Advertisement
Published: February 15th 2013
Edit Blog Post
001
Trevi Fountain We had breakfast at 8 am today before starting out to begin our full day in Rome! We took public transport to the city (train / metro) and got off near the Spanish Steps. We got an included walking tour from Seb that covered the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Venezia, and the Colosseum. We made several stops along the way, including to get some espresso and gelato. I had to stop at a pharmacy and get some probiotics and sunscreen. I had definitely underestimated the heat that we were experiencing in southern Europe. And this was only May! Anyone travelling to Europe in July/August, be prepared for extreme heat. I had to be really careful not to get dehydrated or sunburnt (with my pasty skin).
As soon as we got to Rome I knew I loved it, this is definitely a city I'd like to come back to again. Some people probably look at the itinerary for Contiki's tours and think they are too fast-paced, and that they want more than one day in cities like Rome. This is true, but tours like this give you a really good taste of all the cities, so you have a good
002
Colosseum idea of where you would like to come back to on future trips. And there's no way anyone would be able to see this much of Europe in such a short amount of time if they were doing it by themselves (unless they had an unlimited budget). And there are easy-pace tours for those who really don't want to be constantly on the road with early-morning starts.
My favourite stop on the walking tour was at the Trevi Fountain. If you throw three coins in the fountain, you are guaranteed to return to Rome. I threw in three 5 euro cent coins, so I better be back to Rome at some point!
Once our walking tour was over, me, Debs, and Karly checked out the Colosseum. This is an enormous amphitheatre, that was once used for gladiator matches, man against animal battles, and sea battles. We decided not to go inside since it was 13 euro and there was quite a long line. Instead we walked further away to the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, where we found something called the Mouth of Truth (also called La Bocca della Verita in Italian). This is a sculpture carved
003
Us girls in Rome! from marble of a face with a large mouth. It was once believed that if you told a lie with your hand in the mouth, it would be bitten off. All three of us tried, and luckily we all still have both hands. :P
From here we kept walking and just enjoyed the general atmosphere of this city. We stopped at a tiny market and I bought some of the best strawberries I've ever had. We ate and relaxed on the grass of a field that was once used for chariot races.
In the late afternoon we decided to walk back through a more touristy area of Rome towards the Spanish Steps. This is the main gathering spot in Rome, named after the Spanish embassy to Vatican City that is nearby. We took the train back to the campsite, where we relaxed for a little bit, and I had to repack (again). I basically had to repack after every hotel we stayed at, because I had so much stuff that it had to be extremely organized in order to all fit in. I'm definitely packing less next time!
Dinner was at 7 pm, and it was another
004
Mouth of Truth quiet night, in bed by 10 pm.
What did I learn today? I tell the truth! Well, I still have my hand at least...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.114s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0614s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb