We stayed at the best B&B/hostel/hotel out of all the places we stayed at over the course of the trip (it's dizzying to even think about how many beds I slept in over 3 weeks). We stayed at a lovely B&B close to train station. The B&B owner was so helpful! She gave us maps and circled where all the attractions are and special tips -- like where the best nightview is and what each section of the city is like. She even highlighted the best places to get gelato! She was so nice and passionate about Rome and making our short stay as worth it as possible. If anyone's going to Rome, please stay at her B&B. Ask me for her deets. I'm being serious.
Anyway, even though we got into Rome in the mid-afternoon, we still accomplished a lot, thanks to the B&B owner's tips. We went to the Coliseum (Coloseo). I gotta say, when I saw it I felt the same way I did when I saw the Great Wall of China up close. Yea, sure it's a pretty damn famous wonder of the world, but it's just a wall or just a ruined arena. Nope. Way more than that. To see something so old and rich in history up close -- I marvel at how it has survived the test of time and still stands today.
We didn't splurge to go in, unfortunately. I would've liked to but we were pressed for time (the line to get in was, not surprisingly, quite long). But all this just means is I'll have to return to Rome again!
Nearby, the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum)
Hopped on the subway and journeyed to the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi). Beautiful! Though difficult to get a great shot :(
A surprising thing about Rome is how small it is. It's a big name city, so I thought it was going to be huge and sprawling like Paris and Berlin were. However, it really isn't -- it's probably the same size as Amsterdam, no more than a couple square miles. Thus even though we were only in Rome for two nights, we managed to see everything notable on our side of the Tiber river (the eastern side) that afternoon and evening.
From the Trevi Fountain we walked towards the Pantheon. Here's a trippy looking church, from this angle at least. Architecture in Rome, as one would expect, is quite detailed and intricate. A contrast from Florence where even the nice buildings look like paper models.
The Pantheon! The best preserved historical site, probably.
The ceiling of the Pantheon.
A short walk away, the Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti)! Here's what it looks like from the steps... yes lots of tourists...
Jess and I were dressed like twins again. :o) We're in front of Trinità dei Monti which is the church at the top of the Spanish Steps.
Once we got to the top of the Spanish Steps, we walked towards Villa Borghese and came across a view overlooking Piazza del Popolo.
Oh yea, warning stickers on Italy's metros are pretty graphic and needlessly scary.
Following day, we hit up the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano), on the other side of the Tiber River. We saw a shop selling Duff beer! We jumped at the opportunity hehe. La Birra dei Simpson! (I tried Duff later that evening. It's a fairly pale beer so I enjoyed it. Not too bitter.)
We got into the Vatican. Here's where I saw lots of cool things that I don't remember the names of. Though here, I never got the name of the sculpture. It rotated too. It reminded me of Ayn Rand for some reason...
We walked through the Vatican museums, a collection of statues and equally impressive painted ceilings, before reaching the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina).
The Sistine Chapel ceiling! Photography of any sort was forbidden, but I got this shot before the security dude gave me the evil eye. It was a lucky shot; I managed to get the Creation of Adam. Can you spot it?
Onwards in the Vatican City. Here's St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro).
The Swiss guards. They don't let people get photographed with them. Boo.
St. Peter's Basilica (Basilica Sancti Petri). Definitely the most epic church I've ever been in. check out the light coming in!
La Pietà is in St. Peter's Basilica.
Jess's birthday was the next day, so that evening we celebrated Jess's birthday the way she wanted to celebrate it. Jess wanted to do some gambling, optimally in a casino. But there weren't any casinos in Rome so we went to a cafe which had a couple machines (not unusual in Europe). Jess tried her luck but to no avail, though to be fair, the rules were in Italian and the object of the game wasn't obvious either. We saw an Italian man storm off in frustration from another machine so we didn't feel as bad.
Originally we were planning to go to a classy Italian restaurant (because, you know, when in Rome right?). However we spotted a Korean restaurant near the B&B on our way back from the Vatican so we decided to go there instead, not wanting to put forth the effort to make reservations at the swanky Italian place. Most of us were craving Asian food, especially Jess. We drank a bottle of Est! Est!! Est!!! wine (recommended by my Italian phrase book), which we had purchased from a supermarket earlier. It didn't go well with Korean food.
Then we went to the supermarket and bought a kilo of gelato and a bottle of coke for making
We hung out on a bridge over the Tiber river, chilling out, maxing and relaxing. And taking group pictures, though it was difficult with the lighting and all.
Rome was quite delightful. Needless to say, by the time we got there (the final destination!) we were really tired and at times, unmotivated to do much. But it was impossible to resist Rome and what it had to offer.
just out of curiosity, what was the name of the b&b?
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