Day 1
Picking up where we left off...Heather, Tessa and I had just arrived from our long, but beautiful train ride through the north of Italy and arrived in Rome. (No, it doesn't ever get old to say "...and arrived in Rome", even after a few weeks!) We found our way to the new airbnb accommodation. We opted to rent an entire flat for Rome since we were originally going to be staying there for 4 nights. The place was beautiful! Easy to get to, in a quiet neighborhood, but still close to the major transport lines and the Vatican. We dropped our stuff, marveled at how lucky we were to be staying in an apartment with high ceilings, three comfy beds, a little patio and an orange tree outside before we jetted off. It was already 6 pm by the time we went out, but we couldn't wait to see some of the city!
We hopped on the A Line and headed toward the Barberini stop and the Trevi Fountain. After coming up from the underground, we fiddled around with our maps like complete tourist losers and then walked in the opposite direction and found a Hard Rock Cafe, of all things! We turned around and eventually figured out (mostly due to Heather's good map-reading skills) how to get to the Trevi Fountain. Even under construction is was amazing. They had drained all of the water and some of the statues were being repaired, but because the water was gone, they had built a pathway over the fountain itself, and we got to see some of the work much closer than we would have if it had been wholly intact. From there we tried and succeeded in finding the Spanish Steps. At this point, the sun was going down in earnest and we decided to climb the steps where we were rewarded with a truly spectacular view of Rome at sunset! We stood and chatted there for awhile before hopping on at the Spagna stop and going back to our neighborhood for food.
Our host had graciously included a local map for key things like groceries and atms, but the best part was all the restaurant and food places he highlighted for us. We decided to hit up Bella Napoli for our first tastes of Roman food. I've got to be honest with you, that was one of the best dinners, atmosphere-wise that I've ever had! We sat down at the table at 7:30 and didn't leave for home until 11:30. It was truly an experience and the food (we all ordered pizza that first night) was delicious! We also split a bottle of wine and were gifted with champagne to start and lemonchello with cookies to finish off our dinner by the waiter who made the entire night amazing. He was an older Italian man, but he clearly loved food and loved seeing us in there. We laughed, drank ate and were merry and felt very at home in Rome right away!
Day 2
We woke up early the next day and full of purpose! Heather had the genius idea to book tickets for the Vatican in advance, so we set our tour for 2 in the afternoon and prepared to see as much before and after that as possible. The best way to do that, in our minds, was to buy a ticket for the Hop-on/Hop-off tour which would get us around the city quick and stop at all the places we wanted to see. We were super right about that (and most things, really, come to think of it! ;) After walking to the Vatican in the morning to get one of these tours, we kind of stumbled upon St. Peter's Basilica, which was just as stunning as it seems in all the movies and TV shows. The courtyard area is expansive and you can see of the angels on top of the columns that extend like a warm embrace from the church. We stood around there in awe for awhile, before we found a tour. We rode the entire route first in order to get a sense for where everything in the city was and just caught drive-by glimpses of things like the Colosseum and the Piazza Venezia.
When we returned to the Basilica and Vatican area, we discovered that we were actually early for our tour and so had a quick lunch of delicious pasta right outside the Vatican. Once we got inside, we were hit repeatedly over the head by a sense of history and amazement. The collection of old world treasures amassed within the Vatican is no secret, but to see it all up close, to touch some of it, to walk the halls and pour over the galleries...it was indescribable. My favorite room was probably the one decorated with old maps, hand painted with deep blues and highlighted in gold, featuring spitting sea monsters and land masses that don't exist anymore! Plus, although the Sistine Chapel is the most famous of the painted ceilings, there were many more inside that were truly stunning. The Sistine Chapel is the furthest thing from the entrance, so you can see everything as you're walking toward it. One of my favorite things about Rome is that nothing failed to live up to expectations. The Chapel was truly beautiful and standing under the painting of God and Adam was crazy! (Also, sneaking pictures was crazy - I was afraid that I would be thrown out of the Vatican!) We stood there for a good 10-15 minutes, our necks craned back and mouths agape, as we tried to take in every inch of the elaborate scenes painted all around us. I was humbled to be surrounded by years of work in one man's life and just marveled at the detail with which the entire chapel was done.
We left the Vatican around 3:30 and headed back into the city again to see some of the ancient things. Our first stop was the Colosseum, mostly because I was obsessed with it! We got there with plenty of daylight left and were able to walk around the outside, see some of the forum area and just take our time thinking about all of the gladiators and slaves who lost their lives within those walls. Standing in the shadows of the Colosseum, with our sandalled feet hitting the same dusty rocks and grass that people 2,000 years ago walked over was like being hurled forcibly backward in time! We walked up from the Colosseum up past the beautiful garden-like area where the Forum ruins are and to the front of the Piazza Venezia (the massive white building with the man being pulled by four horses in a chariot). We ogled all of these things and then headed back to our neighborhood to try another of the suggested restaurants left by our host. This time, we walked to Sole & Luna, where we were early for dinner at 7 pm! lol I kid you not, this was the best food I think I've ever eaten. I ordered ricotta and spinach ravioli, Heather got carbonara with bacon and Tessa got spaghetti with clams. The pasta was SO fresh and delicious I was salivating with every bite! It's safe to say that we slept very, very well that night.
Day 3
We let ourselves sleep in a bit that Sunday. We were exhausted from all the non-stop walking and, in my case at least, a bit overwhelmed by all of the beauty around us! So we walked back to the Basilica, planning to do the Hop-on/Hop-off tour again to see the places we missed. When we got to the Basilica, however, we were treated to a courtyard full of people. They were using a video-projector to show the service going on inside the church and there were masses of people outside enjoying it. We stayed for a bit, but then got our bus to head to the Piazza Navona! This open-air courtyard features three really magnificent fountains and is enclosed on one side by a towering, blindingly white church, St. Agnes of Agone. We could go inside so we did, experiencing just one of many examples of the ornate decorative style of Roman churches! A painted ceiling, cavernous altar space and interior archways seem to be just some of the repeated motifs that never got old!
From the Piazza Navona, we walked through a few other piazza to get to the Pantheon. Everything felt very relaxed and we were met with a number of Sunday markets going on as we passed. Then, suddenly, we turned a corner and the Pantheon reared up to our right out of nowhere! Inside, the domed ceiling provided ample light with which to see the multiple altars and icons and even the famous painter Raphael's tomb! We stopped for some gelato on the way out and then walked toward the city center again in order to catch one of our tour buses.
We hopped on and went to the famous church, St. Maria Maggiore which was one of the most holy and stunning places I've ever set foot in! The opulence was overwhelming, from the golden painted ceiling, to the multiple stained glass windows and tiled floor. Every inch was set up as a tribute to God and that kind of devotion was hard to be unaffected by. After sitting there and thanking my lucky stars for a few minutes, we got back on the bus and went to Circus Massimo which was another arena that the gladiators sometimes fought in. On that day there seemed to be a huge kid's tournament of capture the flag, which was pretty much the same thing, I think. It got very heated, at least! We stayed to root for the yellow team for awhile, but then kept walking toward the Tiber river and the little island that sits in it, called the Isola Tiberina. We mostly just sat by the water, enjoyed the market and rested our feet under the bridges that cut across the Tiber. It was a great way to end our Roman holiday and we went home happy and relaxed. Heather would leave us to return to Nice (and the pressures of homework) while Tessa and I continued the adventure with Vienna as our next stop!
