The streets of Italy. :)
We arrived at 10:30am (Italy time, one hour ahead of Ireland) and didn’t have any trouble getting through the passport check, non-existent customs (literally) and finding our baggage. We also easily got the bus we needed from the airport to the train station (Roma Termini) which is right by our hostel. The bus ride was supposed to be 40 minutes – it took over an hour. So basically traffic in Rome is absurd and we need to leave ample time to get to the airport at the end of our stay here in Italy. We also found our hostel easily and it has turned out to be alright, not the best, definitely not the worst (at least in my case). Since by the time we got here it was noon-ish, we decided to go to the Colesseum/Palatine and other smaller sites around the same area instead of going all the way over to the Vatican, in which we would need more time (and earlier) for. The Colesseum is amazing. There are no words – but I guess I will have to come up with some. When we finally found it (got a little lost) we literally turned down a street and BOOM out of nowhere, there it is at the end. Um, what? First, the thing is amazing just by the magnitude – before and especially after you realize it’s like half the size it used to be. Although a couple people said the thought it’d be bigger, I still thought it was quite large. Maybe it’s just because of the fact that I still don’t understand how things like that were built back then. The Coleseum, for example, was built in 8 years and completed in 72 AD (don’t quote me on that…I’m relying on memory). EIGHT years in 72 AD! Way to make me feel like crap and that I’m accomplishing nothing Coleseum builders, thaaanks. We ended up getting roped into a tour of both the Coleseum and the Palatine, seemed like a good deal – we skipped all the lines, learned about a ton of stuff I never knew before and it was just awesome. Win.
Now I don’t want to be all cliché with how it ‘felt’ inside the Coleseum but it was a really neat experience. Apart from it being so ancient, clearly the events that went on inside it are something to think about. Part of the stage or floor part is remaining (or they refurbished it) while the rest of the floor is gone and you can see what it looked like underneath where gladiators got ready and equipment was stored. It’s hard to imagine being there and what it was like but when it hits you, it’s kind of surreal. Not entirely sure how else to describe it. The Palatine was a very similar experience walking through while hearing about all the emperors and rulers that lived in the palace… and it was huge. We stood where the throne would have been, that was kind of cool. We walked through all the areas and heard about stories – for example, apparently some banquet feasts consisted upwards of 50 courses. FIFTY (try that one Dad) and they had a ‘vomitorium’ so that you could actually get through the whole meal without insulting the emperor. Oye.
Oh hey Colosseum...
My attempt for a panoramic shot of the inside
So legit
Part of the excavated Palatine
Apart from those two places, we wandered around a bit, got some pizza for dinner (SO GOOD) and ended up getting gelato/hanging out at the Pantheon. I really liked walking through Rome, all the buildings and little side streets. I had asked Kayla which side of the street they drive on in Italy before we got off the plane but as soon as we were on the bus heading to the city center, I got my answer – both. It’s supposed to be the right and I guess it primarily is…but a lot of people basically go where they want. In other words, definitely look both ways before crossing.
PIZZA!
Some awesome building
Wednesday we took the subway into Vatican City and promptly got into the line for the museum, which was wrapped around the wall. It actually didn’t take too long to get in which was good because we opted not to do a tour (save some $!). Once inside we went to a couple of the less-popular exhibits (one was on Australian Aboriginal art) before going through the tourist-packed part. In case anyone was wondering, there’s a good reason why those areas are packed – wow. Basically every square inch of every room and corridor we went down was painted with murals. It was impressive to say the least. Since we weren’t on a tour and we didn’t buy the ear piece thing to listen to, we didn’t hear all the stories about the paintings but I thought it was cool to walk through and either try to figure it out as you went or make something up. We ended in the Sistine Chapel – they aren’t joking, so amazing. Now you aren’t supposed to take pictures inside…and my family/friends should be proud I personally did not take any (probably for the first time in my life I listened), however, other members of our party did. There were a ton of people taking pictures though and the guards were getting a bit angry, but we escaped without them noticing. It’s funny how the iconic image for the Sistine Chapel is the picture of God and David, when in reality 1) It’s not all that big, especially compared to the Last Judgment mural and 2) It’s actually harder to see initially with everything else around it. Despite that, it was still one of my favorite parts.
So many paintings...EVERYWHERE
Amazinggg
We headed over to the St. Peter’s Square post-museum, but we didn’t end up going inside. The line was at least 2 hours long and we said we might do it when we come back to Rome for a day at the end of the trip. If not, that’s ok too. I wanted to see it, but it’s not like I can complain with everything we’ve seen already. It was a Wednesday too, which the Pope comes out for at 11 and we got there around 1 or 2 so it was still pretty busy. We decided to rest our feet and went to the piazza del Popolo (the biggest plaza in Rome) and stuck our feet in a fountain for like an hour. After we went to a big park and napped for a bit until we went to the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. The Spanish steps were cool, we sat at that fountain for a while too and people watched (so much fun). We then left for the Trevi fountain – now that’s what you call a fountain, wow. It’s huge. And magnificent. We made our wish and threw in 3 coins so let’s hope they come true!
St. Peter's Square
Piazza del Popolo
Trevi Fountain
We are now on our way to Florence, I am typing this from the train as we speak so hopefully I can post it when we get to the hostel! I’m hoping my feet will recover some in these 3 hours since we are bound to do a bit of walking today as well when we get there. I’m super excited for gelato here; we’ve heard it’s the best in Italy and it was decided that we are going to try gelato in every place we go and compare. I’d say Rome set the bar pretty high – so good. We are here until Father’s Day so we should be able to see a lot. Okay, that’s all my rambling for now, Florence here we come!
Fun Fact: It takes 1 hour to cut through 3 cm of some crazy red marble used way back when. Talk about patience and perseverance.
No comments:
Post a Comment