When in Rome…

Roma, Italy

Since “The Adventures of Berkeley East” is a cruising blog, we only blog about things pertaining to Berkeley East, places that BE takes us, and experiences we have while sailing around the Med. So at the end of the season, when we stop living aboard BE, we also stop blogging. While we had been to Rome three times in the past few years, they were always visits made on our way home, thus we have never written a blog about The Empire, until now.

We have been fortunate that, when traveling home, our flights often required an overnight stay in Italy’s capital city; sometimes multi-day layovers were essential. While a bit inconvenient, this allowed us the opportunity to really explore Roma, and visit, revisit, and revisit again, the amazing ancient sites. It never seems to become tiring.

Berkeley East’s second stop of the season was Via di Roma, a marina just an hour outside of Rome. We went there to wait out some rough weather, but couldn’t resist the short train ride for another Roman holiday to rediscover some of our beloved Italian landmarks.

Rome has a recorded history of more than two millennia, with legends going back to about 753 B.C. There are more than 50 ancient monuments, the architecture and preservation are remarkable, Rome’s historic center is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is easy to understand why this is one of the most-visited cities in the world, and Italy’s most popular destination.

While this year was just a day trip, we have been lucky to be able to spend several weeks in Rome over the years. It is on our list of places where we would like to live. And while extended stays in the heart of the city are special, being able to just zip into this iconic wonder like a local was especially entertaining.

Having spoken to many natives about what Romans do when in Rome, we found that they actually do as we do – simply wander through the Eternal City, soaking up the incredible history, culture and atmosphere.