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Published: August 11th 2008
Catacombs
The catacombs of Paris.ROMA
Day 1 Rome Aug. 7th, 2008
I arrived in Rome on Thursday Aug. 7th at 2:30pm. After entering the airport I was curious to observe if my luggage (my internal frame backpack) would arrive or not. Since I have been in Europe I have heard horror stories of lost luggage at Italian airports. I have been told that is because Italians are lazy and enjoy going about their days in a leisurely pace. I waited for my luggage for 25 minutes and then some started to arrive…but not mine…needless to say I began to get worried. After waiting another 20 minutes I noticed luggage coming out of a different baggage claim and finally mine arrived. Half of my flight’s luggage came out one bag return. and the other ½ another…Italians
I have also heard horror stories about Italians being unbelievably good thieves….for this reason I put small locks on my bags as a deterrent. I jumped on the bus that takes travelers from the Fiumicino Airport to the Termini station located in Rome. When I got on the bus I sat next to two girls that were my age. They looked at me and asked where
Orangina!
This one is for you becky! lol I was going. They were two sisters from Australia and both incredibly beautiful. We talked about each other’s trips the entire ride and said our goodbyes when the train arrived at the Termini.
The Termini in Rome is the focal point of transportation in Rome. It contains the metro and all the trains that travel into and out of Rome. The place was bustling full of tourist from all over the world…Asians, Britains, Americans, French...you name it and they were most likely there. I bought a “Roma Pass” at the Termini for 18 Euros (thanks to my student ID). This pass gave me unlimited travel for 3 days using the metro and the buses along with 2 passes into any museums/sights in Rome.
Side note: The metro system in Rome is only 2 Lines…MUCH MUCH less complex than France. However, Rome has a better bus system to balance its metro system. Many of the amazing attractions in Rome are walking distance from metro stops…so it wasn’t too bad.
I jumped on a metro from Termini to “Rebibbia” stop and after this stop I hopped on a bus to take me to “Peter Pan Hostel.” This hostel was
Louvre
The Louvre at Night. Holds the Mona Lisa and many other magnificent works. only 12 euros a night which was a great deal. It was 35 min. outside of Rome and in a questionable area. I got into the hostel went to the front desk and saw an older man wearing a NY Yankees hat. I was excited to see another American here….but wait…he began talking, Ahhh… Bullocks..Bloody This…Blood That…hahaha..hahaha. Oh boy, he must be a Brit. I stood beside him and he immediately made conversation with me in a slightly loud exaggerated way. When first talking to him he seemed very nice and we talked for awhile that night but I could tell he did not care for Americans much…or he just loved to tease them.
The room in the hostel was very nice. It had new beds, a big sink, and a desk. The showers were incredibly nice too. I opened up my laptop in hope of getting signal so I could check my email, facebook, and talk with my amazing girlfriend. Alas, I could get no signal. I was pretty devastated and went to ask the check in person about this. You have no internet! What! Your ad stated you did. The young man again told me they did
Eiffel Tower at Night
The Eiffel tower with blue highlights. Every hour thousands of little lights would blink. Breathtaking! not have internet because this hostel was only 1 month old and Italy is lagging behind in Internet connectivity. I was pretty pissed, but the rooms and showers were incredibly nice so I reminded myself that.
Before going to bed a young guy came in and started to unpack in a bed next to mine. I talked to him for a little bit and he is from Germany but now lives in Chile. His name was Jannich (pronounced by saying “Yah” “Nick”). This guy was really cool and we got along well.
Day 2 Rome Aug. 8th, 2008
The next day (Aug. 8th) myself, the Brit, and Jannich decided to explore Rome. We first traveled to the Coliseum which was pretty amazing. We walked around for an hour inside, took pictures, and talked about its history. The actual floor that battles were fought on was on wood covered with sand, but the wood floor was no longer there. Because the wood was not there you could see the intricate tunnels, cages, and lifts that were used to bring animals & humans from underground and up to the floor for battle. The Romans loved the games mostly
New Friends!
New Friends from Holland and Norway! because the Coliseum would be decorated in such a fashion to replicate the animal’s environment in which it came.
After the Coliseum we went to the Roman Forum where Caesar and many other Roman greats lived. This forum was used by Etruscans and Greeks in 753 BC. We saw the podium in which Julius Caesar erected in 44 BC. All three of us declined a tour and wish we wouldn’t have because the exhibit barely contained any information stands, so we barely new what was going on.
