Hi all

I'm back from a weekend in beautiful Rome. Unfortunately, the weekend was stressful as my travel partner (who I've known for 25 years) decided to be a Drama Llama and do her best to ruin the trip with loads of problems, illnesses, moods, sulks etc. Consequently, my planned trip to Seville next year is postponed and I'm going back to Rome, as I feel I couldn't relax this time and there is still so much that I want to see. Unfinished business and all that...not that my business with Rome will ever be finished.

I'm thinking of adding another destination to the trip, but not sure where would be a good pairing. As Rome is so overwhelming, I'm thinking somewhere a bit quieter, with less pressure to 'sightsee' and maybe the chance to spend a day or two sitting in a piazza or enjoying coast or country. As I'll only be spending 3 or 4 nights in each place, I'd prefer somewhere fairly easy to reach on the train from Rome (<3 hrs.). It could be coast or inland. I enjoy people-watching, good food and drink, art, history and culture, but I take a broad view on that and enjoy rural museums and crafts as much as major art museums and opera. I'll be 'hitting it' pretty hard in Rome so would prefer to take it easy in destination no. 2.

Do any interesting pairings spring to mind?

Up to the train part I had a great idea. Fly to Seville -) It's not a long flight. Shouldn't be that expensive. The bigger problem is how you'll fly home but that depends on home.

The coast to the south: Sperlonga, Anzio, Gaeta - or inland to the many wonderful towns along that stretch (but I'm not sure about train connections except between Roma and south on the coast).

Fly into Venice for the first days of your trip, then train to Orvieto or Florence or Bologna next, and end up for as many days as possible in Rome and fly out of Rome. Illness and attitude are real downers.

You might visit one of the smaller towns in the Castelli Romani area south of Rome. This is a region of hills and lakes, vineyards and castles (castelli). All are fairly easily reached by train or bus. Most of them could be "seen" easily in less than a day, but if what you want is to relax, more time could be spent.

The better known of these towns are Castel Gandolfo, Frascati, and Nemi. The summer papal palace is in Castel Gandolfo, but the present pope doesn't go in for palaces and doesn't take vacations, so he's opened it to public visits. Frascati is known for its white wine of the same name. Nemi is on Lake Nemi.

​https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Castles

​​​​​​Some of the places already mentioned above have already been discovered by mass tourism, so maybe not really quiet. That doesn't mean they're not worth seeing .​​​​
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I don't think you mentioned the time of year for your visit. Much would depend on that.

With only 6-8 days and a "need" to revisit Rome, are you sure you don't want to just go there only? You could "hit it pretty hard" for some of the days but also just sit in a piazza and people-watch on others... all right in Rome?

ps- really sorry about your travel companion's bad behavior. that stinks!

Do I sense a sequel coming to the Fodors classic This is Why I Will Always Travel Solo From Now: Trip Report -Rome and Sorrento A Drama Llama meets Davis?
What you mentioned in your previous thread was a red flag, "my friend has not been before but doesn't have any particular 'musts' and is happy to leave it to me."
I like Northern Italian cities such as Parma, Modena, Bologna, Padova, Verona (most touristy of the bunch). They all offer great food, large enough to have enough things to do, and get a fraction of the tourist of the big three. They observe traditional afternoon closures where all you can do is to sit and eat and see the world go by.

Thanks to all for your suggestions - I'm leaning towards the quieter towns around Rome or yeah, I suppose just staying in Rome the whole time and taking it easy sometimes (although there's always so much more to see that my feet get itchy and I have to move!)

Greg - you don't know someone until you've travelled together, I've learned. She had done no research, had no idea what anything was and mooched around looking bored (apart from when the wifi was good or she had a match on her dating app). The Spanish Steps were 'crap' and you can see nicer in Birmingham, apparently. She is well into meditation but was stressed all the time and terrified of being kidnapped from our air b and b 🤔 and although she goes on all the time about her FitBit and how active she is, she had to go back early every day in a taxi. I tried to forget the was there and relax but it was hard! The best bit was packing her into a taxi by the Pantheon at 3pm and exploring Trastevere alone, which I fell in love with.

LAMORNA,
I would stick with Rome, and venture out to nearby towns as your mood and weather dictates. It will be simpler to make connections, you won't be tied to a structured itinerary and you can just enjoy. There are plenty of places to see surrounding Rome.
if you haven't been to Ostia Antica, be sure to take the train there and spend a leisurely afternoon wandering the ruins. It's only about a half hour away.

I enjoyed a day trip from Rome to Viterbo very much - stopped off at Braciano on way back to see famous castle overlooking lake - Tom Cruise and Kate got hitched there. viterbo classic hill town or hill towns as it is on two hills!

terrified of being kidnapped

WOW... That is not a good trait in a travel companion

I am so sorry to read about all the drama, and how it affected your vacation. I also would recommend spending your next trip either in Rome, or doing the day trips that bvienci has outlined. Stay in one place, unpack once, and either spend your days exploring all of the beauty of Rome or as also mentioned above taking time to sit in piazzas sipping wine and people watching. Do some of both each and every day.