Well, it's amazing how quickly 4 days in Rome passes. It is now Thursday, my last day and I think I did pretty well seeing the most important sights, etc. I even had a day with little stress and ended up sitting in a café having a glass of vino blanco. Of course photos are going to have to wait as I don't have any access to a computer/USB but I thought I'd use my brief remaining time while waiting for my train giving all y'all at home a little update of what I did. I came, I saw, I got lost & I walked. It was a great time, something I will never forget and I'm really glad I did. This afternoon I head to Perugia where I have literally less than 24 hours of exploration/sleeping, but I'll be in a B&B and will have my own room for a night, and after 5 nights of sharing, it will be excellent. :D
But enough about what's to come, because obviously I'll write about that later on. Here's what happened in Roma....
Saturday, 3 April: Spent the day on the train from San Remo to Rome. Of course my first train (San Remo to Milan) was a regional (i.e. SLOW) train. It took a long time but I finally made it to Milan where I had literally enough time to get off, walk to the end of the platform, find my connection and get on. With perhaps only 2-3 minutes to spare! But the good news is I made it. From Milan I was on a EuroStar train to Rome, so quicker & less stops but absolutely crazy weather outside. To be somewhat honest, I'm kind of glad I spent Saturday on a train since the weather throughout Europe seemed sort of dismal. Saturday evening I arrived in Rome, found my hostel, checked in and then went for a bite to eat: Spaghetti Carbonara (if I screw up spelling it's not my fault, spelling was
never my strong suit, even in English). Followed by a veal steak, potatoes & a salad. And of course a glass of red vino. I made it back to the hostel and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Sunday, 4 April (Easter): I woke up the first time about 6am when a few boys in the room were getting up to go see Easter Mass at the Vatican. Let me tell you, when you're not for sure certain if a dorm is coed (no one was there when I passed out the night before) waking up to see BOXERS in front of you is a surefire way of finding out! :D I passed back out and finally got up about 8. Sunday's weather was yucky. I had breakfast at my hostel (a little pricey, but tasty) and then decided to hit the streets. I just started walking, no direction & a poor map. I wandered along until I found a Tourist Office where I walked in and got information on something called a RomaPass.
Side note: The RomaPass entitles you to unlimited transit within the city (metro, bus & tram) and then entry into two museums/historical sites gratis. After that, you get a reduction on the ticket price of the museum/site. For 25 Euro you get that, and if you consider each metro/bus ticket it 1Euro and the Colosseum is 12 Euro it pretty much pays for itself with that. Then I ended up also going to the second most expensive museum, but more about that later. Which I bought with the intention to use starting Monday. Afterwards I walked to the Spanish Steps in the
pouring rain. By the time I reached the Church at the top my pants were wet to my knees and my shoes were starting to squeak. (I walked
down rather than up the steps and am somewhat thankful for that). At the bottom I met up with one of the few "Rome Free Walking Tours" which for free (or small tip to your guide) you walk and get a little bit of info/history. So I did the one that started just at 11 (I got there about 10:30) which was a walking tour from the Spanish Steps & Square to the Vatican. In the rain. (You'd think I'd be OK with the rain after living in Western Washington my entire life, but come on now, I'm in ROME! It shouldn't be that bad). Anyway, I walked with the guide across the Bridge de Saint Angelo and to the opening of the Saint Peter's Square which was exploding with people as the Pope had just finished his speech from the balcony, and a flood of wet patrons & umbrellas came pouring down towards the Metro stop. At that point I decided to start walking in another direction. (Mind you, all this time it was WET) I walked back towards the city center although I really had no idea where I was. I ended up in what I have determined was near the Piazza del Parlamento where I finally gave up the idea of trying to walk back to the hostel and instead catch a bus. So first I had to get to a Tabacci to buy a bus ticket (because I wasn't using my RomaPass until Monday) and then wait in line with 100 other people trying to get onto buses, many of which didn't have room for a single soul. We're talking so crowded that the doors couldn't open. It took me about 30 minutes, lots of pushing, and lots of missed buses before I finally got on one to get me back to Termini and my hostel. I got back to the hostel around 3 and within 30 minutes most of the other guests, too arrived to dry off and warm up. I befriended a Notre Dame student studying in London here for Easter weekend and we ended up going out to see Saint Peter's and then walked around the city trying to find a gelato place he had been to previously where they had about 60 flavors. We then got back to the hostel and decided since both our families were going to be having yummy easter dinner that we too would have an Easter dinner. So first we drank a bottle of wine he had bought and played scrabble, then went off for dinner together and talked about our families, plans, etc. We got back close to midnight when we met up with some other dormmates and sat around having even more wine and talking about the rain & day.
April 5, Monday: I woke up and decided to go to the Colosseum. When I got there via the Metro I was bombarded with people offering tickets and tours. With my RomaPass I could skip the long line, but seeing how I knew hardly anything about the Colosseum I decided to splurge the 8 Euro and join a tour, which also entitled me to do a tour of the Roman Forum afterwards which I personally enjoyed a lot more. My guide for the Forum was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable that when she said that she'd be giving a tour the next day of the Vatican museums I had to cough up the 40 Euro and sign up. So after my tour I wandered around the Palatino & the Forum for what seemed like hours. Monday's weather was really bizarre, sort of the type where if you don't like it, just wait 5 minutes. But in general it was nice enough that I didn't spend the day with my hood up and even at one point managed to be in just my t-shirt & jeans. After the Forum I went to Trevi Fountain where I was with about a thousand other people. But I threw in my three coins and got a picture. I got back Monday evening and decided to just go wander around Piazza Novona to find something to eat so I caught the bus and just started walking. I ended up going to this little Pizzeria where for 8Euro I got a glass of wine, tomato bruschetta and a pizza. A yummy, yummy pizza. I ate Al Fresco and enjoyed the calm of the evening. Ended up back at the hostel about 11 and passed out, exhausted from walking.
