Rome, Italy | A Day Trip from Warsaw

There is something about day trips. To wake up in one place, spend the day somewhere else, and be back by the evening. That feeling is amplified tenfold when it includes a border crossing. Even more when it is done from a place that is already far from home. Day trips from Sweden to Gdańsk was an activity I loved until Wizz Air moved the route from Stockholm Skavsta to Stockholm Arlanda Airport. In spring, I was able to repeat that feeling during the spring with a day trip from Warsaw to Bergamo. This time it was back to Italy. I was going to go on a day trip to Rome. Once more with an early flight from Warsaw Chopin Airport.

Early Flight to Rome Fiumicino Airport

A departure at 6:05 AM means a very early start to the day. But with the prospect of enjoying the sunshine of Italy in a few hours that was a small price to pay. I cannot remember the flight itself. I fell asleep before takeoff and woke up when we were about to land.

Landing at Rome Fiumicino Airport created a dilemma for me. I had not done my research. I knew that there was a train to the city. But I had no clue of how to find it or how to buy tickets. Luckily I was not the only one. The group of people trying to follow the arrows towards the train station was easy to follow. Finding out that they were waiting unnecessarily long on an elevator took a bit more time.

I finally had enough of waiting and walked to find another entrance. It was just 200 meters from the elevator. Just out of sights of the many people queuing for the ride up to the station. Running up the escalator, buying the ticket and getting through the train doors with just seconds to spare. I was on my way to the center of Rome.

Heading Towards the Colosseum

We visited Rome when Little A was about a year old. That time the queue to Colosseum was colossal. As I set out from Roma Termini I had a target set. I was dreaming of the possibility to maybe be able to enter this Roman monument. Well, I was once more greeted by huge queues and decided that I wanted to spend my day in Rome enjoying the city. I did not intend to spend it standing in a queue. Either way, Colosseum is one of the world’s most impressive buildings from the outside.

After Colosseum, I was just strolling around not really having a proper direction. I eventually found myself looking out across Circus Maximus while talking with my grandfather on the phone. It was first when I reached the River Tiber that I decided my new direction.

Crossing the Border to the Vatican City

I had set my target on the smallest country in the world. Not a new country for me, but I just couldn’t miss the opportunity to cross that invisible border once more. It was time to revisit the Vatican City. I was, however, going to enjoy the view of the river while en route. Arriving at the border of the Vatican left me with a new dilemma. How to enter Piazza San Pietro? There was a queue around the square. That queue was controlled by fences. Which made it hard to enter the square itself. I found an entrance on the far end of the square and got inside my third country of the day.

Eating Pizza in Rome

From the Vatican my none-directional stroll took me back across the river. I was looking for a place to have some lunch. Pizza in Rome might not be the same as Pizza in Naples. But it is still pizza in Italy! While enjoing a pizza with pepperoni and a cold beer, I also had a nice discussion with a older couple from Wisconsin. My feet was also quite happy to get a rest for a while.

A Sightseeing Tour Leading Back to the Colosseum

With the pizza and beer down, it was time to resume the strolling. I walked by the Pantheon, a dry Trevi Fountain, and eventually the the Spanish Steps. All places really crowded with tourists. I did eventually find my way to the large park Villa Borghese. Somehow my strolling took me back from the park along the edges of Piazza Foro Traiano before I was once more facing the impressive Colosseum. My walk was coming to an end, but I still had the walk back to the train station. The day’s adventure was coming to an end.

Flying Back to Warsaw

Rome Fiumicino Airport is big. It is, however, not a place to spend a lot of time. I had about two hours to kill before my flight back to Warsaw. Walking around at the airport meant that my watch continued to reach new heights in the number of steps taken this day. Once I was finally on board the flight to Warsaw, my step counter had passed 40.000 steps this day. I was indeed in need of a day’s rest once back in Warsaw.