If you follow me on social medias you know that I went to Rome 2 weeks ago. Yes another trip, it’s true that I travelled a lot these past few weeks and I loved it, I love to travel so much but this time it was special because it was my first weekend with other bloggers !
I was invited with 5 other bloggers by Mercure hotels for a trip in the Eternal City : Roma ! This journey is part of The 6 Friends Theory operation, you know it’s the theory that says that everyone is six or less steps away from any other person in the world.
To confirm this theory, Mercure organized a crazy worldwide casting : The Six Friends Theory which will allow an Internet user to travel around the world and to meet 6 persons that connect him to an Australian Aboriginal. To be the lucky winner who will travel the world for 7 weeks in March, you have until the 10th of February to post a video on the the contest Facebook page explaining why you are the best person for this trip.
If only my job would allow me to leave for 7 weeks I wouldn’t have hesitated for a second but unfortunately I have to pass so good luck to you my globe-trotter friends !
But what’s the link with this trip to Rome ? To promote this operation, Mercure formed blogger groups of 6 persons to travel to several cities in Europe to verify the theory. I was chosen to be part of the Rome team. Considering the fact that it was my first weekend with bloggers I didn’t know what to expect. It’s not easy to go away on a weekend with people you don’t know, especially when you’re as shy as me.
When I knew that my friend Amélia was part of my blogger team I was immediately relieved. I met then the 4 other bloggers : Florence (Baby Modeuse), Marie (Into your closet), Sophie (La Dénicheuse) and Sébastien (Dandies) to bring a dose of testosterone (even though he was worse than a girl with his check-in luggage, his various outfits for shootings and it took him so long to get ready ah ah). We got along so quickly that I forgot we had all just met and we were accompanied by an amazing team !
We had a pretty busy schedule so we didn’t sleep much. I’ve been done with my student years for a long time so it took me a while to get back into the rhythm.
Here is the program of our Italian weekend : cultural visits, very good restaurants, discovery of the biggest Eataly of the world and tastings plus cooking lesson with an Italian chef and finally Roman strolls.
The hotel :
First, let’s begin with the hotel we slept in : Mercure Rome Centre Colisée. You can hardly find a better location because it’s right next door the Coliseum and there is an amazing rooftop with a nice pool. Unfortunately I’ll have to come back during the summer for the pool. The rooms were so confortable, too bad we didn’t have time to enjoy our beds a little longer.
View from the rooftop of the hotel (picture by Amélia)
the hotel rooftop
Mercure Rome Centre Colisée – Via Labicana 144 – 00184 ROMA
VIP cultural visits :
Let’s continue with the cultural visits because they are the strong point of this trip even if I usually don’t like to visit too much (I think it’s because my father used to force me to visit a museum every weekend when I was a child and then asked me questions to be sure I listened).
I went to Rome for the 1st time 2 years ago with The Boyfriend but we didn’t have much time so we didn’t have time to visit the Vatican but this time we had the chance to visit the Vatican Museum before it opens to the public ! Well, when my alarm rang at 5.45 am on Saturday I didn’t really realized that I was a lucky person… but to be able to visit the Sixtine Chapel or the St Pierre basilic alone is a truly unique experience especially with the beautiful weather we had !
Viale Vaticano – 00165 ROMA
2nd VIP tour: the Coliseum. I had already visited it 2 years ago but not like this. First of all, we had an amazing city guide (Alessio) who was very passionate about his job and on top of that he had an adorable Italian accent (yes sometimes I regret that The Boyfriend speaks French without an accent), but we also had the privilege of visiting the Coliseum underground tunnels that are closed to the public.
These tunnels used to be where the animal cages were and where the gladiators trained before the fight.
The icing on the cake was that we were among the first ones after Obama to see the reconstituted machinery that used to raise and lower the sets and props !
Selfie with Alessio
Then we strolled in the Foro Romano still with our dear Alessio (yes I’m very sensitive to the Italian charm hi hi).
Ristoranti :
We ate so well and a lot ! I was thrilled to be able to go back to the Matricianella Where The Boyfriend took me 2 years ago. At first glance, the place doesn’t look anything special but the food is amazing and it’s really cheap ! Their specialties : linguine cacio e pepe (with cream, pecorino and pepper) and the spaghetti all’amatriciana (tomatoes, onions and bacon).
Ristorante Matricianella – Via del Leone – 400186 ROMA
Sora Lella is another typical restaurant located in the Jewish ghetto where we tasted a very good fried artichoke.
Sora Lella – Via di Ponte Quattro Capi – 16 00186 ROMA
So, did we manage to verify if the 6 friends theory is true ? I’ll reveal you the answer in the next episode with the rest of our Roman weekend. I know, what an unbearable suspense… a dopo ragazzi !
Belles photos! Je reviens d’Italie, quel pays magique. Rome pour bientôt j’espère :)
Oh oui c’est un pays dont je ne me lasserai jamais. Où étais-tu ?
Quel joli week-end que vous avez du passer ! Quand je vois les photos de plats italiens j’en ai l’eau à la bouche! L’hôtel fait lui aussi terriblement rêver ! Même pas un petit plouf dans la piscine ? :p
J’aurais bien aimé te voir plonger dans a piscine avec 10 degrés dehors et une pluie battante ;)
Haaa décidément, j’aime tes flâneries ! Quelle chance d’être partie là bas, c’est vraiment chouette ! Bien envie de découvrir Rome maintenant :) Mais c’est quoiii ce CONCOURS DE FOLIIIIE ? Olalala j’ai loupé ça ! Je vais aller voir ça de plus près, maintenant, tout de suite ! MERCI ! bises Aurélie !
La globe-trotteuse que tu es doit participer ! En tout cas tu sais quoi, lorsque Mercure cherchait une 6e personne je t’avais proposé mais malheureusement ils avaient déjà trouvé quelqu’un… :( La prochaine fois peut-être !
Aaaah, Rome ! Ca fait des années que j’ai envie d’y aller mais je n’ai encore jamais eu l’occasion. J’espère y aller l’année prochaine :).
J’aime beaucoup le nouveau design de ton blog ! En fait j’avais pensé à faire plus ou moins la même chose pour le mien le jour où je trouverai quelqu’un pour m’aider à donner à mon blog l’allure que je veux, ahah ! :)
Je suis déjà allée 2 fois à Rome et je ne rêve que d’une chose c’est d’y aller une 3e fois !
Ahh Rome! Je suis tombée amoureuse de cette ville (et de l’Italie en général) quand je l’ai visitée, il y a bien 5 ans maintenant. Je ne pensais pas que ça me plairait autant, et puis bim, coup de coeur pour la richesse culturelle (et culinaire, bien sûr) de cette ville! J’adorerais y retourner!
Je suis également complètement conquise par cette ville d’une beauté et d’une atmosphère incroyable !