Rome
ITALY
Rome-ing Around. Haha!
By LYNDI
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A couple people have asked me why I was making a second trip to Italy when there are so many places – even in Europe – that I haven’t been and the answer is pretty simple. I don’t really remember it. It was 10 years ago, I was on a European whirlwind tour, and time has taken its toll on my recollection of it all. I do remember touring the Colosseum, standing in a really long line to get into the Vatican museums, and getting a pizza from a vending machine. That – I will never forget.
So returning to Rome was like starting anew. Aaron and I walked into a couple hotels near the Termini (main train station, a.k.a. cheapest part of town) to see what the going rates were and eventually found a nice one-star hotel on Via Palestro for 40 Euro per night.
Since it was about 4pm by the time we got settled, we decided to go for a walk around the area to see what was nearby. One of the greatest parts about Rome is that no matter where you’re walking – you’re probably going to pass by some really important and relevant cultural sites. And sure enough, we walked by the Roman baths, looked into some beautiful churches (one with a “Beware of Pickpocketers” sign out front… sad), and down to the Trajan Market (basically a mall for the ancient Romans) and passed a lot of other interesting things that I have no idea what they are.
Since we are on such a tight budget in Italy (though an ample budget for our other locations), we decided early on that we would spend money on sights and things to do and skimp on accommodation and food wherever possible. So what a treat to find Rome’s cheapest bar right across from our hotel.
The Yellow Bar – connected to Hostel Andrew – has a 9 hour long Happy Hour where huge glasses of house wine are 1.50 Euro. Our first night there we ran into a brother and sister from Portland and got to talking to the owner from Pittsburgh and stayed much longer than intended. It didn’t hurt that the Portlanders had brought some wines from the Willamette Valley with them. To the bar. Kinda weird, but I guess they knew the owner, so it was okay. We splurged that night on eating at an actual restaurant instead of the usual sandwiches and were served by the meanest waiter in the world. Guess that’s what we get for skimping!
The next day was the beginning of our sight-seeing. We each bought a Roma Pass for 25 Euro which gives you free access to your first two sites and then discounts after that as well as free public transport. So of course we headed to the most popular (and expensive) place first – the Colosseum.
The greatest part about the Roma Pass is that it’s just like going to Disneyland with someone in a wheelchair – you get to skip the whole line! And since all museums are closed on Mondays, the entire tourist population of Rome was in line and we just danced right through. Already money well spent. We plopped down another 4 Euro each to get a guided tour, although the tour guide didn’t tell us too much more than we could have learned just by reading all the information boards, but at least she took us down to the newly opened tunnels underneath the Colosseum. She had some great stories about its hey-dey and how those receiving the death sentence could fight their way to freedom – though the worst offenders weren’t given any weapons to fight with. Apparently when Constantinople – the first Christian emperor – came into power, the Colosseum’s epic fights were declared illegal and the forum fell into disuse and was then used as storage and then a rock quarry to build churches throughout the area. So the fact that so much is left after 2,000 years of neglect is pretty impressive.
Aaron was by then historied-out, so headed back to the hotel, while I went on through Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. So I got to wander around ancient Rome’s “downtown” and eavesdrop on many guided tours along the way. I visited Cesar Augustus’ house, and also got to see the Temple of Vesta where the 6 Vestal Virgins are immortalized in marble. History tells the story of how these women were chosen by the emperor for their beauty and had to keep Vesta’s eternal flame burning. If the flame went out or if they didn’t keep their virgin status, they were buried alive. Even worse, the men that “offended” them were skinned alive, so it’s kinda a no-brainer to me. Though I’ve never been hit on by a handsome Gladiator either, so who knows?
Our goal for the following day was the Vatican. We even hopped on a Free Walking Tour of the Vatican City (you just pay a tip) and then headed straight into St. Peter’s Basilica and over to the Vatican Museums to cut in front of another giant line and head into the Sistine Chapel. Except there was one problem. The Vatican is its own state and therefore not part of Rome. Or the Roma Pass. So it was either shell out 15 Euro per person to enter, or just bail. And bail we did. If we hadn’t already seen some of the world’s most important art in Florence, we probably would have paid, but over $20 more per person to see the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling was a bit too steep. So we wandered back, visited some other churches and castles and met up with other people on our walking tour at Yellow Bar.
Our last full day in Rome was spent wandering to different piazzas, the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain and poking our heads in a few other churches. I think we officially crammed as much sight-seeing as we possibly could stand into our three days there – and still had time to enjoy some street pizzas (couldn’t find the aforementioned vending machine again…), some time to relax, and idling the nights away with the cheapest bottles of Italian Chianti the grocery store had to offer.
All in all Italy was everything we hoped it would be – romantic, full of the world’s best art and ancient history, and the famous vineyards of Tuscany. At a different time – with a different budget – we would have stayed longer to see the less touristy spots the country has to offer, but our brief European trip was up, and our new African experience lay just ahead.
