WHY YOU NEED TO BOOK A TRIP TO ROME ASAP

I literally have SO much respect for travel bloggers. I love reading travel posts and I love featuring them on my blog - but bloody hell, they take a long time. 

It's taken me six months to get round to writing up our Rome trip. Six months - and we only went for 4 days. 

In my defence, I did do a '10 things I learnt in Rome' post when I got back but it just seemed like the biggest waste of these lovely photos if I didn't share them.

Rome is my favourite place I've ever visited. Hands down. It's got great culture, architecture, food, people and antiquity.

You just feel like you've stepped straight into a history book.

The whole place is built on ruins but it's all SO well preserved. 

You can literally be walking along and stumble across a huge piece of marble just chilling on the floor - completely untouched. 

You don't get that level of preservation in London. I'm serious, we would have put a luxury housing development in the Colosseum by now...

We were only there for 4 days but we managed to cram SO much in. I don't think you need any longer to do all the tourist sights but there is still plenty of Rome that I'd love to go back and explore.

There's loads to see in Rome and you'll do plenty of walking (which you'll need to burn off all the food you'll be eating).

You've got all your 'must-see' attractions like the Spanish Steps...

The Ancient Colosseum...

the iconic Trevi Fountain (make sure you go really early in the morning to avoid the swarms of tourists)...

and The Pantheon - a great place to grab lunch in the square and people watch.  

There's also a little gelatoria called Ciuccula tucked up one of the side roads where you have to head for ice cream!

We stayed in the Jewish quarter of the city which was right by two of my favourite places: Piazza Navona and Campo De Fiori. They're both packed with restaurants and bars and just the perfect place to spend an evening. 

Our apartment was modern and a decent size for being right in the city -  PLUS they delivered pastries to us every morning for breakfast #winning. I like staying in hotels but sometimes it's nice to just have your own little base to stay in so you can come and go as you please. 

Accommodation can be expensive in Rome so make sure you scour online for the best deals and remember you'll need to pay the Rome City Tax on top of your room rate which can be anything from 3-7 euros per night. 

Can we just talk about the food for a sec? I'm a little surprised it's featured so late on in the post really because - oh my god - the food in Rome is incredible. 

You can't eat bad food in Rome. You just can't - because the people of Rome don't know how to make bad food. You can walk into almost any restaurant (and there's loads) and the plate of pasta will be better than any you've had over here. Plus the house wine is incredible & cheap too. 

If you're planning to visit The Vatican, you really need to set aside a whole day.

You also really need to book ahead - you can just turn up and buy tickets but you'll have to queue which just eats into your exploring time and I get really grotty when I'm standing around too long so just do yourself a favour and book!

Oh and make sure you dress sensibly. The Vatican is a Holy place so no shorts, no exposed shoulders and nothing revealing. I only had the very tops of my arms uncovered and I got asked to cover them!

While you're at the Vatican City, you can visit St. Peter's Basillica and the Sistine Chapel. 

You can spend hours walking through all the rooms admiring the painting and art-work all over the walls and ceiling. I promise you, it'll take nearly a full day to take it all in. 

Weather wise, we were there in late April so we had plenty of sun. It wasn't too hot for walking around and exploring and had a nice breeze to keep you cool. 

For us, that was the perfect time of year to go - I don't like spending summer in cites when you'll need to walk loads & queue - plus the summer months mean everything is crazy busy! I'd definitely recommend April to anyone thinking about going...

There really aren't many  many I've been to that I'm desperate to go back to but hand on heart Rome is one of them. I hope I might have convinced you to get booking - I know I've just convinced myself to book another trip!

If you've been to Rome before, I'd love to know where you stayed and your must-visit places!