forum cost €18. In 2011, we bought €25 tickets from a peddler outside the Colosseum, which included guided tours of each stop.
Hop On / Hop Off Tour // I have no idea which company we did this with, but you’ll see them dotted around the city outside all major tourist attractions. Our tickets allowed us to hop on/hop off over a 48-hour period, so we saw a lot! Highlights include: St. Peter’s Basilica / Castel Sant’Angelo / Piazza del Popolo / Trevi Fountain / Piazza Barberini / Piazza della Repubblica / Termini Station / Santa Maria Maggiore / Piazza Venezia / The Forum / The Colosseum / Palatine Hill / Circus Maximus / Isola Tiberina / Piazza Navona. If you’re looking to cover a lot of ground & get a good base history of the city, would recommend.
Vatican Museums // for more info, please see my Vatican City guide!
free attractions
Trevi Fountain // so beautiful! We stopped here every time we walked near the area, and obviously made a wish every single time. A must visit. Address: Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma
Mouth of Truth // I insisted on dragging my then-partner & bestie out to this spot after seeing it in the Audrey Hepburn movie Roman Holiday — and I’m so glad I did, we loved it here! According to legend, if a liar puts their hand inside the mouth, then it’ll be bitten off. Even though I logically knew that couldn’t happen, it was weirdly terrifying! A must visit. Address: Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Piazza della Bocca della Verità, 00186 Roma
Ponte Milvio // Rome’s love lock bridge. If you’re thinking what the heck is that, allow me: you go with the person you love, you secure a lock onto the bridge together, and you throw the key into the water beneath, making your love final. My then-partner and I were, of course, obsessed with the idea of doing this, and made the 1-hour trek out of the city to do so alone one day. We bought a €5 lock from a peddler nearby, signed it, locked it in place, and threw the key into the Tiber together. It’s probably one of those things you have to do yourself to fully comprehend, but man, it was so romantic. Address: Ponte Milvio, 00135 Roma
*2025 UPDATE: this is no longer a love lock bridge! The weight of the locks actually damaged the structure of the bridge, so the city had to remove them. Sad.
Borghese Gardens // the third largest public park in Rome, we enjoyed such a wonderful day here! We picnic-ed, watched a man painting en plein air, made friends with a flock of lady ducks, wandered the vast grounds, and then some of our group rented a little boat and paddled their way around one of the park’s huge lakes. Once everyone was back on land, half of us rented Segways and half us rented a cycle-bus — myself, my then-partner, and my bestie going with the latter. It was honestly some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. We zoomed around the park, laughing hysterically, making fake beeping noises, nearly killing several passersby, and accidentally veering onto a roundabout with real cars. It was the best. A must visit. Address: 00197 Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital
Spanish Steps // another beautiful Roman attraction. We climbed the many many steps up to the Trinità dei Monti Church at the very top, and the views over the city were amazing! Would recommend. Address: Piazza di Spagna, 00187 Roma
Piazza Navona // a beautiful vibrant square filled with nice restaurants and market stalls. The art-history nerd in me was captivated by the Bernini fountains. Would recommend. Address: Piazza Navona, 00186 Roma
Saint Peter’s Basilica // for more info, please see my Vatican City guide!
And there we have it: One Week in Rome, Italy! My first ever Notes from the Archive post — what did you think? I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed reliving it for the purposes of this post!
Ciao,
Vicki xo
*Date of trip: 27th June - 4th July, 2011*
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