Wow - that was our reaction when we stepped through the door having arrived quite late at night as our flight was delayed. Antony had arranged a driver to meet us at the airport and was at the apartment to greet us when we arrived. The apartment was amazing and we hadn't expected all the food, along with the bottle of bubbly on arrival. This meant we could get coffee and breakfast when we woke without having to search out a supermarket (which is only 2 blocks away left out of the door). There were also bread and croissants for toasting with biscuits and jams. We could probably have lived off that for a week! There are plenty of coffee shops nearby. A little pizza place round the corner (left and left) where you can get traditional pizza squares to take away and be sure to ask Antony where to go for Gelato - we had to try both a few times to compare them. 🤣
The location was great with bus stops a few blocks away and for those more able easy to walk to key spots and the metro (our son has hip issues so uses a stick for support but we managed fine and although the apartment is on the third floor there is a lift).
Antony could not have been more helpful, helping with advice on tickets and good places to eat locally.
We bought a 3-day bus ticket from the vendor across the street where you can also buy Roma tickets and hop on hop off bus tickets. We didn't do this but used the local buses/metro to get around and see all the sights. With a bit of research and speaking to the local vendors with translation help from Antony we decided not to buy the skip the line tour tickets for the Colosseum and instead went early (arrived at 8am) - took the bus. We then queued at the ticket booth to the right of the Colosseum. (This says tickets for the forum and Palatine hill but tickets include the Colosseum.) This queue was shorter and you could lean on the wall. The sun was blocked by the Colosseum so not too hot either. The booths opened at 8.30am and moved very quickly as some ahead of us then moved into the voucher queue to collect their ticket. We paid for 2 adult tickets at €12 each and 2 audio guides for €6 each. Tbh, the guides were not really worth it for us - our son knew so much he was the best tour guide 😎. Oh and little known fact children from EU countries under the age of 18 go free. The notices say citizens under 18 but the official website says EU citizens and they will let you know at the ticket booth. (Although this information was offered to the Spanish family in front of us but not to us, we had to ask. To be fair though our son although only 16 is 6'3"! When you get the tickets they have a tour time on it for the Colosseum - ours was 9.15 but they let you in at 9.10. A bit of a wait but when it was time we went straight past a huge queue still waiting and they had queued the same time or longer than us as they queued at the Colosseum entrance.
We didn't visit the Vatican museums but took the bus to St Peter's square and went into the Basilica. The queue went all round the square but don't be put off as it moved really fast and was well worth it and free!
The other thing we were glad we did was to bring insulated water bottles and made use of the many water fountains around the city.
The only disappoint for us was the Trevi Fountain. We went early to avoid the crowds and it was switched off as they were collecting the coins in. We gave up waiting as it was taking so long. Do not understand why this is not done earlier.
All in all a great trip with a faultless apartment and a wonderful host.