Rome

I thought the end of October would equate to fewer tourists - boy, was I wrong (this seems to be a recurring theme of Italy - so many tourists). Rome is an exciting city with beautiful sights to see, but I was gobsmacked by the crowds everywhere - on the streets, buses, metro, restaurants, and just trying to get a taxi is nearly impossible. I downloaded the app FREENOW, which works great during non-high peak times, but it is virtually useless if you want to get out of the historic center. It does have a great feature that allows you to pre-book a ride, which worked great for our early morning departure. Yes, Uber has the same features, but only Uber Black works in Rome which is more expensive. Italy will be imposing a few more taxes on tourism next year, but I'm not sure if that will curtail any tourists from visiting.

We were here five years ago and enjoyed everything Rome had to offer especially the people and cuisine. The drivers are as crazy as I remember, but the system seems to work so who am I to judge? I'll be honest, sometimes as a pedestrian, it feels like you are playing a game of chicken, but just follow the lead of the locals when crossing the street and you should be fine. It's easy to maneuver the metro system (only three lines) but you still have to walk quite a distance to get to a station. For those who have credit/debit cards, the metro is equipped with a tap-and-go system which allows you to bypass the ticket line and use your card at the gate. It's also cheaper, 1.50€ vs 3.00€ for a ticket.

The Italians are loud, passionate, expressive people who enjoy life to the fullest. Where we stayed, the crowds were drinking, eating, and listening to music through the early hours (and that's on a school night) enjoying life. It's the way life should be - work to live, not live to work.

We walk a lot through the good and bad parts of the city (not always intentional) and that is how you get to know the city. If you have time and the ability, it’s the only way to get to know the non-tourist places. You’ll find great local restaurants that haven’t been ruined by Yelp or Trip Advisor and stunning sights that are not on your “must see” tourist list.