Guest Post - When In Rome... by Robert Enright - Rome Week

Rome was a city I had always wanted to travel to. As a big lover of Italian food and beer, I wanted to gorge myself, whilst also seeing the wonderful sights such as The Colosseum, the Vatican and the Roman Forum. So I took my partner for her birthday in 2015 and it was absolutely brilliant.

Now straight away, we were conned. That’s right, due to our lack of research, we didn’t realise how easy it would be to get to our hotel from the main train station. Instead of a 10 minute, 6 Euro train ride, we got swindled by a cabbie for 35 Euro’s. You live and learn!! It didn’t detract from what an unbelievable few days we had.

After checking in, we walked a few streets to a small, local pizza house and had dinner. Sat on the roadside, watching Rome tick by and eating genuine, Italian pizza was lovely. Add a pint of Moretti and I was laughing. We then proceeded down towards the Vatican, the massive buildings hidden by the surrounding walls. Whilst Sophie suggested we go straight ahead, I was sure we would get there quicker if we went right. I was wrong. We ended up walking the entire way round the Vatican, before we made it, the sun having set and Sophie reminding me she was in the right. Still – it was beautiful!

The next day was Sophie’s actual birthday so we hopped on an early train and had breakfast opposite the Colosseum. The heat blazed down upon us all as we wandered around the incredible structure, our guide was a small, overly animated Italian woman that we wanted to keep. The tour was fascinating and I would recommend it to anyone who goes to Rome. The sheer size of the building is incredible. The tour also took us to The Roman Forum, another brilliant march through history. The old city, reduced to rubble, is the perfect setting for a gothic horror book. Hmmm….

Once we finished that tour we headed back to the city centre, only to find the always beautiful Trevi fountain covered in scaffolding. Not to be undone, we marched up the Spanish Steps and had some lunch just outside The Pantheon. The tourist dream come true! The true highlight however was hiring Segways and racing each other through the massive park at the top of the hill, annoying Sophie with my endless video’s of me being an irritating travel presenter. 

We spent our final evening strolling through the city, stumbling across an evening market and some bizarre drama show in the park. We had dinner at a lovely little restaurant down a side street, where a live violinist played and demanded money. With a heavy heart, we left the next day but made a promise to return one day.

If you haven’t been to Rome, go! It’s so beautiful (although I was stunned at how much graffiti there was) and there is so much to see. As an author, I am doing my level best to set a book in this city, as the architecture and the landmarks are second to none! I fell in love with Rome, and I always knew I would. (Although we did have Gelato twice a day, every day. So maybe my waist line didn't love it that much!)

Sounds like your partner and you had a wonderful trip to Rome, and I feel as though we were there alongside you. Thank you for sharing Rob.

About Robert Enright

Born and raised in North West London and now residing in Hertfordshire, Robert Enright has been writing for over 10 years. His debut novel – ONE BY ONE – was self published on Amazon in March 2015, receiving critical acclaim and was nominated for Books Go Social Book of the Year 2015. The violent, revenge thriller gave Rob a path into crime fiction, but the constantly embraced geek within him went a different way.

2016 will see the release of DOORWAYS – published by Urbane Publications – the first in the Bermuda Jones series, a dark sci-fi about an agency dealing with the threat of a parallel world. He can’t wait to write the whole series – if he can put down his Xbox controller or his Nerf Guns!


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