After soaking up Florence, we wrapped up the land portion of our Italy adventure with a whirlwind few days in Rome—a city bursting with ancient history, delicious pasta, and (of course) so much gelato.
🚄 Arrival: We took the Frecciarossa train from Florence to Rome, then used the FreeNow app (like Uber) for a quick taxi to our hotel.
📍 Hotel: Grand Hotel Palatino
We had two adjoining rooms that were super spacious and luxurious—there were even chocolates and macarons waiting for us! (Don’t worry, we told the girls not to get used to this kind of treatment.)
Abby and Chris at the Trevi Fountain—our first evening in Rome started with a classic wish toss.
🏛️ Day 1: Walkable Wonders + Our First Gnocchi
After settling in, we walked to the Pantheon, seeing several iconic sights along the way. From there we made our way to the Trevi Fountain, threw in our coins, and stopped at The Quirinal Palace and Palazzo della Consulta.
🍝 Dinner: Benso Ristorante – The gnocchi was a standout.
🍨 Gelato: Gold Ice – Cute spot, but not a favorite. Rome has better!
🎨 Day 2: Vatican Marvels, Pancakes & a Golfcart Tour
🧇 Breakfast: Complimentary at the hotel
🖼️ Morning: Private Vatican Tour with Liv Tours
This tour was great for families. Chris would have stayed in the museum all day (so many Roman artifacts!) but the crowds kept us moving. Highlights included the Sistine Chapel (no photos!) and St. Peter’s Basilica, where we explored freely afterward.
Our Vatican tour ended at St. Peter’s Basilica, where we were able to explore at our own pace.
🥞 Lunch: The Loft – Pancakes with fresh fruit = a major hit with the girls.
🛍️ We wandered Rome, visited Sephora (because teenagers), and had one of our favorite gelato stops:
🍨 Amorino Gelato – Creamy, fun flavors with macarons on top.
Our golfcart tour gave us front-row views of Rome’s icons—with a guide who knew how to make history fun for kids.
🛺 Evening: 2-hour Golfcart Tour with My Best Tour
One of the girls’ favorite activities of the trip. Our guide was engaging, funny, and showed us:
- Colosseum (lit up at night!)
- Pantheon (again!)
- Trevi Fountain (again!)
- Spanish Steps
- Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary (preview for tomorrow!)
Evening views at the Spanish Steps during our golfcart tour—beautiful and surprisingly peaceful.
She even stopped at her favorite local gelato spot—
🍨 Essentia Gelato near Trevi — definitely a top contender!
🍝 Dinner: Osteria Maracuja – Another win, and conveniently right where our guide dropped us.
🏟️ Day 3: Gladiators, Cats & Chocolate-Dipped Cones
🧇 Breakfast: Complimentary again at Grand Hotel Palatino
🗿 Morning: Private Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill Tour with Liv Tours
Our guide Chiara was fantastic—she kept the kids fully engaged while giving Chris plenty of deep historical details.
Gladiator energy! The girls loved exploring the Colosseum with our Liv Tours guide, Chiara.
🍕 Lunch: Antico Forno Serpenti – Fast, large portions, great prices.
🐱 Afternoon: Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
We arrived before their posted closing time but couldn’t go in—still cool to peek in and learn it’s the exact spot Julius Caesar was assassinated. Paige declared we have to come back to actually pet the cats.
🍨 Gelato: Gelateria Artigianale Corona – Great texture and flavor.
🍝 Dinner: Bernini Ristorante near Piazza Navona
Fun atmosphere, and the food was great.
🍨 Final Gelato: Frigidarium – Possibly the best of our whole trip! Don’t miss the chocolate hard shell dipped cones.
Frigidarium’s chocolate-dipped gelato cones might have won our “best of the trip” award.
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