With our train departing at 1:48 PM, we didn’t have too much time left to explore Florence. We made one last stop at our favorite spot, Cafe Gilli, for some caffeine and breakfast. Instead of our usual quick service at the bar, we decided to enjoy the outdoor seating with a view of the Piazza della Repubblica.

Conveniently, the non-historic second location of the perfume store was right next door! I finally got to smell the famous Queen’s Water, and of course, I ended up buying a bottle. It’s so incredible to be using a fragrance that’s been around since the 1500s.

We walked around a bit more and discovered another Medici family residence, Palazzo Vecchio. I wish we had known about it sooner because they have apartments you can tour! Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to wait the 30 minutes to get in since we had to catch our train.  I guess that just means we’ll have to come back to Florence! 

As a final farewell, we stopped by Perche No for some café-flavored gelato, which was as delicious as always. The walk to the train station was a bit hectic, though. We didn’t leave enough time after our gelato stop, so we ended up having to speed-walk. Italians dress like it’s freezing here, so I was in a long sleeve and jeans, trying not to look like a tourist (as if they wouldn’t know anyways lol) and that walk left me sweating! 

The train ride to Rome went smoothly. I still haven’t gotten motion sick on the trains, which is a win. I love high-speed train travel, and I wish Florida had a train connecting its cities—it’s so much more enjoyable than flying.

When we arrived in Rome, it was immediately clear how much bigger it is compared to Florence and Venice. The walk to our hotel was too long at 40 minutes, so we tried to call a taxi, but it was so busy no cabs would accept our ride. In Italy, you can’t get regular Ubers; you have to use the app to call a taxi or use the more expensive Uber Black. We ended up going with the latter since we couldn’t find any other options. 

For this leg of the trip, we’re staying at the most charming boutique spot, Hotel Campo de’ Fiori, and I’m completely obsessed! The rooms are full of character. And it’s right next to the bustling Campo de’ Fiori square, which, as the name suggests, is the heart of the area.

Once we checked into our hotel, we asked the concierge for dinner recommendations, but he reminded us that Italians typically don’t eat until 7 or 8 PM, so most of the good spots weren’t open yet. We ended up at Romoletto in Campo de’ Fiori square, where we watched the vendors pack up from the day’s street market. We’ll have to return during the week to check out the market before it closes.

The food at Romoletto was alright. We had a croquette and a supplí as appetizers, and for mains, we ordered cacio e pepe and meatballs. It wasn’t a standout meal, but it did the job of keeping us full for our next outing—the 8:45 PM Roma vs. Inter game!

It just so happened that Roma had a home game the night we arrived, so we bought tickets on a whim, and I’m glad we did because it was a lot of fun! I used to watch the team back in high school because I had a crush on one of the players—good thing for Jordan that player has since transferred to Greece, haha!

To gear up for the game, we walked to an AS Roma store to look like real fans! We couldn’t show up without at least some Roma colors.

We initially planned to take a taxi to the game since the stadium was far away, but after multiple cancellations and no Uber Black options, we had to take the bus. Luckily, Apple Maps has a transit feature that guided us to the correct bus station and route. Everything was going smoothly until I realized the bus had stopped following the Apple Maps route due to a (presumed) detour for the game, which was a little concerning. However, I noticed other fans on the bus, so we decided to follow them.

Despite the detour, we got off at the correct stop and rushed to the stadium. Jordan got us tickets in a great section with a nice view and a relaxed atmosphere. Apparently, there’s a section for die-hard fans where you need to know the chants, and if you don’t, you’ll get yelled at—so glad we didn’t accidentally end up there! That section also staged a protest for the first 15 minutes of the game because Roma was recently bought by an American billionaire. It would have been awkward to sit there during that!

The game itself was a blast, even though Roma lost 0-1. Once the die-hard section filled in it got so much more lively too, they really kept up a fun atmosphere with all the chants! We enjoyed some beers and even tried a hot dog (though I must say, Americans do hot dogs better). We left around the 75-minute mark to avoid the post-game traffic since we had 8:30 AM tickets for the Colosseum the next morning.

The ride back was another adventure with buses. No Ubers or taxis were available, so we had to figure out the bus system again. I was worried the bus would have the same detour like when we got dropped off, but luckily it showed up where it was supposed to, and we made it out before the crowds.

It was such a relief to get back to the hotel and rest up. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow—Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, and whatever else we can squeeze in!