Rome was always a dream of mine: something I’ve studied for years, and a side-passion. It was one of the major reasons I chose Italy for study abroad. I ended up going during Easter week, to get the full effect of the city. It was my first major trip on my own, and I was so glad I did it this way--such an intense trip, and since I had so much investment in the city, I really wanted to do it my way. Luckily, Rome is full of tourists, and the native language is Italy, so I had no issues communicating!
As mentioned: tourists everywhere. That means plenty of tourist traps. Immigrants selling back-of-the-truck souvenirs, or those balls that you splat on the ground and regain their form (ugh, 4 people selling them on the same street). Gladiators by the Colloseum to take your picture, etc etc. The souvenir shops were a hoot: boxers with Il David’s penis, gladiator armor, etc--more ridiculous than I’d ever seen. Anything your heart desire, in Roma! For a single traveller though, having tourists around was great: so many people were willing to take my picture for me! Many couples were traveling alone, and I would help them take a picture together, and they’d return the favor.
I arrived in Rome by my first Eurostar train. Trains are pretty expensive in Italy, and only good for in country--international ones are quite pricey. The Eurostar is very very fast, and got me to Rome in 3 hours--halfway across the (albeit, small) country. My hostel was actually a hotel, and a dream to stay in after all the hours of walking I did. Nearby was a beautiful fountain of nymphs wrestling monsters--a glimpse of all the history littered around Rome.
I encountered the metro: there’s only two lines throughout the city, and they aren’t super useful, like the French and British lines. The Roman ground level rose 9 meters over a millenium, and thus many of the ancient buildings are buried underground. If they try to put a metro line in, they often encounter ruins in the ground, or beneath--not very stable for a heavy train to be supported by stone temples. I next went to the Trevi Fountain, which was beautiful--its designed to look like an oasis in the middle of a city. Che bella!
As in every large city, there was a free English walking tour. Mine took me from the Spanish Steps (which are indeed, some steps built by the Spanish, and little more :P ) all the way to the Colloseum. We past the Memoriale di Vittore Emanuelle II, who I believe united Italy. It is the largest marble structure in Europe, and quite beautiful, in my opinion. The Romans hate it: its so new, and so giant, and only dedicted to one person. They nicknamed it the Typewriter or Wedding Cake memorial. Check it out online!
The tour took us from one side of the city to the other, and I took the metro home to crash in my hotel. I met my other hostel mates: A Spanish woman, A German woman, A woman from Idaho (who was crazy), and Sofi, a young Canadian nurse traveling the world. We bonded over the fact that we were both under 30 and spoke English. Canadians sound like Sarah Palin, btw. We went out to pizza, and ran into Ted, who was also in Rome. Small world!
The next day I decided to do the major attractions, which are in the South part of the city. I stood in line for the Roman Forum, which had a shorter line than the Colloseum, but shares the same ticket. Many people buy RomaPasses, which give you entrance, 3 days on the metro, AND you get to cut the line. They’re a great deal if you’re not on a budget. The Roman Forum was HUGE! I had no idea. It looks like one square when you enter, but it expands up the Palatine hill. It was so interesting to see everything up close. I loved seeing the temple of the Vestal Virgins and the remains of Caesar. After that, I popped into the Colloseum, which is in pretty bad shape on the inside. It was so cool! I saw the pulleys used to pull animals up through the floor, and learned the terrible conditions they were kept in L
After that, I met my Canadian friend to view the central sights:Hadrians temple, a spectacular church, the Pantheon (the best preserved temple in Rome, and beautiful! So cool to see what it actually looked like). We popped over to Piazza Navona, which is quite lively and contemporary. There was a fountain with 4 men, each representing major rivers. The Nile’s representation had his face covered, since at the time no one knew its origin! There were many paintings for sale, a hip hop group, and a puppet show for children. We walked past what I’m pretty sure was Berlusconi’s residence, since it was heavily guarded. His police escort was huge when he was driving places! We returned to our hostel, and an Italian and a French woman joined our international cast.
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