****At this time I and Jannich were teasing the Brit because of his horrid teeth, pale skin, and ridiculous sayings. However, he picked on me and Americans the entire day so he definitely deserved it. “You Americans have no history”....”You Americans are ignorant”, “You Americans have no concept of history”..etc etc. By the end of the day Jannich and I picked on him so much that he became angry and refused talking to us. Guess he can dish it out but not take it, haha.****
Next site was the Pantheon, which is 2000 years old. Architects still don’t understand how this temple was erected. Its dome is a perfect half
Coliseum
Coliseum from the inside sphere made from poured concrete and did not have the support of vaults or arches. It is the largest of its kind. The light that entered the roof was used as sundial and to indicate the dates of equinoxes and solstices.
The next site we saw was the Fountain di Trevi. This fountain could turn the most jaded visitor into a romantic mush. The legend about this fountain is that a traveler who throws a coin into the fountain is ensured a speedy return to Rome; one who tosses two will fall in love there. Also, you must throw the coin backward. I threw one coin and am anticipating a trip to Rome in the near future
This fountain was definitely one of my favorite sites in Rome. I don’t even know how to explain how you feel when you sit in front of this. It touches you at your heart. You can sit there for hours…and I did one night as I watched couples from all over the world embrace each other lovingly. If you go to Rome with your significant other please go here at night…sit down....and engulf in each other’s love.
When
all of us came back for the night we stopped at a pizza place that was 2 blocks from our hostel. It was a pizzeria and the employees spoke no English. Through pointing, grunting, yes/no…we ordered 2 pizzas that were both delicious. One pizza had tuna, fish, mozzarella, and spicy sausage. The other was cheese and salami. We devoured the pizza and commented about how we most likely got a true Rome pizza due to the amount of locals and non-English speaking staff.
Day 3 Rome Aug. 9th, 2008
Before going to bed on Day 2 Jannich and I decided we should go to the Vatican together. We both woke up at 8am and dragged ourselves to the cafeteria where we get a free breakfast. We both took the metro to a stop 15 min from the Vatican. When arriving we noticed a very long line but it was moving pretty good and we only waited for 30 min. Inside the Vatican we viewed some galleries of ancient tapestries, paintings, and artifacts collected by the Vatican.
The Vatican lies on 108 acres of autonomous land. It produces its own currency, runs its own separate press, and is
Fountain di Trevi
Fountain di Trevi at Night protected by Swiss Guards.
Of course the most cherished work inside the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling was painted by Michelangelo and depicts the stories of Genesis with each scene framed by “ignudi” young nude males. The painting of creation where God and Adam are touching fingers was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I would say it was only 14ft long by 6 ft. wide. Inside the Sistine Chapel there were at least a dozen guards yelling “NO PHOTOS PLEASE” and “QUIET PLEASE”. Jannich and I stood in the Sistine Chapel for 30 minutes or so and interpreted every painting. One of the best works was the painting of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo. This painting took up an entire wall and depicted Christ during judgment. One hand was lifted up and helping lift souls into Heaven and the other hand lay close to his chest and sending those who deserve eternal damnation into boats that cross over to hell (inspired by Dante). Michelangelo painted himself as a flayed skin hanging between heaven and hell. The Sistine Chapel also serves as the chamber in which the College of Cardinals elects a new pope.
sistine chapel
So I wasnt suppose to take a picture of this..but how could I resist. I enjoyed spending time in the Vatican with Jannich. It is so large that he and I got to know each other on a personal level pretty well. We talked about politics, college, our girlfriends, economics, and many other things. His views opened my eyes about a lot of topics that concern me and gave me a new perspective.
After the Sistine Chapel we both went to St. Peter’s Basilica. The pope opens the Porta Sancta (Holy Door) every 25 years by knocking in bricks with a silver hammer. St. Peter’s tomb supposedly lies inside the basilica and you could not see it easily because it was roped off. Also inside the basilica is Michelangelo’s Pieta which is a sculpture of Mary holding Christ as he is dying. This was protected by bulletproof glass because in 1972 a man smashed Christ’s nose and broke Mary’s hand with an axe. Jannich and I climbed to the top of the Sistine Chapel (551 steps..whew) to get a wonderful view of Rome.
We both walked through Rome back to a metro station and continued talking to each other about relationships, school, and perhaps me visiting him in Chile next December.
