Roma. A city of love, destruction, ruins and churches.
My friend Becky and I had 4 wonderful days in Rome where we visited the Colosseum, The Vatican (well I did...), went on a quest for Bernini's David, saw the Forma Roma, where Julius Caesar was murdered, and so much more.
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| Rome |
Our first day was a journey to find the bed and breakfast, Ottimista - Furio Camillio and after a frustrating hour and the nicest Italian in Rome, we found it. It was in a somewhat sketchy area but the man who owned it was incredibly nice and told us how to get to different areas and what to watch out for!
From there we wandered around Rome with a map and tried to find the Trevi Fountain. Must to our delight and dismay we ended up at the Vatican (which we were not properly dressed for). We eventually found it after a few hours and had gelato to celebrate.
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| Me at the Trevi Fountain with Gelato |
The next day we traveled back to the Vatican. A strict country inside of Rome, where the Pope resides. In order to gain entrance, you must have your shoulders and knees covered (guys and gals!) due to it being a Holy Place. While we were bother wearing tights and cardigans, Becky's tights were deemed too see through and was denied entrance so she waited outside while I popped my head in and it was beautiful! I saw Michelangelo's Pieta and so many more works. We then left for the
Vatican Museums (which she could get into) and saw the Sistine Chapel along with other famous works of art. We were also told that Bernini did not do a David... We then took CitySightSeeing Bus around Rome. It was a nice break to get off of our feet and have a nice breeze on us. It was fairly cheap too! 15 euros for 2 bus lines that took us all over and we had the ability to get on and off to see sights!
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| Colosseum! |
Day 3 led us to the Colosseum, Constantine's Arch, the Forma Roma and Palatine Hill. All beautiful giant ruins. We didn't grab a tour or a guide and we made out pretty well. The only problem was this day was excruciatingly hot and we were unfortunate to have run into the Roman Troops! The Roman Troops were just people dressed up like Romans near the Colosseum. We thought they were there from the Colosseum but after we got our picture they asked for money and reluctantly we gave them some.
Our final day led us to the Pantheon and it was gorgeous (and free)! Becky swooned over the building more than I did but I still loved it. This is also were Raphael has his tomb. We then decided to search for
Bernini's David. This took us from the Colosseum (bottom of Rome) to the tiny upper corner of it (I would say a good 2-3 mile walk...). after being told that the museum he was supposed to be in did not exist, we found it!The
Galleria Borghese. Excited as I was, I went up to get my ticket with a credit card, the guy shook his head, "okay, cash" I thought and went to get my cash out. Then he pointed to a sign.
Sold out until June 12. We were going to be in Florence that day. I'm sorry but how does a MUSEUM sell out of TICKETS!? I was so angry but I didn't let it ruin my trip.
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| Me at the Pantheon |
I loved visiting Rome. Living there would not be my style though. First off, I can't speak Italian which was strike one on my part. Thankfully enough people did speak English or at least a little bit of it.
What to take away:
Pigeons suck
Galleries are jerks
Directions and signs don't matter
Vespas will run you over
Learn Italian
