A couple of weeks ago, Felicity, Liv and I woke up in the middle of the night, shoved our clothes into the smallest bags possible, and bundled ourselves off to the airport.
4 hours later, after a little roadrage (Felicity) and a lot of coffee (me) we emerged footloose and fancy free in one of my favourite cities on Earth-
Roma!
Not wanting to waste a second of our mini break, we...lounged around on the terrace of our AirBnB for a couple of hours. With our strength restored, we freshened up and headed out to explore.
We were staying next to the Vatican City, so chose a leisurely walk along the river to ease us into our Roman Holiday.
With the sun on our faces and the hustle and bustle of Italian traffic all around us, it wasn't long before London felt a million miles away.
Stopping for snaps along the way, we ambled along the riverside until we reached the neighbourhood of Trastevere.
A little quieter than most of Rome's tourist heavy streets, Travestere is a labyrinth of cobbled streets, lined with faded and ever-so-slightly crumbling buildings.
The winding streets are studded with pizzerias and bars, and shops selling all sorts of trinkets.
It wasn't long before our stomachs got the better of us, and we were forced to make a quick pit stop.
But hey, when in Rome...
...eat all the gelato you can! That's how that phrase goes, right?
We slurped our way through the maze of cobbled streets, gelato in hand, until we reached Piazza di Santa Maria.
We ducked into Santa Maria in Trastevere.
If there's one thing I love about Roman churches, it's the ceilings. I spend most of my time craning my neck, to take in the glittering, golden masterpieces that seem to adorn every inch of ceiling space.
There's no shortage of beauty outside the churches either, with unexpected treasures around every corner.
With the sun starting to get low in the sky, we strolled over to one of Trastevere's other churches; Santa Cecilia in Trastevere.
Devoted to Santa Cecilia (no surprises there), Santa Cecilia in Trastevere dates back to the 5th century, and hosts the relics of Saint Cecilia; a martyr whose remains were found in one of the Roman catacombs.
Mirroring the design of Santa Maria in Trastevere, the apse features a pretty glitzy depiction of Jesus.
Underneath the alter is a sculpture of Saint Cecilia by Stefano Maderno, a late Renaissance sculptor.
Sculpted with intricate detail, it supposedly shows Saint Cecilia in the exact position her body was found in, right down to a slightly macabre drop of blood dripping from the axe wound in her neck.
Liv and I braced ourselves and headed down into the crypt. Most of the rooms are what you would expect from a crypt; cold, grey stone, and empty. We worked our way through until we reached the final room.
Hidden underground, this little chapel is where Saint Cecilia is buried. It’s beautiful, unexpected, and just ever so slightly creepy. We made our way back upstairs.
With the sun setting over the Tiber, we strolled back towards the Vatican.
It's safe to say, we were all excited that our holiday had begun!
Hopefully you'll be excited too, to read more on our adventures this Thursday. Until then, ciao!