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This story is brought to us by John and Jane, while on home exchange in Rome.
This month, March, we visited the ancient city of Rome.We decided to visit Rome because it was a place that we haven’t really visited properly, other than a quick day trip in the summer when it was far too hot and too busy. We chose to go in the springtime because we felt it would be a little quieter, which it was. We searched for a home that was located within walking distance of the city centre and after sending around 20 messages we found Giuliana’s lovely apartment.
Our conversation with our host was excellent. Giuliana responded quickly to our messages and she made sure we were happy with all the arrangements. She gave us lots of useful information about local restaurants, markets and transportation and couldn’t have been more helpful.Our host was at home to greet us and she left the following morning so we had the apartment to ourselves for the rest of our stay. She helped arrange transportation from the airport and made sure we had all the information we needed for our stay.
The apartment, which overlooked the river, was spotlessly clean, modern, and had everything we needed for our five-night stay. The rooms were light and airy and well furnished. Our host left breakfast items and beverages for us which were much appreciated for our first morning.
The location was very handy for walking into the city centre or to the metro and there was a great local market just around the corner where we stocked up on groceries and lovely wine!
Exchanging homes is perfect for us because we enjoy discovering new, non-touristy, neighbourhoods. We also love cooking for ourselves using local produce and when we are in someone else’s kitchen we usually find everything we need to do this – olive oil, salt and pepper etc!Rome has so much to offer that it is difficult to decide what to prioritise on a short trip. As travellers, we enjoy sampling local food and wandering through old cobbled streets just as much as we enjoy visiting iconic sites.
We visited the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican and the incredible Galleria Borghese with its breathtaking sculptures and interior decoration, but one of our most exciting discoveries, which our host told us about, was the ‘keyhole view of St Peter’s dome’ in the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta.
On our second evening, we went on a food tour which culminated in our guide making delicious pasta for us in a room above a restaurant on the Isola Tiberia.
I think the best memory of our trip was from the food tour.
Our guide, when she had finished cooking the pasta for us, told us that the room we were in had actually been used as a film location back in 1960. She finished off the evening by showing us a small clip of the film, L’Avventura, which was filmed in black and white.
