Rome

Besides a few transportation issues, Italy was a success! Bryan and I purchased Eurail tickets http://www.eurailtickets.com/. We chose to travel 3 countries, 7 days of travel within two months. We chose Germany, Switzerland and Italy. In hindsight, we should have chosen Austria instead of Switzerland due to the fact that you can only travel through countries you have purchased (even if you don’t stop in that country) or else you get penalized. We didn’t realize this until we booked our trip to Italy. Obviously, it’s a straight shot from Munich to Rome right through Austria. So we planned our trip as so: Munich>Stuttgart>Zurich>Milan>Rome. Also, for major trains in Italy, you have to reserve a seat on the train which costs 10 Euro per seat. So from Zurich to Milan it costs 10 Euro each and then from Milan to Rome it costs an additional 10 Euro each. Regional trains are free if you’re using your Eurail pass that day.

Our first train was great. The trains are spacious and comfortable. However, our connecting train from Stuttgart to Zurich was 45 minutes late. Unless we made up time “on the rail,” we were going to miss our connection in Zurich. Not only did we lose time once we got on the train, the company decided it was so late, that we weren’t going to Zurich. Great. So we get off the train at some random stop in Germany and find a train to Zurich. Get to Zurich and have to find another train to Milan, since we missed our original connection. We only have Euros which adds to the drama, but ends up working out to my benefit. We were able to pay in Euro but only receive Franks as change. The only useful thing we can do with Franks is buy food! Zurich train station has great food and goodies! Life is good again.

We finally get to Rome around 11pm, exhausted and ready for bed. We stayed at The Yellow http://www.yellowhostel.com/. I recommend the location of the hostel, 5 minute walk from Termini Station, but the hostel itself wasn’t great. The showers were really awkward and security wasn’t the best. You do, however, receive a free drink at the bar. I don’t know how high the overall standards are for hostels in Rome. If we go back, we’ll stay in an actual hotel. This hostel was bearable though.

To buy public transportation tickets in Rome, you buy them at the newspaper stand at the station (at least at Termini Station/main station). To the best of my knowledge, they are 1 Euro and last for around 90 minutes once validated. The best advice I have is to buy a “Roma Pass” for 25 Euro http://www.romapass.it/. This card will get you free entry into the first two visited museums/sites and reduced ticket prices to all other museums/sites after that, free public transportation for 3 days and a few other perks. We bought ours at the Tobacchi shop across from the Colosseum.

As we were approaching the Colosseum from afar, I was a bit disappointed in its size. Once we got closer, it was massive. To think that this structure was built 2,000 years ago just blows my mind. We arrived just as it opened and pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. I wonder if I was alive back in the Gladiator days, if I would have found people fighting for their lives entertaining or grotesque. Today, it would make me depressed…thankfully, we don’t do it! Under where the floor would have been (they’ve constructed a partial floor to give you a sense of the original floor) is where animals were held and lifted up in elevators then were released into the arena. The whole time I envisioned the movie “Gladiator.” We would love to be able to explore the subterranean area as well as the secret underground tunnels out of the arena. We didn’t do a tour for the Colosseum and I’m not sure if it’s necessary. They have audio guides that may be beneficial if you need some insight, but we were fine without it.

I didn’t expect to find the Roman Forum as interesting as I did. I guess because I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I had kind of slacked on the brush up reading for this part of our exploration (moving vehicles make me fall asleep…but at least I was well-rested for our trip.) The Forum was the political, religious and commercial center of Rome 2000 years ago. I highly recommend spending some time here. We had a guide book to reference for all of the sights and I would assume an audio guide would be worth the money. There are about 14 sights to see.

The Pantheon was another neat sight. The dome is 140 feet high and wide and was Europe’s biggest church until the Renaissance. Raphael and Italy’s first two kings chose to be buried here. The building is sunken below current street level from 2000 years ago. It’s also a great location to get some gelato! There are some other churches in the area that we didn’t get to.

Side note about pictures with “characters”: We had read and were fully aware about not taking pictures with the men dressed as Gladiators outside of the Colosseum. We saw them at many other main attractions as well, including the Pantheon. I’m waiting just outside the doors of the Pantheon while Bryan is getting a few more pictures in another location. I notice a couple taking pictures with a Gladiator and think to myself “I wonder how this works…getting paid for taking a picture on someone’s own camera. How do you actually collect?” Well, intimidation is the answer. There aren’t any signs saying you must pay for the pictures taken. The Gladiators just seem like they’re a part of the attraction or supposed to be there. This young British couple, as I find out through their accent, was not aware they had to pay to take a picture with the Gladiators. I watch this all unfold and am pretty entertained. Unfortunately for Bryan, he’s off taking pictures of something and misses this confrontation. The English girl walks away as soon as money is mentioned and the men start to go at it (verbally). Cheers to the English guy…he’s not taking it. He claims that the picture belongs to him, he’s not erasing it and that he’s not giving the Gladiator money. The Gladiator asks the English man if he thinks he’s stupid. I’m thinking to myself, “Well, you are dressed as a Gladiator taking pictures instead of at a real job. But then again, you’re getting paid to smile into a camera.” So I was undecided on my answer. Long story short, they go back and forth and the English man wins by walking away with his camera not crushed on the floor, the picture still saved and the money in his pocket. Bryan walks out at this exact moment and we walk into the square. That same Gladiator, with a quick smile on his face, tries to get us to fall victim to his game. He tries to put a tiara on my head and get me to take a picture. (Am I supposed to pretend to be a princess? Do I look like I’m 8?) I’m not fooled by his game and say no while ducking away from him. He says, and I’m quoting, “What…you have a jealous husband?” Really? I’ve now decided that my answer to his earlier question is-yes, I think you’re an idiot.

