Rome Hotels
Aquasheep's travel blogs:
|
|
  | |  |
Rome, Italy
|
Rome,
Lazio, Italy
|
| |
Friday, Jul 23, 2004 15:32
|
Entry 8 of 9 | show all | print this entry |
Ah, Roma! I consider this the coolest place I've ever been. So overwhelmingly rewarding and such a rich history.
After class on a Friday afternoon, we (me, Faune, Aaron, & Ben) took our flight to Rome via Swiss Air. When we arrived we quickly found our hostel (Hostel Des Artistes), unpacked, and headed out to site see. We couldn't wait!
Before I tell you what a great time I had overall, I have to mention a few things. First I'll say that we had been used to the cool, Spring-like summer days in Lüneburg where the temperature never got above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. So the extreme heat in Rome (around 100 degrees) was quite a shock to the system. Now, the guys we were with seemed to think that all the monuments would disappear if we didn't see them all in one night...and as fast as we possibly could. Faune and I disagreed with this theory.
So Ben and Aaron were walking like madmen; following their map and darting around like little rats let out of a cage. I had been having digestive issues (to put it lightly) and was not really in any condition for heavy cardiovascular exercise. Like Faune, I would have preferred to walk at a light to normal pace and just kind of take everything in little by little; you know...absorb the feeling of the city, so to speak. The boys had trouble grasping this concept. "We gotta go! Pick up the pace ladies!" We retaliated by walking as slowly as possible, which seemed to drive the guys crazy.
So the first night was rather hectic, but we did see a lot. We walked past (notice the word "past"; referencing the pace that was so important to these guys) the coliseum, the roman forum, the pantheon and a few other monuments before finally settling down to eat dinner near the Tiber River. After dinner we walked across town to see the Spanish Steps (which, of course, were under construction, but were still pretty awesome to see).
When we finally got home that night, I was sweating profusely. It was a hostel, but I figured they'd have towels for us. They didn't. So I couldn't shower because I had no way of getting dry. Also, there was no air conditioning (fairly common thing in Europe), so it was really hot. When I'm indoors and hot, I get really irritable and frustrated easily. I went to the Internet room to kind of wind down and see if Stephen had written. After my long day I wanted so badly to hear a familiar voice (in the form of email). I was so happy to see that Stephen had written a long, loving email to me. As soon as I opened it, however, the hotel staff cut the power off to the computers and I lost the email forever. Never was able to recover it. So I was having a very frustrating evening, which I felt bad about. After all, I was in ROME! I was so lucky to be there, but the evening had just been so hectic. I am not a person who enjoys rushing. So I finally went to sleep and called it a night.
Fortunately the next morning, the ringleader of Urgent Walking Posse, Ben, decided to go his own way; leaving me, Faune, and Aaron to take our time and relax a bit more. So the first thing on our agenda was the Vatican City (or La Cita del Vaticano). We stood in line for about an hour to get in. The Vatican City is really quite amazing. The size of it is pretty impressive in and of itself. Once we got inside the walls we headed for the Sistine Chapel (La Capella Sistina). THAT was amazing. The colors were so vivid and the detail was unbelievable. Technically we weren't allowed to take pictures and the place was crowded. So I snuck a quick flash-less photo that didn't come out that well. (We also saw Kelsey Grammer there. He had his own private tour guide. We snapped photos nervously).
Later that afternoon we visited a small artifact museum featured in the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (where Matt Damon passes by a giant sculpture of a foot. I don't know if you remember that, but I did). I almost lost my purse that day, but a kind, Italian police man had saved it for me when I came back looking for it. "Molto Grazie, Signore!"
Rome is fantastic! There is just SO much to see that it can't really be done in 3 and half days, but we did our best. We toured the coliseum and the Roman Forum. We had a great time. But all that walking in the 95 degree heat made my ankles swell to ginormous proportions. I have pictures of that, too. It's insane. They're at least 3 times their normal size.
Please, go to Rome. You won't regret it. I think everyone should go. It's one of the most amazing places on the planet, I believe. And I don't use the world "amazing" lightly.
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by aquasheep, from Lazio, Italy or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
