Rome
Rome,
Lazio,
Italy
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Rome is big, hot and busy place. The hostel is tiny and crowded like a sardine can, and only has 2 bathrooms and 3 rooms for 30 people, but it has free dinner and breakfast, which is quite good. It is also a very social place. Adam and Gareth came too, and we met some great people there and had a good time with them.
We saw the Trevi Fountain - a magnificent fountain with lots of very huge, expressive sculptures lying about on it. It was so crowded. I hate crowds, they make me cranky. I grew very weary of people constantly walking in front of our photographs just as we took them. People in Europe don't seem to consider that they might be wrecking peoples' photos, or that they should wait for people to get off public transport first, before they force themselves in. Or that they should say sorry if they run into you, or stop in the middle of the road and block you from getting past.
The Pantheon was great - huge pillars and a massive hole in the top. We took photos so it looked like the hole was a halo above our heads. We went to the Spanish steps which weren't that exciting - they were like... normal steps. Mcdonalds was next, not to eat of course, but to check it out - apparently the most fancy Mcdonalds in the world. It sells gelato and has roman sculptures decorating it. After that fascinating excursion, Adam and I went to Vatican City. The Basilica was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Truly stunning. Photos didn't do it justice. We were given unreliable advice that we needed long pants to get into Vatican city - so unfortunately we walked around in jeans all day in the sweltering heat for no reason. The Sistine chapel was nice, but far too crowded. The guards were constantly attempting to make everyone stop talking, but their request fell on deaf ears. It sort of takes away from the atmosphere when it is so crowded and hot and noisy.
The article I mentioned in a previous post about Italian gelato led us to a little gelataria called Fatamorgana. It was worth the mish we made to find it. It had crazy flavours like
· Celery & tequila
· Rose, Cognac & black rice
· Basil
· Honey
· Gorgonzola cheese
· Cinnamon
· Mascarpone
I had my 22nd birthday in Rome. Gareth and Adam bought me a cupcake with a candle with "1" on it, cos they couldn't afford to buy the 2s. My new friends from the hostel took me to Trevi Fountain where we drank cheap champagne and stumbled about on Roman streets.
