Roman Holiday: Part 2 of Spring Break
“You may have the universe if I may have Italy ” Giuseppe Verdi.
After Athens, we took a flight to Rome and had three days there. Once again we started with a walking tour which took us to the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable since her background was in archaeology. To be in the Coliseum was unparalleled. You see it everywhere, but it’s so different when you are actually inside. This was especially true when we turned the corner of a winding street to see the Trevi Fountain. We said “wow” and our guide just gave us an understanding look.
Trevi Fountain
Some highlights of Rome included a walk though the Borghese Gardens and seeing Bernini’s masterpieces in one of the largest private collections of the Borghese Gallery. The movement and details of the sculptures in a museum made for an enjoyable afternoon. We did a lot of museum hopping. We went to see the sculpture of the She-wolf with Romulus and Remus at one of the National Museums in Rome. The most impressive collection was the Vatican. This museum had an unparalleled collection. We saw Rodin’s The Thinker as well as many ancient sculptures. What I really enjoyed of course was the Sistine Chapel. I spent the most time there, craning my neck to get a good view. Being in that room and imagining Michelangelo painting flooded back memories of fourth grade. We would get under our desks and draw a picture that was taped on the underside of our desk. Not sure how Michelangelo could do it. By that point, we are really on cultural overload so we decide to have a stroll about the city. Even just walking around, you see such architecture and statues that are simply amazing. I’m sure if you’re reading this all the way through, I will use the word “amazing” too many times. But that’s really how Italy is.
Our hostel was less than desirable. Avoid STA. My advice: always use Hostelworld.com. The lovely 2 Ducks hostel lacked hot water, had bed bugs and the breakfast was a joke. Not the best place to stay, but that encouraged us to never be there. We decided to go on a pub crawl to various bars around Rome. I knew that we weren’t going to meet many Italians this way, but it was still a good way to have a fun night. I understand why we didn’t stay out too late on any day of our trip since we had a lot to see. But after the crawl, we were still up by ten and ready to explore more of Rome.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
We ate gellato every day of the trip. I mostly went for the different chocolate flavors, which were always spot-on. We also tried the pizza. It was simply divine. When we were in the Traverse district, we walked a distance looking at each menu for the most delicious, authentic expereince. We found the best place we could. Never go for the tourist menu if you can help it. It’s always better to walk a bit further and find something better. Next stop: Florence…