Why had I never had the desire to go to Rome? Seriously, what a wonderful city! Big, with lots to see, yet not overwhelming. And despite the fact that there were thousands of tourists, it didn't feel as foreigner-infested as
Venice. You could walk down the street and hear Italian being spoken (imagine!), probably because of its size. And the history! Thousands of years of it! I used to think I was getting a pretty good deal with Spain's Ancient ruins in Lugo and
Mérida, but obviously you can't beat the namesake of Ancient ROMAN society. The only downside to this leg of the trip was the sweltering heat, and that's not even something that can be taken care of by the tourist center. But really, after walking to sites that are often under the scorching sun, the heat just gets hard to bear. We ended up showering at least 2 times a day, after peeling off sweat-soaked apparel, that is. At midday I would shower during an absolutely necessary nap-time. When in Rome. I know it's thought of as more of a Spanish custom, but I wasn't about to go sightseeing during the hottest hours of the day!
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| Pondering the Pantheon |
On Day 1 we got there in the late afternoon, so there wasn't time to actually enter anything, but we did get a great general overview of main sites. This was my first glimpse at the Forum from above--impressive! Right around the corner we saw the massive Monument to Victor Manuel. Then we went to the Trevi Fountain, but oh! it's closed and is surrounded by glass walls. Huh. Well, one thing Rome definitely isn't lacking is fountains, so we found some other lovely ones to enjoy. The Pantheon is also in that general area, so we saw that from the outside, which is pretty nifty.
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| Flower art at the Vatican |
Day 2 found us in the Vatican, where the pope actually spoke from his little window because it was Sts Peter and Paul day. Well that doesn't happen everyday! Also because of the holiday, various groups had made pretty, (obviously religious) collages out of flowers on the ground. We waited in line for a while, but it just wasn't going anywhere and we were ill-prepared for the heat, so we decided to save it for a later day. It's worth noting, that thanks to the savviness of my cousin, we avoided the pickpocket bus, so hooray! Afterwards we went to check out the Castell Sant'Angelo (decided not to go in). In the evening we strolled the riverside which during the summer is lined with tents of bars, restaurants, and stores. Really great ambiance! And to conclude the night, there were fireworks from the same Castle in honor of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Day 3 we actually followed through on our plans to get up early. It's just so hard sometimes, especially for my cousin who was living on a 12 hour time difference. Anyways, we spent a very fulfilling morning at the Forum, one of the 2 main attractions on a tour of Ancient sites. It's all outdoors, and there is little shade in which to hide from the blazing sun. I'd give the place 5 stars for sheer brilliance, but 1 star for customer service. Jeez. At least they had water fountains to stay hydrated. Anyways, there is a lot to see, among pillars, building ruins, and temples (or remains of them). The audioguides really help bring the history alive. My favorite part was the temple to Vesta. The Vestal Virgins lived a good life, especially for women at the time, because they had special privileges around town in addition to not having to answer to a husband.
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| Cousins above the Forum |
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| No statues were harmed in the making of this photograph |
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| In the Colosseum |
Day 4 we hit the Colosseum pretty early. That was cool because of it's size, but because I had been to a similar (albeit smaller) amphitheater in Nimes, I wasn't completely blown away. It was interesting though. Then we returned to the Vatican and waited in line for over an hour to get into St. Peter´s Basilica. Huge. Lots of popes. By then I was too tuckered out to do much more, but my cousin climbed up to the roof for a jolly good time.
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| One of my favorite statues. Just chillin...Dionysus perhaps? |
Day 5 was my last day. I took a little trip to Ostia Antica, a miraculously preserved town about 30 minutes outside of Rome. I don't know how it was so well preserved, and wish I had done more research before my trip, because the place was huge. I mean, it's bigger than the Forum (which itself takes a few hours to explore), because it's an entire city. Therefore it has an amphitheater, a cemetery, forum, housing structures, baths, toilets, temples, wells, and more. Talk about a blast from the past! There´s also a small museum with great ancient sculptures. And at night my cousin and I reunited for riverside drinks. But nothing too wild, since I had more travels awaiting me the next day.
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| Preserved mosaic floor |
So in essence, that was my trip to Rome. Had a marvelous time with my cousin, strolling, taking in the Ancient sites, and savoring the cuisine. I'd definitely return, since surely there is more to be seen.
