We had booked our round-trip flight into/out of Rome, so it was time to head back to The Eternal City. A great city to visit, and next time we will stay longer. You could easily spend one or two weeks here, exploring all the different neighborhoods and ancient sites. For us, we planned to use these few days to rest up and get ready to head back to the U.S., and trying to stay on budget we used “points” at the Sheraton just about 20 minutes outside of the city. They have a shuttle that takes you into the city which works well, and we had booked a walking/eating tour for one of our first nights in Rome (highly recommend this as a way to get familiar with the area).


Walking around Rome is incredible - there are so many places to see - and it seems like around every corner is another Piazza, or monument, or church. In fact, there are about 900 churches inside the city of Rome, and they are all incredible. We started off by heading toward Trevi Fountain, which was rebuilt into its current grand form beginning in 1732, and finished in 1762. A beautiful place and always crowded with tourists.


The next day we had booked another AirBNB “Experience” - this time a 3 hour walking/eating/drinking tour with Rosina called “Where do Romans Eat”. We have enjoyed this type of tour everywhere in Europe as a way to find some local places to eat that you would never find on your own, and this one was fabulous. We stopped at 6 different places as we walked through the Jewish neighborhood “the Ghetto”, and on through the Campo de’ Fiori market area and to the Piazza Navona. Rosina gave (for us) the perfect mix of history as we walked, and wonderful local places for bites to eat along the way.


We started by walking through the area of the Teatro Marcello, which construction was started under Julius Caesar (although he never saw the finished product). You can see various “layers” of history in this building as it fell out of use in the 4th century, and eventually an apartment was built on top of the structures in the 16th century. Pretty amazing to be able to see all these different types of architecture in just one building.


Our food tour included a couple stops in the Jewish neighborhood - starting with fabulous Jewish artichokes - fried until you could eat the entire thing - like chips on the ends, but the heart was still soft and amazing. And also a stop at a wine and cheese shop. as we walked through the area, I noticed several bronze cobblestones on the ground in front of different homes. Known as the Stumbling Stones of Rome, these markers are inscribed with the names and the dates people were taken from their homes and sent to Auschwitz and then murdered during WWII.


On through the city to the Campo de’ Fiori - a wonderful Piazza with and open air market during the day. We stopped at Antico Forno Roscioli for some Roman style pizza, and then on to Norcineria Viola - a wonderful meat shop - sampling salumi’s and wine.



A few more stops along the way, including in the Piazza Navona - an incredible square with several fountains. The Fiumi Fountain - (Fountain of the Four Rivers) is an incredible piece of work, designed by Bernini. I would have to say that although it is not as big as Trevi, it is more beautiful, and it seems the workmanship is better (finer?). Anyway, a beautiful spot, and one you should try to see sometime.


We spent our final day in Rome walking and seeing a few more sights (and stopping in for a snack or two along the way). From the Pantheon to the Spanish Steps, and on past the Coliseum, it was another beautiful day in Rome. It has become a very “visited” city though and you could see this at both Trevi and the Spanish Steps. When were here before (maybe five years ago?) we had bought a bottle of wine and some snacks and sat on the steps in the evening to enjoy the sunset and views. No more - they have enforcement there to whistle you if you stop and sit on the steps - “keep moving”! Still, just as beautiful as ever, and a must see for sure.



Fini! - we did it! This was the end of our trip to Europe for this year (already making plans for 2020). We enjoyed every bit of it (except the couple of times when the food or water took us down for a few days). Many people we have met have asked us what has been our favorite place. Our answer really has been that wherever we are - that is our favorite. Each country/place is unique and we have really enjoyed seeing all that we can and have tried to understand just a little bit more of every culture.


It seems (now) like time has gone so quickly. We arrived in Rome back in April, and are leaving in October. We visited Italy, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Spain (again), Ireland, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and back to Italy. We had to get creative when we realized our interpretation of the Visa rules was wrong, but adding a month in Ireland was one of the best things we did! And (knock wood), we never had any major travel issues, with flights, trains, buses, or accommodations.


It has been a fabulous experience, and we realize how lucky we are to have this opportunity. I hope people have enjoyed following along on our journeys, and hopefully you will catch the “travel bug”, and have the chance to see more of this “Big World” as well.


Signing off for now - back sometime in 2020.

All the best to everyone,

Tim & Eileen

Instagram - @Bigworldnomads

(Still working on the "selfie" thing...)