Strolling through ancient Rome

I think it is safe to say that the most iconic site in Rome is the Colosseum.  It has stood the test of time and is a wonder to behold.  For someone who has never been to Rome, I knew my visit would not be complete without seeing it, as well as the Roman Forum and Palatino Hill.

Thanks to the advice of friends, guidebooks, and Internet forums, we decided to start our visit to these ancient Roman ruins in the early afternoon rather than first thing in the morning.  It wasn't as hot, and there weren't nearly as many tourists.

The ticket for the Colosseum is also good for the Forum and the ruins on Palatino Hill.  You have 48 hours to use it, which is nice because there is a lot to see and you don't have to rush.  We were told to buy our tickets at the entrance to Palatino Hill, which was one of the best tips we got since there was no one waiting to get in when we showed up, and we were able to bypass the massive line at the Colosseum.  Win-win!

Even though we had two days to see everything, we decided to do it all in one afternoon which made for a ton of walking.  We walked 40 minutes to get there, around the sites for another four hours, then to Trastevere for drinks, and then back home.  Mike's pedometer said we walked about seven miles, but it wasn't working the entire time so we think it was closer to ten.  We earned our carbs for dinner that night.

Since there were three different sites that we saw, I'm going to break this down into three different sections.

Palatino Hill

Palatino Hill is where Romulus and Remus were found by their wolf mother, and where Romulus supposedly founded the city of Rome in 753 BC.  The majority of the ruins on the hill are from Emperor Domitian's huge complex, which was built in the 1st century AD.

The ruins were expansive and beautiful.  It would be the perfect place for a picnic since there is a ton of shade and lots of places to sit.  We enjoyed wandering around, drinking water out of the many fountains, and looking at the different views of the city as well as the Forum.

The Forum

This site was my favorite.  The Forum was the heart of ancient Rome, and was so cool to walk around.  We downloaded Rick Steve's audio tour and listened to that on our phones as we went from place to place.  It was free and well done.  I highly suggest it.

We saw Julius Caesar's temple, where the vestal virgins lived, Titus's arch, and so much more.  Unfortunately, some of it was closed off but we managed to enjoy roaming (horrible pun) around anyway.

Perhaps the best part about the Forum was stumbling upon an elevated grassy area where there was almost no one.  It provided the greatest view of the Colosseum, and we managed to get some of the best pictures without a ton of tourists in them!

The Colosseum

We saved Rome's most famous site for last.  As I said above, we bypassed the line for buying tickets and were able to go directly in to the site.  We downloaded another Rick Steve's guide for here, but we barely used it because the way the site was set up was different than how his guide was.  Plus, we were getting tired by this point.  Since I have watched so many documentaries on the Colosseum, I knew a lot about what we were looking at.  I can't tell if that makes me a nerd or if that's a humblebrag.  Either way, if you're looking for a good documentary to watch about the Colosseum, check out the one NOVA did.  The elevator they constructed for this episode is still there.

The lighting was perfect for taking pictures inside and out.  It was also starting to cool down, so you didn't feel like you were roasting while climbing the steep steps between levels.  We probably spent only 40 minutes there, but it was enough time for us to grasp the magnatude of the site, as well as imgaine what it must have been like when it was full for games.

It was a long day for seeing the ancient Roman sites.  I came back to our apartment and slept for close to 13 hours.  No kidding.  But it made for a fantastic time and I wouldn't have done it any other way.

A day in the world's smallest country

Something I can now say about myself is that I have been to both the largest and smallest countries in the world (Russia and the Vatican, respectively).

For a country so small, St. Peter's in the Vatican seems to be, by far, the largest church I have ever seen. I'm not sure if that is factually true, but it sure strikes me that way.  Our day began by walking through the Basilica and let me tell you, that was quite an experience.  It was absolutely massive.  The sculptures, the paintings, the alters - they were all huge.  I've seen my fair share of cathedrals, but I feel as if they all are dwarfed in comparission.  Its sheer size is something I just don't think I've ever seen before.  It was awesome, in the truest sense of the word.

Our next stop was to tour the necropolis under the Basilica. Only 250 people are allowed in daily and tickets are snatched up quickly, so we booked our spots back in March. 

On our tour, we learned that the Basilica is built on top of two layers. The bottom layer is full of elaborate ancient Roman family crypts, as well as St. Peter's tomb.  While we could only see a corner of the tomb as it is not open to the public, we did see what many believe to be his bones, which were packaged up in little boxes.   The second layer is the original St. Peter's, which began to crumble so they built the one you see today in the 1500s.

