When in Rome…

ROME ROME ROME!!! May 27-May 30
After my first weekend in Florence I was feeling pretty confident that I had the Italian travel system down…WRONG! Rome is much faster, crazier, more confusing, more crowded, and much different than Florence. We stayed in a hostel right be the train station which was a great location.

The first night we decided to explore the town which was a great idea but I definitely should not have worn sandals. Rome is a HUGE city and even though we took the subway regularly, there is A LOT of walking! Every corner you turn there is a different massive building even more beautiful and historic than the one before. We saw the Trevi fountain, Emmanuel building, and Spanish Steps which are lit up and not quite as crowded at night.

The next day we explored the Vatican museum and saw the Sistine Chapel. I do not know much about art, but I was completely in awe of Michael Angelo’s masterpiece. I think that craziest part about the Chapel, and most of the other sights in Rome, is the time and detail that went into it. Every room in the Vatican is covered in color pictures and statues. After the Vatican we tried to climb up St. Paul’s Cathedral but it started to rain (the only time it has rained in Italy) so we ended up inside the cathedral. Everything is covered in gold with massive statues and columns. Pictures do not do any of the sites justice. Then we walked up to the castle where we grabbed a bite to eat. In Florence the snack shops are cheap…not in ROME! Some people spent 17 euros on a simple pasta meal. That night we had dinner at Luzzi’s, one of the restaurants recommended by Rick Steves in his travel Italy book. It was delicious, cheap, and full of locals. I would definitely recommend it! That night we went on a pub crawl organized by a company in Rome who takes college age travelers to local pubs at a discounted price. Pub crawls are huge in Rome and it was a great way to meet interesting people from all over the world.

The next day we went to the ruins and my favorite…the Colosseum!!! We took a tour which was AWESOME! We saw the underground gladiator cages and learned about the 10 year construction of the building in addition to the history of Roman gladiators. I have to admit…Kinnick Stadium at Iowa does not quite measure up the ancient Colosseum…but it does hold 20,000 more people The tour was very interesting and reasonably priced. I also really enjoyed the ruins which was where Augustus and Mussolini lived. In the ruins, there is also a great view of the city and delicious gelato stands!

Overall, Rome was a great city to visit and I am really glad I saw everything. However, it was a little too crowded and dirty for me. The sights are unbelievable but as a whole, the city is overwhelming. We were constantly on the look out for gypsies. We saw one man carrying a fake baby and apparently, the gypsies throw the doll in the air and wait for tourists to drop everything an save the ‘baby’ and then the gypsies run off with that person’s purse or bag. After a weekend of sightseeing in Rome, I am ready for a weekend at the Cinque Terre seaside next weekend-after a week of class of course

Ciao for now!