I was given few directions; Rome was pretty much up to me. I had asked Bethany months ago what she wanted to do in Rome and she replied, “Eat pasta.”
“Ok, I like to eat, but what do you want to do beyond pasta? What do you want to see in Rome?” I probed further.
I don’t know, what is there to see in Rome?” she replied.
I went out immediately and bought her a guidebook and told her to look through it and see what there was to do in Rome and get back to me.
A few weeks later she came to me with a rough idea of things she wanted to see including the Colosseum, the Vatican, and Pompeii – and eat lots of pasta. Now I had something to work with. I used these as anchors and filled in the rest with Eating Tours and plenty of free time to eat pasta.
At the same time Go with Oh was collecting Rome travel tips for the blogging campaign I was working on with them. Twitter followers sent in tips, and I could choose the ones I wanted to do. I was sent some amazing tips for Rome on the best places, the non-touristy places, advice on how to avoid scams, and ways to save money. You can see all of them here at the Go with Oh Rome Travel Tips.
Armed with Bethany’s wishes, and the Go with Oh tips, we took off to explore Rome for 4 days!
Colosseum
@itsme__jessi – Buy tickets for the Colosseum at the Palatine Museum down the street to skip the long lines & walk right in.
View all of my Colosseum Photography
Trevi Fountain
@TourAbsurd – Visit the Trevi Fountain at midnight. It’s romantic and a lot less crowded.
@CailinONeil – My tip for @ottsworld while in Rome is to throw a coin in Trevi fountain, they say if u do u will come back!
Spanish Steps
We didn’t get any tips for this landmark, but my best advice is to go late or early – the crowds are crazy. If you want to be alone on the Spanish Steps, go in the middle of the night! Clearly we didn’t take this advice!
Vatican
@Heathercowper – The View from the Dome of St Peter’s in #Rome @ottsworld @GowithOh crowded, claustrophobic & unmissable
We didn’t get to the dome, but we did take a wonderful and informative tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter and skipped the lines at all of them with a reserved ticket!
Cemetery Visit
@eur0peanne – On a pretty day, visit the Protestant Cemetery near Piramide, and then have lunch at Felice. Cacio e pepe is divine!
This was my favorite tip of all and the winner of the Go with Oh contest. View Non-Catholic Cemetery Photo Documentary
How to get around:
@grantbton – if bad with maps follow long paving slabs (running in middle of cobbles) – marks route from trevvi to piazza navona via pantheon
Eating & Drinking:
@CitySmackerels – For a truly wonderful meal, go to Taverna Lucifero located on a small sidestreet off Campo de’ Fiori #Rome
@gfreefun Get lost in Trastevere and find an inexpensive place to sip vino outside in the late afternoon.
@eur0peanne – Go to Volpetti (short walk from Piramide) and bask in the cheeses, meats, olives. They’ll give you samples. 
@MhnParee – in Rome bars and cafés, table-service prices are generally at least double what you pay if you stand at the bar.
Culture tips:
@acooknotmad – Drink the water, from the tap, the fountains, everywhere, it’s all safe to drink and delicious
This was just a few of the tips we did, but here’s the full list of Rome travel tips I received.
Disclosure: Go with Oh hosted my apartment lodging in Rome. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own – as you know how I love to speak my mind!
Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
