Rome smells delicious

Seriously, it does. Everywhere you go all you can smell is pizza and pastas. Not to mention every other door you walk by has a big gelato sign in it. I have no idea how anyone is able to do anything with the constant appetizing aroma. Anyway, besides being teased all day by the tasty smells, David and I did a lot during our short stay in the Eternal City.

We arrived late Thursday night and went straight to our hostel by the Ciampino airport, which was not as close as the website said, and when the cab driver dropped us off it was a little strange because it looked like no one was in the area at all. But when we saw it in the daytime it was much nicer. Especially since they put us in a six-bedroom dorm and no one else was in it and we still only had to pay for two beds (most hostels make you pay for the entire room).

Friday morning we woke up and hopped on the train to the city. Because David had been hiking/camping in the Alps before we left we didn’t have time to book a hostel before we left and thought it wouldn’t matter, however it did. We spent our first hour or so in Rome walking from hostel to hostel until we found one. After that we made sure to book hostels immediately in the rest of the cities we are going to be visiting just in case. In the end we stayed at M&J Hostel by Termini Station. Once we were all settled we wandered around to get a feel of the area before we went to the Spanish Steps for a free tour.

Unlike the free tours we have been on in Berlin, Prague, and Paris, this one did not cover the entire city. Oddly enough it only covered the areas closest to the Spanish Steps (such as the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain), even not the Colosseum. It was also much shorter than the other tours that typically ran two and a half to three hours; this one was only about an hour and a half. It was interesting, especially because the tour guide was actually from Rome, but it was disappointing that it was so limited. After the tour we walked around the city on our own. We went to the Colosseum at night to see it all lit up and then back to the Trevi Fountain area to see what that was like. The Trevi Fountain is probably the most tourist-populated area. All day and night you can find at least one hundred tourists there, and its worth it, it is a beautiful fountain. Random fun fact about Rome, you can drink from all the fountains in the city! The water that runs through every fountain is the same exact water that runs through the aqueducts and peoples’ homes.

On Saturday we woke up early and headed back to the Pantheon to try and go inside (there was a service going on during our tour), but again there was a service so we walked over to the Colosseum. We walked through Areo di Tito on our way over; where the Forum and Ruins are. We didn’t realize that they are included in the Colosseum entry fee so we didn’t expect to go in them, but after our tour of the Colosseum we walked through the Forum and Palatino. It is crazy how big everything was and how much detail went into all the architecture. It took us about three hours to walk through everything. Then we headed to the Circo Massimo, where the gladiators fought, by were greatly disappointed with that area. We both thought it was going to be more like the Colosseum and we would be able to read about it and see the architecture, but it is just a giant field really. They still do hold events such as concerts and special sporting events at both the Colosseum and Circo Massimo though. That is why Rome is called the Eternal City, because they always reuse as many buildings as they can, usually only renovating them slightly rather than building all new ones (so Rome is also great at recycling). Then we attempted to find the aqueducts in the suburban areas surrounding Rome, but unfortunately were on a wild goose hunt and couldn’t find them or anyone who could give us directions to them. So we’ll have to stop at one while we are traveling through Pisa, Florence, or Venice.

Today (Sunday) was our last day in Rome. We woke up early (before 7am) to get ready to go to the Vatican. On the last Sunday of every month entrance to all the museums there are free, and every Sunday the Pope sits in during mass. One thing though, if you are planning on going to the Vatican make sure to wear something that covers both your knees and shoulders. Initially I went wearing a dress that had spaghetti straps and had to run back to the hostel to change. On my way back to meet David at the Vatican a woman passed out on the train, in my car, the stop before the Vatican. It was really scary, the train was really crowded because everyone was on their way to the Vatican and it was hot, and suddenly this woman probably in her thirties slumped over and then fell onto the ground, her face turned deep purple as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Then she was whiter than white (whiter than me even) and she went limp. Everyone freaked out and I pulled the emergency alarm. I was about to jump in try CPR, even though I was really too afraid to, and she sat up and said, “How long was I out for?” (or something along those lines) which makes me think its happened before or it was some type of seizure.

Anyway, after all that craziness I found David and we went to watch the mass and take pictures of the Pope. It was really cool. I thought of Tony the whole time, I got some pretty good pictures of the Pope for him. Then after the mass we went and waiting in line for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. The line wasn’t as bad as we expected, about an hour. But the thing is they trick you, the entire time all the signs say Sistine Chapel and then you have to walk through the entire museum and up and down all these stairs until you get to the chapel. And when you get there it is so crowded that you can barely move. Technically you are supposed to be silent and aren’t supposed to take pictures, but no one was listening obviously.

By the time we finished all of that we had to run back to the hostel and quickly eat our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (the jelly from my birthday). Then we had to rush to catch our train to Pisa at 2pm. We got to Pisa around 6:30pm and went straight for the Leaning Tower, which much like the Mona Lisa was smaller than we expected. But we had some fun with it (aka posed in front of it) then ate some dinner and headed back to the train station for Florence.

And that’s where we are for tonight and tomorrow. Then it’s off to Venice. Oh and I am trying to upload pictures, but I’m running out of space here so I may have to put them on another site. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it all out.

Love and miss you!
Home: 18 days

Happy Birthday Tony and Jane!

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