Tuesday, 6 April: This was the fun/interesting day. I had signed up for a tour of the Vatican (as previously mentioned) and so I got up, went to meet the guide outside and of course was about 30 minutes early, per usual. So I stood there and talked with Fe (our guide) about her experiences in Rome, what she used to do in England, what her plans were, etc. About 10:05 after everyone had shown up we walked to a small café across from the Vatican to get our little radios and fork over the cash. We left there and headed up the hill to the group/reservation entrance. By the time we got there even the group entrance was crowded and chaotic. We struggled in line for nearly 40 minutes and when we got the the entrance the Monsenior was there and said "NO" our reservation was for 10, it was now 10:50, granted we had spent 40 minutes in line, but he said no, and after trying to get in it just wasn't happening. (Now mind you reservations are good for an hour so even in worst-case at 10:50 we should have been OK, but when the monsenior says no, there isn't much you can do). Our guide was devastated. Here we were all ready to go in and we get shut out. thankfully most of our group was easygoing about it and we discussed the possibility of getting a later reservation to try it all again. We agreed to join at 1:30 and in the meanwhile our guide Fe would call her boss and do whatever they could to get us a second reservation. I ended up walking with Fe, I could tell she was stressed out, sad, worried, etc. And she invited me to have a beer while we waited for word from her boss. In the worst-case she was going to have to give us our money back which meant that she had to get the deposits from her house so she left to run home and I stayed just hanging out around the Vatican. I wandered around a bit, then about 12:15 ran into two others from the same tour and joined them for lunch at the café/meeting point. We sat and talked and then two more from the group showed up and then Fe came, completely thrilled that her boss was able to make a second reservation for 1:45 and so, the 20 of us all arrived by 1:30, got our radios and again headed up the hill to the group entrance where this time we made it in. After that the tour went quickly, so great though. Looking at art older than anything I have ever seen in my life. Antiquities and icons. Statues, frescoes, paintings, tapestries all stunning and magnificent. Our tour ended just before the Sistine Chapel and before I went there I wandered through some of the other rooms as long as I could. I finally made it to the Chapel which is absolutely awe-some (in the
true sense of that word) I stayed in there, neck bent staring up as long as I was able, I pretty much stayed in the Vatican museums until it closed and they told me I had to go. Which was sort of sad, but simultaneously not so bad since I did get to see a whole lot. Got back to the hostel and then went out to dinner with a couple girls from the hostel, which was nice, not eating alone is always nice!
Wednesday the 7th - my last full day in Rome and there was so much still to do/see. I had a second free entry with my RomaPass and there is a Museum of Modern Art that looked really interesting (and also 2nd most costly) so I decided to go there. I got directions on which bus/trams to take but somehow got on the tram going the wrong direction. I ended up in a somewhat sketchy looking part of town where in my terrible attempts at getting help figured out I had gone the wrong way and needed to get on the tram and start counting. The only problem was I didn't know where I had started so counting stops become somewhat difficult. Thankfully there were two University students who spoke enough English they helped me find out I was 10 stops away and then I was good to go. Sort of, it was rather unnerving being on a dingy tram trying to keep count of stops as they went. But I made it to the museum and it was gorgeous. In terms of "Modern Art" it was rather limited. At least in what "we" normally consider modern art. In fact most of the museum was full of works from the 19th century and early at that (I saw a Degas, a Monet, and many wonderful Italian artists). There was a small exhibit of what I would consider "modern art" (abstract pieces and the like) but then there was a whole area on 1920's - 40's works, with Dadaism, Surrealist works, neo-cubism and more. On the other end was a special exhibit of the neo-feminist movement from the late 70's/early 80's which was also really cool/unique. Even saw a few Martha's who were big in the movement. After the museum I sat in the café and had a sandwich and a glass of white wine in the brilliant sunshine. Yesterday's weather was absolutely perfect. Then I walked back towards Piazza del Popolo where I got lost, again, but managed to get through and walk towards the Pantheon which was still on my to-do list. I made it there (stopping for some gelato on the way - chocolate & pistachio) and saw the inside of the largest dome from "pre-history." Again, such an awe-inspiring moment and place. We just don't have history like that in the states. It was so wonderful to see. Last night I went out with a girl from my dorm for dinner, we had no idea where to go so we hopped on the metro and just started walking. We finally ended up near the Piazzo del Popolo and had some yummy food & wine and talked and just enjoyed life. It was great. Was back at the hostel about 11, checked emails and went to bed.
Today, Thursday the 8th. It's my last day in Rome, not even a whole day... I got up and decided I needed to see the Circo Massimo which I hadn't yet seen so I hopped on the Metro and went down there. Walked around and took a few photos but there wasn't much to do. I then wandered around a bit, ended up taking the metro back to Termini and then wandered into a couple bookstores. I got back to the hostel and decided to catch you all up on what I've been doing, and will just be here until about 12:15 (not long from now since I've been sitting writing for nearly an hour) when I'll head across the street to the train station to catch my train to Perugia.
I hope I'll have a chance to see something in Perugia, if nothing else though I plan to sort of spoil myself at dinner if I can and I'll have my own room tonight which should be great. On Friday I leave Perugia for Florence where I'm meeting up with some good family friends who have graciously offered to let me crash there for Friday & Saturday night. Then Sunday it's back to Geneva...
I'm so grateful to have gotten this opportunity to travel, its certainly something I will not forget and although not all great it's been an adventure. I look forward to posting pictures when I'm back in Switzerland but until then... caio!
Love,
Matticus
