First of all I am going to start by saying that I probably will never come back here. It is a great city, but Momma Mia! I have seen all the sites and experienced almost everything there is to experience in this city… good and bad. The past 48 hours have possibly changed my life. Here are just a few highlights from Rome:
I saw and experienced the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, The Pantheon, The Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Forum, Trajan’s Column, and The Sistine Chapel.
The Coliseum looks so much better at night than during the day. I saw three times and it never got old.
The Vatican was pretty cool, but I think I just built it up too much in my mind. It didn’t live up to my expectation. I am still glad I went because like I said, I did enjoy it. I just think the whole tourist experience we had there was what ruined it for me. The Sistine Chapel, though, was possibly the best experience I had in Rome. It left me speechless for quite some time!
The Pantheon was a little too surreal for me to feel like I was actually there. It is almost like the pictures just appeared on my camera, like I took a picture of my textbook or something. Very, very cool! The dome seemed fake, almost.
The Spanish steps were somewhat disappointing. I sat on them, but that was about it.
I had gelato 5 times in 3 days. It sure is a good thing we walk miles every day. My favorite flavors are rice and caramel. I also tried Nutella, chocolate rum, butter whiskey, raisin rum, coffee, cookies, hazelnut, chocolate chip, and kiwi.
I also had pasta and wine each evening. Let’s just say the food I ate was my souvenir from Rome, because it was all pretty expensive. It tasted so amazing though, everything.
I was approached by so many street vendors that I can actually be rude to them now. This is something I never thought I could do.
One night in the Wi-Fi lobby at the hotel, a girl started choking. Her friends were with her so they got her some help, but it was still a little scary, and random.
We traveled one hour outside of Rome to visit Tivoli’s Villa de Este. This just happened to be on the same day that the public bus and metro transit system was going on strike. It never actually happened though; it just freaked the entire city of Rome to the point that half the population was using the system. (Maybe an exaggeration, but you just cannot understand how crowded it was) We basically sprinted from our hotel to the metro stop so we could get there before the lines terminated because of the strike. A 20 minute sardine- like metro ride, short walk, and 40 min public bus ride later we arrived at the Villa and gardens, also known as The Place of 1,000 Fountains. It was an awesome place, but I am still trying to figure out if it was worth it. All the traveling and hectic events involved with getting there and getting back were just too much for me. Maybe I just hate public transit.
As we were boarding the bus to leave Rome, Rod’s bag was stolen. There were about 10 of us on the bus at the time, the rest were in the hotel. Rod had his bag on the front sea;, the bus driver was loading bags on the other side of the bus. A guy slipped on the bus, took both of Rod’s bags, and was sprinting down the sidewalk before anyone had seen him. We all realized it at the same time, but he had disappeared around the corner before we could catch him. It is just so frustrating that he did it right in front of us! In the bags Rod had two laptops, an expensive camera, a Samsung Galaxy tablet, money, and worst of all, most of our tickets for transportation. They should be able to be replaced, but it is going to be such a pain for him. It is so weird how every one of us has reacted. It is like he stole from us personally.
So many things have made this Rome trip unforgettable. I just can’t imagine what is next to come.
I saw and experienced the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, The Pantheon, The Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Forum, Trajan’s Column, and The Sistine Chapel.
The Coliseum looks so much better at night than during the day. I saw three times and it never got old.
The Vatican was pretty cool, but I think I just built it up too much in my mind. It didn’t live up to my expectation. I am still glad I went because like I said, I did enjoy it. I just think the whole tourist experience we had there was what ruined it for me. The Sistine Chapel, though, was possibly the best experience I had in Rome. It left me speechless for quite some time!
The Pantheon was a little too surreal for me to feel like I was actually there. It is almost like the pictures just appeared on my camera, like I took a picture of my textbook or something. Very, very cool! The dome seemed fake, almost.
The Spanish steps were somewhat disappointing. I sat on them, but that was about it.
I had gelato 5 times in 3 days. It sure is a good thing we walk miles every day. My favorite flavors are rice and caramel. I also tried Nutella, chocolate rum, butter whiskey, raisin rum, coffee, cookies, hazelnut, chocolate chip, and kiwi.
I also had pasta and wine each evening. Let’s just say the food I ate was my souvenir from Rome, because it was all pretty expensive. It tasted so amazing though, everything.
I was approached by so many street vendors that I can actually be rude to them now. This is something I never thought I could do.
One night in the Wi-Fi lobby at the hotel, a girl started choking. Her friends were with her so they got her some help, but it was still a little scary, and random.
We traveled one hour outside of Rome to visit Tivoli’s Villa de Este. This just happened to be on the same day that the public bus and metro transit system was going on strike. It never actually happened though; it just freaked the entire city of Rome to the point that half the population was using the system. (Maybe an exaggeration, but you just cannot understand how crowded it was) We basically sprinted from our hotel to the metro stop so we could get there before the lines terminated because of the strike. A 20 minute sardine- like metro ride, short walk, and 40 min public bus ride later we arrived at the Villa and gardens, also known as The Place of 1,000 Fountains. It was an awesome place, but I am still trying to figure out if it was worth it. All the traveling and hectic events involved with getting there and getting back were just too much for me. Maybe I just hate public transit.
As we were boarding the bus to leave Rome, Rod’s bag was stolen. There were about 10 of us on the bus at the time, the rest were in the hotel. Rod had his bag on the front sea;, the bus driver was loading bags on the other side of the bus. A guy slipped on the bus, took both of Rod’s bags, and was sprinting down the sidewalk before anyone had seen him. We all realized it at the same time, but he had disappeared around the corner before we could catch him. It is just so frustrating that he did it right in front of us! In the bags Rod had two laptops, an expensive camera, a Samsung Galaxy tablet, money, and worst of all, most of our tickets for transportation. They should be able to be replaced, but it is going to be such a pain for him. It is so weird how every one of us has reacted. It is like he stole from us personally.
So many things have made this Rome trip unforgettable. I just can’t imagine what is next to come.
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