6-Day Rome Itinerary on a Budget - Day 5 & 6

Rome Day 5: 1st June Fri

We had lunch at the same Ju Ying Restaurant. This time we chose the ala cart buffet. Apparently there are many this type of restaurant in Rome.

After that we went to the Piazza del Popolo.

Crossed the road to enter Piazza del Popolo

In the Piazza del Popolo, the Egyptian obelisk of Ramesses II from Heliopolis that stands in the centre of the Piazza and the "twin" churches: Santa Maria di Montesanto (left) and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (right).

Piazza del Popolo

Facing it, we walked to the left of it, and "climbed" up the Pincian Hill.

The view from the Pincian Hill overlooking Piazza del Popolo toward St. Peter's Basilica. 

It felt comfortable with the sun shining down, wind carrying bubbles to the sky and the sound of children's laughter ringing in the air.

After walking around Pincian Hill, we walked down to the Piazza del Popolo and entered one of the "twin" churches. 

Walked passed Piazza Dei Tribunali - Corte Suprema di Cassazione.

There were stalls selling souvenir and a merry-go-round nearby.

Stalls selling souvenir

We saw the Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian, a fortress located on the right bank of the river Tiber.

Castel Sant'Angelo

We saw some street performers along the way.

Street performers

I'm not very sure but I think we saw the St. Angelo Bridge and Ponte Garibaldi. There is another famous bridge, Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, nearby.

There were sculptures on the bridges.

We walked a long way to the restaurant Alle Fratte Di Trastevere. There were many people, you may have to queue for a while. The sun set down by the time we sat down to have our dinner.

The food was okay, but nothing wow me. 

And that's all for the day.

Rome Day 6: 2nd June Sat

We checked out and set off to Florence via Eurostar.

Stay tuned if you want to know how we spent our time in Florence.

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Summary

1. Pincian Hill
2. Piazza del Popolo, - Egyptian obelisk of Ramesses II, Santa Maria di Montesanto (left), Santa Maria dei Miracoli (right)
3. Piazza Dei Tribunali - Corte Suprema di Cassazione
4. Castel Sant'Angelo
5. St. Angelo Bridge / Ponte Garibaldi

6-Day Rome Itinerary on a Budget - Day 4

Rome Day 4: 31st May Thur

We went to the Vatican City to visit the Vatican Museum. We queued from 9.36 am to 11.30 am. The queue was super long. There were peddlers selling scarfs and a faster entrance to the Museum.

It looks quite scary actually...

Marvelous ceiling artworks

 When we enter this building, we were amazed by the golden ceiling. We go "wa~". You will be jostled by the crowd to move forward.

The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. 

We are not supposed to take picture or make noise in the Chapel. Someone was constantly reminding the crowds. 

There were seats at the sides. The room was full of people. Unless you manage to grab a seats at the sides, it was a bit hard to admire the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The famous "The Creation of Adam" was right in the middle of the ceiling. It was not very big, so you will need to find it. 

We exited the place at 2 pm via the spiral staircase. 

spiral staircase

Rooftop of the spiral staircase

We walked to eat Pasta for lunch at 2.30 pm.

Their noodles were plain, no other ingredients. I think the spaghetti my mother cooks is nicer. 

We reached St. Peter’s Basilica at 3 pm but didn't enter when we saw the super long queues. 

Tall pillars

There were seats near the tall pillars. After taking photos and resting here for a while, we went back to Airbnb to rest for the day.

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Summary

1. Vatican Museum
2. St. Peter’s Basilica

6-Day Rome Itinerary on a Budget - Day 3

Rome Day 3: 30th May 2018 Wed

We took the 2h train at 9.15 am to Naples to visit Mount Vesuvius.

We ate home made lunch near the train station before taking the bus up at 12.10 pm. We bought the bus ticket on the spot. The seats were free seating. Do try to go up early so you can choose your seats. 

After reaching mid way up the volcano, we hiked up to see the crater.

It wasn't as exciting as I thought

There were stalls selling souvenirs and drinks at the first level and in the middle of the hike. 

As we climbed higher, there were more and more flying insect. I didn't dare to go any higher and since I don't think there were any more interesting sights, I made my way down.

Do remember to apply sun screen on your shoulder and skin exposed to the sun. You may not feel it on the spot, but you will get sun burnt! 

The bus was late. Anyway, we managed to take the bus down. 

Some statues on the way

Because we bought the train back to Rome in the evening, we felt that there wasn't enough time to go to the famous Pompeii. So we walked to Herculaneum instead. 

Someone played the piano at the entrance, making the afternoon more relaxing. 

We didn't paid to enter, instead we just take a look from the top. 

We wasn't much interested in the ruins under the sun so after looking for a while, we took the train back near Naples to eat dinner. 

At 5 pm, we reached to the restaurant to eat Pizza. 

Their pizza was really plain, but I supposed that was their traditional way of baking pizza. But I preferred Hawaiian pizza in Singapore. 

After dinner, we went back to our airbnb at Rome.

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Summary

1. Mount Vesuvius
2. Herculaneum