We decided to wrap up our Vatican filled day by touring the museum. Our main goal was to get into the Sistine Chapel, but seeing some of the other art along the way was nice too. I read that there is so much art in the collection there that it would be incredibly difficult to see it all.  Towards the end, we blew by a lot of stuff including one of my favorites, Matisse, but by that point I was so sick of the massive crowds and my feet were killing me.  Walking through the different rooms was fun at first, but when you're battling a throng of people just to turn a corner, love for your fellow humans starts to wear thin. 

Fighting the crowds was well worth it though as the Chapel was absolutely breathtaking. It was much bigger and higher than I thought it would be, which made the frescoes even more impressive. Unfortunately, guards kept yelling at people to be quiet and not take pictures every five minutes, so that took away from the experience.

By the time we left, we were hot, hungry, and tired. It was a long day in the world's smallest country, but it was well worth it to see so many historically important and holy sites. 

Rome if you want to

Marty: OK, I remember something about Rome. Rome. Rome. Rome. Romans live there, Audrey Hepburn took a holiday there. It’s the name of a B52s song.

Rory: Different Rome.

Gilmore Girls 

I don't know how I expected to feel about Rome before this trip.  I probably would have said the same things as Marty in the quote above.  But this city is so fantastic in so many ways and is starting to plant roots in my heart, as corny as that sounds.  The people, the food, the architecture, and so much more make it such a great place to be.

On our first full day here, we went on a food tour that I had booked on Vayable.  Our guide, Sophie, was an Italian-American who took us to some amazing spots around Campo de' Fiori.  Being from Rome and a food lover, she knew all the good places.  We learned a lot from her.  One example was that there are three different kinds of pizza you can get in Rome. I had no idea. It was such a fantastic experience, and I am so glad we did it on our first day because know we know what types of food to look out for other than pasta.

As far as ancient Roman sites go, so far we have made it to the Largo di Torre Argentina and the Parthenon.  In all fairness, the majority of the museums are closed here on Monday, and I didn't feel like fighting with the crowds at the Colosseum that day after having dealt with them elsewhere in the morning.  Instead, we spent time gawking at the dome in the Parthenon, seeing all the cats at Large di Torre Argentina, and walking the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj.

We also spent some time on the Piazza Navona and just wondering around.  Rome is a great city to just wonder in.   Between the hidden restaurants and the beautiful architecture, you could spend forever being contented with simply strolling about town.

Today, we spent our time in the world's smallest country, the Vatican.  Initially I wanted to write about it here, but I feel as though it deserves its own post. So I will leave you with some extra pictures.

Slow It Down Now

It's been a long time since I've stepped foot in Italy.  A little over ten years, in fact.  The last time I was there, I was a junior in high school on a bus trip that was carting 50-something students through Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland at breakneck speeds over the course of ten days.  We spent a day in Venice and a morning in Verona.  And that was it for Italy.  The whole thing was a blur.

A scene in Venice

I learned that spring that I don't like bus trips.  A decade later, a lot of the memories from that trip have smushed together.  I am so grateful that I was able to see the sites I did, but part of me now wishes that we had gone to half the places for double the amount of time.  I feel like you don't get as much out of traveling by trying to cover as much ground as possible just to earn bragging rights.  You end up spending 30 seconds at a place where you should spend 30 minutes and, in my opinion, are robbed of the full experience.

On the other hand, trying to deal with that many bored teenagers sounds like a nightmare, so maybe it's a good thing that we didn't do that.

Verona's Colosseum

But I'm not a teenager anymore (thank god) and so much for "shoulda, woulda, coulda."  It has taken me a while to arrive at this slow travel conclusion, and I've decided to take what I have learned from the past and apply it to the future.

This summer, a good friend of mine from college is getting married in Naples.  Mike and I are both super excited to be going and have decided to plan a trip around it.  At first, I was trying to see how many places we could squeeze in during our two weeks in Europe, but then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Why would we want to rush through Italy?  It's not like there is a dearth of things to explore and experience there.   I realize that not everyone has the luxury of slowly meandering through a place when on vacation, but I still firmly believe in quality over quantity and wanted that to be the theme of this trip.

I'm excited that we're going to take it slow this time in Italy.  We're doing a week in Rome and a week in Naples.  Who knows when you will end up back in a place, so you might as well soak it all in and enjoy it to the fullest extent.