When in Rome...
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2008
1
13
38
Trip End
Apr ????
Rome,
Italy
Friday, February 1, 2008
Visit all the monuments until your feet turn to stone, drink Zambuka and Campari, eat too many Kababs, throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, walk up then down the Spanish steps, attend a pub crawl and get a free t-shirt (a clean shirt!), visit the Vatican, Send post from the Vatican, sneak in a photo of the roof of the Sistine Chapel, get lost, eat gelato (Italian ice cream), tour the Collesium, run a lap on the race track of the Roman ruins, eat pizza, don't forget to buy your postcards, ponder the perils of the soldier in the tomb of the unknown soldier, visit the Pantheon, step into a puddle, dry your socks on the register, make conversation with the attractive girl sitting on the bench, visit the tombs of the pope and unlike the tombs, sleep little.
As I arrived into Rome middle of day (the best time to enter a city to actually find your hostel) I found the nearest friendliest hostel and booked the next several of nights. As I got situated in my quarters, several of other travelers just came back from touring Rome - we talked for hours about the sites to see, with their advice I mapped the next several of days of my adventures in Rome
Will, Abby, Zambouka & Campari
. That night (everynight) the hostel offeres free pasta to its residence - I've made better mac and cheese then that - but free food is good food, I can't complain too much. Later that evening, myself and the couple I met went out to find some Italian beverages, as aformention, Zambuka and Campari. Zambuka is strongly ill advised and tastes like black licorice, ouzo's evil sister (which will still be in my bag 2 weeks later). Bitter Campari is self explanatory. As a relief we drained a bottle of French wine I have been carrying around since Nice, France. In the kitchen I ran into my friend from Switzerland by happenstance that I lost in Venice when I chose a very populated meeting point during Carnival - It was quite the surprise to catch up with him! The next day I walked the city to all the fantastic ruins that you can find all over Rome. I never realized how MASSIVE the ancient Roman empire was - all the ruins are just fascinating, old houses, temples, basilicas and oh yes, the Coliseum. I had paid for a guided tour of the Coliseum, if you watch the movie Gladiator, the guides basically paraphrase all the historical aspect of the movie. You can pay (as I did) to self tour all the ruins that lay in the area of the ancient city and can get lost in these streets. After some time all the ruins start looking the same and loses its significance, I suggest when touring this area, purchase a book outside the ticket office with great illustrations of what each building would have appeared in their time and their functionality
Roman Baths
. I found the track where athletes would race in the roman days and ran a lap, when in Rome. During sunset I walked to the Trevi fountain, very beautiful fountain - the saying goes if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, this will mean you will return to Rome, this I did and Rome waits.That evening I found out about a pub crawl that was going on that evening, it is marketed to fellow travelers. I returned to my hostel for the bland pasta and asked some other fellows if they were interested in a Roman pub crawl. Like me, these gentleman were tired and sore from all the site seeing, but the key of manipulation in Rome is these few words; When In Rome! Alright, so we met close to 1 hundred other travelers at the Spanish steps for the organized pub crawl and spent a terrific night on the town - needless to say I don't remember much of this evening besides the sobering walk back to the hostel lost and inebriated in Rome with my friends.
The next day was my Vatican day - I first visited the Sistine chapel. You pay a ridiculous price to get into this museum but it is the only way to see the Sistine Chapel. The museum was a bit different from the typical museums you begin to see throughout Europe. A walk through many of the rooms used through the Vatican, the ceilings and walls are grand with ornate renaissance art throughout the many halls that make this museum. Everyone was walking past the paintings, as I stopped for a gander - little did the hundreds of other tourists know, I some very world famous art including art from Salvador Dali! The Sistine chapel is the only area you cannot take a picture and the guards strongly enforce this policy with a watchful eye
Roman Baths
. I try took several pictures from my hip facing the ceiling, however none of this photo's turned. The chapel is grand, the art all done by Michelangelo, walls and the ceiling, every time you look up, you find another picture you hadn't seen the first glance. The Chapel is used for conclaves, when deciding a new pope, the Cardinals are locked in this Chapel until a consensus of the new pope has been agreed upon. St. Peters square was, big and very picturesque, aside from all the scaffolding on the Basilica's center monolith. Guarding the chapel are Swiss guards, they are said to be the best soldiers in the world and are dress in very ornate outfits and carry staffs that they will surely never use in todays times (imagine that story in the morning paper). Inside the Chapel was the biggest and most beautiful chapel I have ever visited in all my travels, I would expect nothing less from the Vatican. Shortly there after I found the tombs of all the pope underneath the Chapel and learned brief history of many of the pope and what influence they each had on the world. I decided not to go to the top of the Chapel, was not worth the ten Euro I have been saving to fuel my every thinning and demanding body. I sent out several of postcards from the Vatican, considering the Vatican is technically it's own country, I felt the need to purchase postage and utilize the Vatican post.
Down the street is a castle, it looked beautiful however this day I have spent too much on the Vatican already, I would find Rome is not a cheap city to visit - there is a cost for everything
Fountain
. I decided I wanted to get lost for a while and check out the back streets and the many plazas - conveniently I stumbled right into the Pantheon. The Pantheon is one big room with a giant hole in the roof - a great 15 minute look around at best. Rome is amazing, and I could have easily spent a week in this city (time permitting). I also wanted to take this moment to thank all my tens of viewers for your support and looking forward to my adventures as well - I also feed off you excitement and encouragement! If anyone has any suggestions to visit, post me a comment or message and I will certainly take a gander! Also, for those who have posted comments and messages, I read and appreciate knowing that you are there traveling besides me. As many have noticed it is hard to even find the time to blog being the typical week behind I am., I am certainly not ignoring a single one of you, just constantly looking forward.
Warm Regards,
Jason
