Rome with Contiki

It’s surreal to be writing this exactly one month from when I was in Rome with Contiki. While my friends are now scattered all over the world, my happiest moments from this trip are constantly in my thoughts so it feels wrong that this much time has already passed since then! From the start, I had been ridiculously excited to spend the day in Rome with Contiki and seeing the Vatican City was top of my to-do list.
The tour was one of the Contiki optional extras and pre-booking one of these tours definitely seemed like the best way to see the Vatican as it meant we weren’t waiting in the huge line outside. However, as beautiful as the museum was, it was extremely busy and the fast pace of the tour left it hard to keep up with what the guide was saying.
Ending the tour at the Sistine Chapel was one of my personal highlights but with guards standing by at every turn, it was near impossible to get a photo of that amazing ceiling.
When the tour finished, we took a short walk around the corner to Alice’s Pizza on Tony’s recommendation. I’m pretty sure the entire group ended up there and eating the most delicious pizza on the street felt like a true Roman experience.
I’m sorry Dominos but my heart belongs to another now.
From there, we walked down to St Peters Square where the white facades, fountains and statues made for beautiful viewing on such a sunny day
On our way to the metro, we took a gelato-themed detour and visited a few souvenir shops to find ‘I Heart Roma’ t-shirts. Yep, our next theme party was that night and I couldn’t wait! First things first though…
We emerged from the metro station to see the Colosseum looming up immediately in front of us.
It was an incredible sight and with signs of a thunderstorm approaching, we couldn’t wait to get inside.
While I think a lot of us dozed off during the tour (picture above is strong evidence there!), the rain held enough and getting to explore the upper levels as a surreal yet incredible experience.Sightseeing for the day done, we sprinted through the Metro to make it to the train in time to meet the group. For any of you guys reading – “Dominate, don’t hesitate”! The ride back to the campsite seemed to fly by and after a quick dinner, it was time to get ready for the party. Sitting outside a log cabin chatting doesn’t seem like the best way to put on your makeup but it made for a nice chilled start to the evening before we made it down to the bar.
We scribbled messages of love  on each others t-shirts then the party got started!