Roma, la città eterna

Friends,

I finally visited the capital of Italy and the capital of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world: la città eterna (or more commonly referred to as Rome).

It was such an incredible 3-day trip, that I warn you ahead of time that this post may be long. Incredibly, though, this trip was made up of many happy accidents and a desire to let the city guide us, rather than planning out every possible second of every day. Because of this, I had an amazingly relaxing trip, even with the amounts of walking that we endured.

Rome; a view from Piazza Napoleone I.

Day 1: The train from Bologna to Rome is only 2 hours, therefore I only had to wake up at 7am to shower and prepare myself to catch a bus to the station for my 8:40 train. I was incredibly excited and could not wait to arrive at 10:40.

Upon arrival, we walked only a few blocks from the station (Roma Termini) to our hostel (Hotel Beauty on via Napoleone III, 35). The website said that check-in was after 14:30, but we hoped that even if our room was not ready that we would be able to leave our bags in the lobby to begin our adventure. Luckily, our room was ready and we were able to leave our bags there, grab a map and figure out where we wanted to start our first day. We left the hostel at about noon and headed toward Piazza del Popolo.

Because we had a metro stop near the hostel, we decided to take it (a ticket was 1,50 for 100 mins -- meaning that you could re-enter the metro within this timeframe with the same ticket.) The Roman metro lines make a big X across the city. This means that metro stops can be fairly close to each other, but you can also find yourself somewhere in the city that is quite far from a stop. Thankfully, the city is perfect for strolls and our Bolognese-trained legs could handle them.

Egyptian obelisk in Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo was very beautiful and close to many embassies, which for me was beyond cool. I saw the Colombian and Ecuadorian embassies (not the Venezuelan, sadly) and then the British and US embassies shortly after. I was obviously fascinated by this, but I was immediately distracted by the Egyptian influence in this piazza. There were numerous statues and most notably an Egyptian obelisk (of Ramesses the Great) in the absolute center of the piazza. Amazingly, there are a total of eight around the city. I remember wondering why there were so many Washington monument-like statues everywhere. This was the only one I saw up close and noticed the Egyptian hieroglyphics.

After taking numerous pictures of all of the art surrounding this piazza that was once used for public executions (the last occurring in 1826), we walked up to the Pincian Hill and found a garden (Piazza Napoleone I) with many busts and surprisingly, modern art as well. This garden eventually took us to the Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Moderna, where we saw many Italian painters embarking in non-Christian themes and I also saw 2 Van Gogh, 1 Degas, 1 Monet and 1 Courbet. It was a successful museum visit and it kept us away from the rain as it fell over the ancient city.

After this visit, we headed toward the Spanish steps but found ourselves on Via Veneto because we missed one of our right turns. This was what I like to call a "happy accident," because this very Fifth Avenue-like street is famous for its presence in Fellini's La Dolce Vita. It was very posh and very beautiful as the sky cleared and the sun graced us with its presence. We then consulted our map and made our way toward Trinità del Monti, a beautiful building above the Scalinata Trinità dei Monti in front of Piazza di Spagna. In other words, we walked down the Spanish steps, saw a beautiful fountain at the bottom and then finally saw the Spanish embassy. The thing about Rome is that many of its famous sites take only a few minutes. Thanks to this, one can cover a lot of ground in a matter of hours. 

La Fontana di Trevi

At this point, we decided to visit Piazza Barberini to see the Fontana del Tritone, which I had read was a beautiful fountain. Unfortunately when we arrived, we discovered that this fountain was getting some TLC and was not available for the public. But no problem, we headed to the Fontana di Trevi instead and finished our day off there! 

This fountain is deserving of its international fame, but to my surprise, it was pretty tucked away. I imagined it being in a vast open space where millions of people could stand by it at once. This was not the case, but that didn't stop it from being packed, even in the evening. Of course, the detailing was phenomenal. I cannot believe something like this even exists. It was massive. I did not make a wish, but I did take plenty of pictures. Also, this fountain is gorgeous at night. Someday, I'd like to revisit Rome and experience it with daylight.

Il Colosseo

Day 2: We had decided the previous evening in the hostel that we would dedicate our second day to Roman ruins. It did not take us all day, but these ruins were exceptional and we did not feel rushed to get through it at a certain amount of time. Because of this, we enjoyed the weather and spent nearly two hours in the Colosseum.

Let me just talk about the Colosseum for a second. My goodness, could it be any more spectacular? How does a fairly plain structure have such an effect on emotion? I cannot even describe how incredible it felt to be there. I 100% believe that it is worth the 12 euros to go inside. The Colosseum is not only massive, but it is ancient and beautiful. I don't know what else to say except I truly hope everyone has the opportunity to experience this.

