One Day in Rome 2025

What could you possibly find to do if you had one day in Rome?!?

We made plans... 😁

We had a very early flight leaving Malta - we left our apartment at 4:30 am, caught our 6:10 flight, and landed at 7:45. We had arranged for wheelchair assistance at the Rome airport; we got rides, but it meant being handed off multiple times, and each time came with a wait. We picked up the checked bag (terminal 1), loaded our extra carry-on stuff in it, got it to luggage storage (terminal 3), and found the shuttle bus into town (we got lucky there!). By 10, we were getting our first coffee of the day, and figuring out which bus to take for the Colosseum! 

Well, that was the last bus that worked out for us! We wandered around the Colosseum a while, then looked around for a bus to our next planned site. After waaay too much time and walking, we realized time was running out! Google maps (oh, so helpful 🙄) told us all about how our bus had left our bus stop right on schedule. While we're standing there waiting for it. On a Sunday. When it doesn't run. Once figured out the sign, and figured out the app's snafus, we walked to another one. Read the sign right off. Not running on Sunday. So, we decided to go straight to the Vatican. Tried to order a taxi via another app. Finally saw that they wanted us to meet somewhere else. Cancelled - just cannot do that walk again! Did walk to a taxi stand - yay! Got to the Vatican! 

It's now lunchtime, and we have tickets to enter Saint Peter's Basilica at 2:00, which means that we have to be in line by 1:15. We're pretty anxious, but we got a pizza pretty quickly, relaxed a bit, then looked for our line.

The square is *massive!*

Found our line

Got some more luck! I asked the line guard if there was any way to borrow a wheelchair. No, but while I was there, a couple walked past, and asked him for the entrance for people who have tickets! Wait a minute... We have tickets! So I showed ours to the guard, and he moved a barrier, let us through, and pointed down an empty lane - no line at all!

Not long after, here we are!

Outside again, we caught the Swiss guards changing over.

We looked around the square some more 

By the time we left, our entry time had just started! We went looking for lactose free gelato, and a place to relax - we got the place, but no gelato 😕.

We found a likely place to catch a taxi, ordered one, and found it fairly easily - off to the airport to pick up the bag, get checked in for our 8pm flight, and get home by 11:30 pm!

I definitely don't recommend planning a trip specifically for this, but when you have an entire day to play, you do it!

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For more pictures, go see the Rome 2025 St Peter's Basilica and Colosseum album.

Rome for another time:

- Sistine chapel 

- Pantheon (5€), and the fountain in front 

- Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums) 

- Villa Celimontana (park), Palatine Hill, Forum (maybe a tour?)

- market lunch, Piazza del Popolo

- Monument to Victor Emmanuel II 

Malta 2025 St. John's Co-Cathedral

Saint John's Co-Cathedral is a fabulous building, full of high baroque features! 

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See more photos in my Saint John's Co-Cathedral album.

Malta 2025 Mdina

The walled city of Mdina is a 40 minute bus* ride from Valletta, and less than 10 minutes walking from one end to the other - perfect!

Mdina was the capital of Malta until 1530, when Birgu became the capital. Valletta has been the capital since 1571.

We arrived about noon, wandered a bit, had lunch, wandered some more, then came home. It sounds tame, doesn't it? But! Everywhere you looked, there were amazing buildings, cute winding streets, and... celebratory cannons booming away!

Today is a public holiday in Malta, the Feast of Saint Joseph!**

Mdina Gate

Mdina Gate, leaving

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See more photos in the Mdina album.

*A word to the wise; bus riding is a young man's sport! While we started from the bus terminus, practically guaranteeing a seat, the return was a hot mess! We waited at the nearest stop (for what seemed ages), then decided it was worth it to move to a different stop (not really very far away). We queried the driver, who said that the stop we needed was across the street 🙄, where (naturally) there was a sizeable crowd. Anxiety ensued. I turned on data and downloaded Bolt (12€ to Valletta), but just then, our bus arrived! We had agreed to tap our (unlimited rides) card, check for seats, and get back off if there were none. Hey, whaddya know? There were two! Together! Not great seats, but seats!

** As we were leaving Valletta, we noticed that they were setting up for a parade (right past our apartment!); we saw the confetti when we came back...

PS - the neighboring town of Rabat is pronounced RA-bat. We had rabbit for lunch 😋☺️