Two years ago and again during summer last year, my boyfriend Dominic and I travelled to Rome. It was my first holiday in about 10 years but for Dominic, he regularly goes as his uncle and aunt – Eugiene and Katia – live there.

For as long as I have loved art, I have wished to see the Sistine Chapel and in Rome I had the chance! What a holiday! That was made all the more affordable (thank goodness) by the fact that we have family there. Saying that though, renting an apartment for a week or so is a good way of staying in Rome. As there is so much to see, I think having a base where you can completely relax is preferable. You can make packed lunches and your own meals, which saves some money. Not that the food is expensive or anything. It is reasonable and delicious in most restaurants.

As the flight took over two 2 hours to reach Rome we caught one at about 6am – which gave us a whole day at our disposal as soon as we arrived.

So an early night and plenty of sleep was on the cards, especially as Dominic and his family have a tradition of visiting the Coliseum on the first day. So on getting there at about 9-ish, we met up with Eugiene and Katia to get the apartment keys, drop off our luggage and make our way to the Coliseum.

The best way to travel around the city is by metro. Each journey costs a euro and you can cross over to other platforms and journey within travel zones on the same ticket. The bus is approximately the same, but we preferred the metro; everything is pretty close together and logical enough to follow.

You get the B line to the Colosseo metro station and when you come out, there it is! You can buy a ticket to go in for about 9 Euros and if you pay a bit extra, which is definitely worth it, you can also take a walk around the Forum, which was a sort of massive thriving central high street system in its day. Here there lie astoundingly ornate buildings in splendid ruin.

Avoid buying from street sellers because half the time their wares are being illegally sold and you will find the same thing for a similar price in a normal shop. In fact wait until a later date to buy souvenirs as there are much better choices the further afield you travel. And before I forget, bring a small folding umbrella if you are visiting in the later months, because there are flash showers now and then, which doesn’t make it cold, but the amount of walking you will probably do whilst visiting Rome and its sights might end in discomfort.

When you need a break from sightseeing, I suggest grabbing an espresso (the tea is expensive) and a sprite or water, then look for a pizza place. And oh, the pizza is to die for! In most cases, you will find that they cook long rectangles of deliciously topped pizza and they sell it to you by weight, which is really handy and great value for money!

Also try a supplì or two…these are rice or potato balls with various fillings. Very yummy! And what visit to Rome would be complete without a few tasty bowls of creamy Italian ice cream, which comes in every flavour you could want?
A restaurant in Rome to try!

**This short Travel Story was submitted as part of the Holiday Travel Writing Competition. All short-listed entries such as this one are published in our online Travel Guide**

Story written by Rebecca Farley | Since 2006 Holiday Velvet offers Apartments in Rome.