Advertisement
Published: June 23rd 2008
As the saying goes all roads lead to Rome. We left off on our way to Rome from dirty Naples, and we have now visited many, but not all of the great sights that the marvelous Rome has to offer. When we got into Rome, we went to our hostel, which we found out to be a large camping installation. It had a full bar, restaurant and very nice swimming pool. However, we had booked rooms in the 16 bed dorm. Our travel compaignions were able to get into the much more private female dorms that boasted a key to their door. We on the other hand did have a sheet that brought some privacy to our °room° (hovel). It was slightly better than we thought, instead of a room with 16 beds in it the beds were divided into groups of four (two bunk beds) in rooms which had walls only go up to the door frame. This enabled the operation to save on electricity, since the walls did not go all the way up only several lights were able to illuminate the entire dorm. This meant that those going to bed early, had to endure the lights being on until the last person turned them off. This actually wasnt so bad, what was bad was that the mixed dorms were right beside the bar. The first night was ok, but the second night we had to contend with a toga party.... the third night a british wedding party, Seriously, who gives drunk brits a mega phone?...
(Just as a note for our readers, internet is free here, so we can write but not much...so I am going to sum up our three days quickly...sorry) Rome, a city of such great splendor. We decided to visit the city for its ancient aspects that Rome had to offer on our very first visit. I was so excited. Not as excited like I am for Christmas morning, but almost! 😊 We took the train to the Collesum and started our day there. The train stops directly outside of it. It is an impressive site. At the tallest height it is 60 meters, but after an earthquake, looting, and the church it has been seriously depleted of its former glory. But as you walk around/in it you are still blown away by its size and magnitude. After getting there, we were scammed by guys dressed in togas/centurion costumes, they offered to take pictures with us, and we all thought that they worked there, But when we were done he asked us for 5 euro each. We got him down from that but we were totally taken. Our lesson: don't accept anything!!! After that mishap we ended up paying for a tour of the collesum and of palentine hill. It worked out to be cheaper than buying tickets on our own and buying a guide book. So, we went on the tours, which were fun just because you get some extra information. I think I could have done a better job but that's ok..... 😊 We saw the collesum, Palentine Hill, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon all on the 20th. It was a long day, but everything we saw was just so amazing. We saw where Caesar was buried, we saw where Romulus and Remus 'founded' Rome. Super cool. I saw the huts where they lived!!! Was thinking of you Courtney! The day was finished off by a nice dish of pasta.
On the 21st we went to see St. Pete's Basilica and the Vatican Museum, from which you can go see the Sistine Chapel. And I think what sums this visit up the best is.... WOW. It was another busy day though, because we did the basilica, then ALL of the museum, and then the chapel (all in jeans because of the dress code) Ok so the Basilica is MASSIVE, the dome itself reaches an impressive 120 meters, and was designed by none other than Michelangelo. The building is SO big that you feel like an ant, this is reinforced by the hoards of milling tourists. The entire building is encrusted with gold leaf and breathtaking sculptors and frescoes. As for the museum it is a treasure trove for probably the best ancient art, along with many many and many kinds of other kinds of all periods. Furthermore, since the exhibitions were held in the Popes former residence the museum itself was a work of art. The ceiling decorations in many rooms were enough to impress us. Lastly Raphael's School of Athens and Michelangelo"s Sistine chapel left us breathless and awed into silence, along with a creaked necks. We were so tired by the end that we just decided to come back to the campground and go swimming.
On the 22nd, yesterday, we were able to just go into Rome and wander the streets a little bit. We went to see the Trevei fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Castle d'Angelo. In between that we found a bookstore with english books and grabbed a couple, since we are out. We also burned some of our pictures onto a CD. And bought a certain brother a certain jersey. 😊 It was fun to just go from metro stop to metro stop seeing the different sights but at a more relaxed pace, just enjoying the city. All in all Rome has been wonderful. It is a must see on any trip to Italy. I am a bit sad to be going just because it is so nice, and you canàt possibly see everything Rome has to offer in 3-4 days. But we are moving on the Florence today and we are excited to do our day trips out to Pisa and Siena.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.061s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0382s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Marianne
non-member comment
ah Rome
I love Rome too, its full of history, beautiful sights, inspiring art and good food. Oh and don't get me on Florence.... Glad you are having fun. Mør