When we got back to the hostel I still wanted to go out and my friend Erin from Detroit told me that I should visit the Fountain di Trevi at night because it is absolutely beautiful. So I left the hostel at 11pm and got to the fountain which was crowded with hordes of people but I was still able to get a great seat in the middle with a perfect view. It was bittersweet watching the couples hold hands and throw their coins into the fountain together. I stayed there for a little while and met an Italian girl who spoke a little English. We talked for awhile while I was sitting there and it was great having some company.
Day 4 Rome, Aug. 10th, 2008
Today Jannich woke me up at 8am. He and I were going to try and see a couple sites before he caught his flight back to his home in Chile. By the time we traveled around the train station to find his bus and train we had exhausted 2 hours. Not enough time was left to hit the Spanish Steps together so we decided to check out Roma University and a
Vatican Museum Egyptian Collection
Preserved woman from Egyptian times. Her brain was taken out from her eye socket and she was incredibly preserved using oils, salts, and cloth garden that was across the street from it. We wondered around talking for about 3 hours and then headed back to the Termini so he could catch his bus. We both expressed interest in meeting again and he said I was more than welcome to stay with him over my next school break in December.
After Jannich left I took the Termini to the Spanish Steps. Once I arrived I climbed the Spanish Steps I saw the pink house where John Keats died. The Spanish Steps were paid for by the French, named for the Spaniards, and were occupied by the British.
I felt like I have seen the most of the important sites of Rome but I still had 1 free museum pass left on my Roma Pass. There are hundreds of museums in Rome, but I decided to see a castle that lies on the Trevere River. This castle was named Castle St. Angelo and it was built by Hadrian around AD 117-138. This mass of brick and stone served as a fortress, prison, and palace. When the plague stroke Rome Pope Gregory the Great claimed he saw an angel at its top and because of
this an angel sculpture now is at the top. I stayed there for 2 hours and climbed to the top and was rewarded by a fantastic view of Rome.
After this I felt exhausted and felt like I needed to tie up loose ends so I cut my last day in Rome short (around 4pm). I went to the supermarket in the Termini and bought some detergent to wash my clothes at the hostel. When I got back to the hostel I asked a guy at the main desk how much it cost to use the clothes washer and he said 3 Euros. I saved myself 3 Euros by washing my clothes by hand in the sink and then hung them on a wire to dry. And then I began to write this blog about my days in Rome.
I apologize for not updating my blog everyday. My days & nights are packed with sightseeing and talking to people from other countries. But, my hostel in Florence supposedly has free WiFi so I should be able to catch up with the world soon.
Right now as I am typing I am taking the Europe Rail System to
Arc de Triumph
Probably my favorite site in Paris. Arc de Triumph travel from Rome to Florence.
My thoughts about Rome:
• The city has a rich history especially regarding Egypt due to Alexander the Great. The sights were amazing however it seemed that is all Rome has going for it. The areas outside of the historical monuments were ravaged by poverty and not well developed at all. I think Rome is a broken city and the attractions are the glue that barely holds it together.
• Rome is one of the slowest countries in Europe to jump on the information superhighway. The easiest way to get the internet was to go to an internet café or internet “store” and pay a couple Euros for an hour. Easy laptop connections are rare (WiFi) and a passport/driver’s license is required in order to use internet in cafes because of the war on terrorism.
• The younger people in Italy dress more like Americans with their Nike sneakers and blue jeans.
• Italy is truly fashion savvy. I have never seen so many designer stores with amazing clothing in my life. It seemed that 80% of the stores in Rome were selling upscale expensive clothing. I wish I had
View of Rome
This is a partial view of Rome. Myself and Jannich climbed 551 steps up St. Peter's Basilica for this...whew :) more money and backpack space because I would’ve liked to buy some quality fashionable clothing.
• Italian and Spanish are similar languages which I didn’t know and if you can speak Spanish well you can get through Italy ok.
Well, right now I am on my way to Florence via train (today is Mon. Aug. 11th). I hope that these blogs are insightful and not a bore to read. This trip has been worth every penny thus far and I am thankful I decided to do this. So far I am doing great, nothing lost or stolen, and I am staying within my budget, but not at the price of sacrificing experiences.
Feel free to post any questions/comments…because I like them, haha. If you would like me to write about anything in particular please let me know and I will try my best.
~I miss and love you all very much~
Ciao,
Ryan
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Adam W
non-member comment
Ryan, these are awesome to read. It sounds like such a great time.