Bella Roma

[Bagpuss]

Getting in and out was a bit of a nightmare anyway - those guards are sooooo obnoxious. I reckon if they decided it was closing time at 11 - they'd just shut up shop.

I'd be arsey if I were dressed so gay

http://image18.webshots.com/18/7/20/...0pgvlzN_ph.jpg

[cailin maith]

I'd be arsey if I were dressed so gay

http://image18.webshots.com/18/7/20/...0pgvlzN_ph.jpg

True, God love them!

[DaveB]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Heading there in August by the look of it due to school holidays. A pita I do realise but can't be avoided sadly.

[Churchill]

I'd be arsey if I were dressed so gay

http://image18.webshots.com/18/7/20/...0pgvlzN_ph.jpg

Read up on their history. Hard Bastards!

[cailin maith]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Heading there in August by the look of it due to school holidays. A pita I do realise but can't be avoided sadly.

Make sure the kids have lots of water - it's be super hot!

[cailin maith]

Read up on their history. Hard Bastards!

Yeah but poor fashion choices

[TykeMerc]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Heading there in August by the look of it due to school holidays. A pita I do realise but can't be avoided sadly.

I hope you have a great time, it will be busy and pretty hot, but there's so much to see, I'm really glad I went and would happily return.

[Francko]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Heading there in August by the look of it due to school holidays. A pita I do realise but can't be avoided sadly.

You should be happy about this. Most locals are on holiday in August so it's much nicer and enjoyable. In general the situation got better in the last years when they built a lot of malls in the outskirts releasing some pressure in the city center. I would recommond to visit often Trastevere and Testaccio to get a better feeling of what's one of the oldest part of town but somehow less touristy. Also go to Colle Gianicolo to have the best panorama of the town and the most romantic venue. And just get lost in the small streets without watching at the map every 5 minutes, just walk and enjoy... you could do this for all your life and everyday you can discover somethig new...

[expat]

On top of all the usual tourist bits (of which there are a multitude), a few things made an impact on me:

1. looking down and seeing that even drain covers were marked SPQR. I was immensely tickled by that.

2. being slightly lost with the family, at the bottom of a flight of steps. I said I'd go up the steps and see if I could find out where we were. Sprinted up the steps. Then shouted down, Blood Hell, this is the Mons bloody Capitolinus!

The sense of just where you are standing is overwhelming: this little flight of steps in the middle of town led up to the centre of the Roman Empire.

3. Most moving for me was the quiet solidity of the Pantheon. Elegantly immovable in its simple geometric shapes, it has stood as a place of worship unbroken for 2 millennia. The modern houses and cafes around it only emphasize its eternal nature.

[DaveB]

You should be happy about this. Most locals are on holiday in August so it's much nicer and enjoyable. In general the situation got better in the last years when they built a lot of malls in the outskirts releasing some pressure in the city center. I would recommond to visit often Trastevere and Testaccio to get a better feeling of what's one of the oldest part of town but somehow less touristy. Also go to Colle Gianicolo to have the best panorama of the town and the most romantic venue. And just get lost in the small streets without watching at the map every 5 minutes, just walk and enjoy... you could do this for all your life and everyday you can discover somethig new...

I appreciate the fact that the locals bugger off to the country/coast in August. It's more a pain due to the heat and the prices. Evrything is more expensive during the school holidays.

Any suggestions on hotels? Toss up between somewhere slap in the middle and paying more or paying less and staying a bit further out and using the Metro.