Sadly, I am aware that this was the setting for some of the most brutal executions in human history. But looking at it through an architectural perspective, it is one incredibly amazing building.

Roman Forum

The Colosseum is merely the beginning of what I like to call the Garden of Roman Ruins. It begins with the Arco di Constantino and continues into literally a garden, known as the Roman Forum, that is filled with ancient columns, theaters, arches and more.

Arco di Tito

Something I found something to be both interesting and annoying was finding Mussolini's house in the middle of the Forum. He would be the kind of man to build a home among ancient and probably delicate (not too mention incredibly important) ruins. Could this man be any more of a tool?

After this visit, we found ourselves near the Capitol. We took a picture and then made our way toward Piazza Venezia. We had lunch at an Irish Pub (via Plebiscito, 99) and then finally headed toward the Pantheon.

Il Pantheon

The Pantheon is in Piazza Rotonda and is quite beautiful. I did find it a little disturbing that this building that was once used by Romans as a place to worship their gods, has now been transformed into a Catholic church dedicated to Santa Maria della Rotonda (hence the name of the piazza). I know that it is actually a clever metaphor for the city itself, but I kind of wish it had remained untouched. I would have loved to see what it was like originally. Unfortunately, it became a Catholic church in the 7th century, so I suppose it's a little late to complain. Ironically, pantheon is actually an ancient Greek composite word meaning all gods.

We finished off day 2 by visiting Piazza Navona, which was a very short walk from the Pantheon. This piazza was beautiful and quite large. It was originally used as a place for Romans to watch the "games," which it pretty cool. In the center, there is yet another Egyptian obelisk and on the west side, there is a beautiful palazzo (castle).

La uscita del Museo Vaticano

Day 3: On our final day, we decided it was time to visit the Vatican. Because there was a ceremony in the morning and then a ridiculously long line in the afternoon, we decided against visiting St. Peter's Cathedral, therefore I cannot advise for or against it. Perhaps one of you could tell me if it I should visit this church when I return. We did, in fact, visit the Vatican Museum (a more 8 euros for students) and saw the Sistine Chapel. It was much smaller than I had imagined, but just as spectacular as I thought it would be. It was amazing the see the "Creation of Adam" in person. The frescoes were so detailed. I cannot even imagine that Michelangelo painted those things on his back. Amazing. Pictures were strictly forbidden or I would put one on here. Of course, it's just not the same and you can find pictures on Google. Basically, everyone should go see it.

Castel Sant'Angelo & Fiume Tevere (from the other side)

We then had to make our way back toward the hostel to pick up our things and make it to the train station for our 18:15 train ride back, so we decided to just enjoy the sights we might stumble upon on our way. We saw the Tiber River in front of Castel Sant'Angelo and the lovely surprise: Piazza Adriana. We then walked along Via Giulia (also known as Old Rome), where I had a 1 euro cappuccino (cheapest one I've had in Italy!) and experienced residential Rome. I was very thankful to speak Italian and be able to experience Rome as a native might.

Overall, this trip was unforgettable. Forse (perhaps) the best one yet! I'd love to return someday, but for now, I am so pleased that I saw everything I wanted to. I know that this is probably obvious, but I truly recommend this city. One cannot leave Italy without visiting the capital. 

Feast your eyes, lads:

Piazza del Popolo

Art in Piazza Napoleone I

Head statue in Piazza Napoleone I

Random, but beautiful.

Via Veneto

Spanish Steps!

The Colosseum in all of its glory.

Inside the Colosseum

Me and Jessica inside the Colosseum

The flooring was removed to show the basement of the Colosseum

The Capitol.

Piazza Navona; Palace and Egyptian obelisk

Yeah, I was pretty excited to find this treasure!

Food: Jessica and I saved a ton of money buying food at a nearby supermarket. We bought food for dinner that evening and breakfast the next morning. We allowed ourselves to eat a restaurant once, an Irish pub called Scholars Lounge on via Plebiscito, 99. It was very delicious and surprisingly affordable (for a main dish, water and a shared plate of fries, we each spent 12-13 euros). For the last day, we once again bought food at the supermarket the previous evening and made sandwiches. Overall, I saved a ton of money this way and only spent about 30-40 euros on food for three days, including all of my caffè visits (cappuccini and brioches).

Hostel review: Hotel Beauty (Via Napoleone III, 35) was at a great location (short walk from train station and supermarket) and was very clean! The staff was exceptionally nice and there was a kitchen where you could cook meals with the complimentary pots, pans, plates, cups, utensils, etc. 5 stars! 
It cost about 20 euros/night.

Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed! This adventure was unforgettable! I really hope you visit someday. 

Baci e abbracci <3