The Villa Borghese Gardens was a nice, relaxing walk to take a break from sightseeing. It’s perfect for picnics or a nap in the sun (guilty). It leads up the Borghese Gallery which is a mansion turned into a museum. It includes Bernini’s David, Apollo and Daphne, works by Raphael and other famous artists. It’s mandatory to make reservations to get in (book online http://www.ticketeria.it/ ). You are given two hours to view the museum and photos are not allowed. You can safely check your camera and bag upon entering. The museum provides blurbs about the art in each room, so we didn’t think an audio guide was necessary.

When taking the public buses, be aware that the routes are not continuous. Meaning, if it starts in one place and ends at another…it ends. It doesn’t circle back around and get you to the starting point. We made this mistake and it cost us an hour of time. Again, we’re virgins to public transportation and are learning. We were in a hurry and jumped on the bus as it arrived and figured it would take us to our destination. It didn’t and we had to start the entire trip over from the last stop back to the first.

We love Rick Steve’s guidebooks and I recommend referring to a travel book before traveling. He provides a list of self-guided walks and we created our own evening stroll with some of his help. We began at Piazza del Popolo and walked along Via del Corso (great for shopping) to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps provide a great view looking toward the Tiber. From there we went to Trevi Fountain which was beautiful at night. It dates back to the 1700’s using ancient aqueducts to power water through 24 spouts on the fountain. We headed down to the Capitoline Hill area and had dinner in Piazza Venezia (Leslie, this is when we tried stuffed zucchini flowers). The Victor Emmanuel Monument at night is a pretty sight and then venture down to the Colosseum for a night-time view. The Colosseo Station is right across the street for an easy way home. It seems like Line A of the metro closes around 9pm-ish so make sure before you plan your route home at night. Line B was open around 10-11pm when we needed to get home.

We started out another morning bright and early at the Vatican. We tried to make a reservation for a guided tour but there weren’t any available. To book anything online, tickets included, you will be subject to a 4 Euro booking fee www.vatican.va.  If you chose to buy one on the day of your visit, I suggest getting there early to avoid the long line outside.

Side note: I was very cautious when crossing the streets of Italy. I have never seen so many mopeds before and people riding them are not hesitant to squeeze in where they see fit. This includes and is not limited to…curbs, pedestrian sidewalks, around moving buses, in between moving autos, in between stopped autos…they seem fearless. As we approached the Vatican walls, I got a little over excited and let my guard down for the first time. Lesson learned: Don’t! By the grace of God, I did not get hit, but this moped came out of nowhere while I ran across the street and somehow managed to stop in time 2 inches from me. I thought Bryan was going to have a heart attack and he was not happy with me for being so careless. It’s not only the moped drivers that are crazy, I would never in a million years want to have to drive in Rome. It seemed like pure chaos.

The Vatican museum is unbelievable. First, I did not know it housed that much art. Second, I didn’t know there were so many rooms that housed all of this art and that the walls and ceilings were art themselves. It exceeded my expectations by far. The Sistine Chapel was much larger than I anticipated. Every inch of the walls and ceilings are painted. Naïve me only thought the ceiling was going to be the main attraction. I think our favorite part was the Last Judgment behind the altar. Beware that there are security guards ensuring you don’t take photos-with or without flash. However, you may take pictures everywhere else in the museum. After the Sistine Chapel, the tour is almost complete but don’t forget to visit the Pinacoteca. This houses a small collection of paintings including Raphael’s Transfiguration, Caravaggio’s Deposition and Leonardo’s St. Jerome. We opted for audio guides for the Vatican Museum since the personal tours were booked. It worked out better…when we passed some of the tour guides, they seemed to ramble on about uninteresting things. Though very informative, we liked being able to chose which exhibits we spent time learning about.

St. Peter’s Square is just as pretty as I had imagined it. It was a perfect spot to sit on the steps to enjoy the sun and have a picnic. St. Peter’s Basilica is huge. You can see Michelangelo’s Pieta behind bulletproof glass when you enter on the right hand side. The Holy Door on the right, which you’ll notice won’t be open, will be opened the next Jubilee Year in 2025. The statues and artwork are beautiful. There is a glass case housing the body of Pope John XXIII…kind of weird but interesting. You can also kiss St. Peter’s toe, which I don’t find very hygienic. There’s a lot to see and apparently they offer free 90 minute tours, but I believe they’re early in the morning and later in the evening. They have audio guides but not necessary if you know the highlights and what to see. We also went down to the Crypt underneath St. Peter’s which contains tombs of popes and memorial chapels (this is free). There were a lot people gathered at Pope John Paul II’s sight. There were also a lot of flowers.

Rome had so much to see but we did as much possible. We'll definitely be back.