Oops, I’m slacking on the blog posts. Rome was incredible, and for more reasons than it just being Rome. It was also hotter than you could believe, especially considering that we walked everywhere. Or, per usual, sat atop a tour bus. Just as hot but at least this way, in both senses of the word. Anyway.
Here are the basics of things I checked off my list. Because of the sheer quantity of things I could write in this post, I’m going to try and micromanage and make this somewhat of an interactive post, or something like that. Mouse-over or click on the titles to see a pic (from my own camera) of what I’m talking about.
Colosseum. It was cool, and definitely one of the more populated touristy spots, but I can’t really say I was absolutely stunned by it like I think would be the natural thing to expect. It’s just like a really old stadium, and honestly it wasn’t that impressive looking either. I might have simply been to tired at this point to appreciate it, because I think I might have enjoyed bathing in one of the nearby fountains a bit more. That’s DEFINITELY one fantastic thing about Rome… they have all these CLEAN fountains that spout out fresh, cooold water to either drink or wash your hands and arms off. I LOVE THESE. Uhh and clearly I wasn’t too into the Colosseum. Next…
Piazza di Spagna (and the Spanish Steps). One of our more frequented areas as it was right next to our hotel. I actually really liked this area because it was so social. We were walking around this piazza on our first night, and then ended up catching an opera that was being performed at the base of the stairs, so that was pretty awesome, even though all the opera tunes they sang were strictly the identifiable ones (Figaro, etc.).
Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) is, simply put, breathtaking. It’s just gorgeous, especially at night. Not only is the intricate artwork amazing, but the construction of the fountain looks as if it’s just these gigantic rocks jutting out of the building like something exploded. So like, you have this ridiculous combination of beautiful, very deliberate artwork- the expressions on the men’s faces, the horses going crazy, the poses the statues are in, etc.- combined with the base of the fountain which is intentionally left looking very natural… and all of this is in front of a backdrop of this awesome building. And then there’s this gorgeous pool of water and little waterfalls all underneath it. Genius design.
Campo dei Fiori. If I ever go to Rome again, I will want to stay closer to this area. Definitely the most social, “happening” area we went to at night.. there are bars and restaurants with tons of little tables all encircling the center “court” (the best way I can think to describe it), which contains another of the infamous Italian poles with a saint on top of it; however this Fiori one in particular I swear is Darth Sidious. Had some absolutely delicious house red wine, and was entertained by the BEST DAMN CLOWN I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. Like seriously, everyone was laughing hysterically at him, that guy really knew how to do it. We gave him 2 euros. We also returned to the Campo during the day to watch Batman at a theater there, which was particularly awesome because we went to the little store next door, bought a bottle of white wine, some incredible cheese and a box of crackers, and brought it into the theater. This was all, to our knowledge, allowed.
The Vatican. I actually enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. St. Peter’s Basilica was just incredible, like I can’t even think of a proper way to describe it. We were in there as a mass was starting (not with the Pope) and we got to hear the choir do some opening hymn which was beautiful. Catholicism might have some really strange aspects, but damn, they really got art and music right.
The Vatican Museum (and the Sistine Chapel). So the first time we tried was after hitting up St. Peter’s, at which point we were informed that the Museum closes at 4pm (yeah who knows what the logic behind that is). We were just like okay, well tomorrow’s Sunday and they’re closed, but no probs we’ll come back on Monday. Well instead of paying the 2 euros to take the Metro straight there, we decided we’d get there for free by hopping on our tour bus that we had already paid for. Except we must not have thought this completely through, because the tour bus took forever and by the time we walked all the way past St. Peter’s to get to the Museum, it was 4:03, and everyone was already being shooed out the door. Our flight was the next day, but as the Sistine was at the top of both our lists, we thought we’d wake up super early and catch it. Naturally, Ben’s iPhone ran out of battery and failed to wake us. Undeterred, Team Ben and Ash came up with a very time-sensitive plan, and we finally made it, albeit only having a strict 1 hour to spend there. It was so worth seeing some of the most intricate and amazing artwork that exists in the world.
Pantheon. I saved the best for last. The Pantheon is just awesome, not because it’s so old but I think I love it because it’s just so THERE. In your face type thing. It’s strong, and solid, and beautiful without being flourishy and superfluous or blatantly religious. In fact it was the one building we can remember that didn’t have any saints or religious icons on it. I’d also strongly suggest going at night. Something of the magical variety in them parts.
Other adventures included seeing where Mussolini gave his speeches, the supposed location where Caesar was stabbed by his bff, and where Romulus and Remus, founding brothers of Rome, suckled on their wolf mother. At this one $$$ restaurant we splurged on one night, I had the best sausage I’ve ever had in my entire life, considering I don’t particularly like sausage. It was so good that I swear to you- I dreamt about it that night. We tried asking the waiter to see if it was some special variety or something like that, to which he pointed to it and responded, “Sausage.” Heartbreaking.
Also of note was the pizza. I was feeling potentially dehydrated one evening after walking around everywhere, and my awesome boyfriend (!!! yep) went out to pick up some pizza for us. He came back into the room saying how nice those Italians were to him, how they chatted it up about London the whole time. We were both really looking forward to some Margherita pizza, especially to help with my headache, except upon opening the pizza box we found it to be topped with a plethora of little oysters in their shells. Not something either of us can really stomach. So Ben took the pizza back, being really nice about it like he always is, and told them in very clear English, “We don’t like seafood- we just want the most BASIC pizza, we will take a MARGHERITA PIZZA.” He came back into the room with the most curious look on his face, opened up the box and said to me, “I hope this is chicken.” Well, it was squid, which I thankfully found out after some poking and prodding and not after some tasting. And it smelled just like you’d imagine, too. I was instantly convinced they were fucking with him and immediately began to plan my counterattack, although Ben to this day insists that they were too nice, apologetic and good-hearted to have done something so RIDICULOUSLY ILLOGICAL with sinister intention. We ate fries and gelato instead, which was quite the acceptable alternative in both our opinions.
Also I don’t know why no one has ever mentioned this before- why have I never heard or seen pictures of those awesome Roman trees??? I love them!
Anyway, now that I’m not completely broke, we’ve booked our next stop in Venice 2 weeks from today. Bridges and canals and unaffordable gondolas, oh my! Not to mention the uber tacky Venetian-designed Bed and Breakfast we might reserve… seriously what were they thinking? Also, I’ll be going with the family to Stef’s grandparents’ house in the countryside of southern Italy.. leaving tomorrow and probably won’t have internet for the next 5 days or so.
Check out the entirety of my Roma photos here (and by “my” I mean “by Ben”).
THANK GOD THIS POST IS FINALLY DUNZO.
