Rome is a wonderful city to visit, with rich history, exquisite architecture, and splendid art. Not to mention, great coffee!

Florence has the Medicis, Venice has the Doges and Rome has the Caesars and Emperors. Don’t miss out on a visit to the Colosseum, and the nearby Forum and Palatine Hills. One ticket lets you visit all three places.

One tip to skip the long ticket buying line: take the official guided tour. The official guided tour has a separate line (just ask the guard). It is very informative and is cheaper than the private guided tours offered by agents at the gates.

Rome is walking friendly and is fun to explore on foot. There are also four or five major Hop-on Hop-off bus services, and we found them to be quite useful to visit major sights, such as Vatican City and the Pantheon.

The Pantheon is pretty impressive! It is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world, with an oculus that opens to the sky. We visited on a rainy day, and it was fun to see the rain falling inside the building.

Another must see place in Rome is Vatican City. The lines to the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica are generally shorter earlier in the day. Also, there is a shortcut between the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica. Look for the ‘tour group only’ door on the right as you face the rear of the chapel. Follow it and you will be right in the Basilica and skip the long security line there.

Rome is a great city to visit. Relax, stroll around and enjoy the beautiful architecture and art, while savoring a delicious gelato. That’s what I call a good life!

On the quest to find the best coffee in Rome, we hopped into a cab on a rainy day to head over to caffe Tazza D’oro. Caffe Tazza D’oro came highly recommended in Rick Steves’ Pocket Rome guidebook that I picked up at the airport before embarking on our Italian trip.

Upon hearing that we were looking for a good cup of coffee, the taxi driver recommended Sant’ Eustachio il caffe and insisted that we go there instead. The two shops are a short walk apart, so why not have a coffee tasting showdown?

The coffee at Sant’ Eustachio il caffe was strong, bold and dark, very typical of good Italian coffees. However, the macchiato at caffe Tazza D’oro was smooth, well crafted and balanced. The macchiato was one of the best coffees that I’ve had. Caffe Tazza D’oro is the clear winner in my book. With good coffee shops like these, I’m ready to move to Rome!

Besides finding the best coffee of our Italian trip in Rome, we also found the best restaurant of this trip here. We came aross Antica Trattoria da Pietro al Pantheon by chance, on a stroll towards Trevi Fountain. This small restaurant has great service, a warm and welcoming host, delicious fresh food and very reasonable prices.

I love the fresh seasonal chanterelle mushroom, sauteed and made to order. The pasta was al dente, and the steak came with generous shavings of truffles. The house red wine was perfect to round out the meal.