Hi everyone!
Rome is absolutely fantastic, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
We got to Rome on Friday evening around 8. Our flight was delayed a little bit, and before we boarded the gate was changed twice, so we had to keep moving around the airport, but once we got on the plane, it was all good. From the airport in Rome, we took a mini-bus to Termini, which is the main train/metro station in Rome. It is also a three-minute walk from our hostel, so it was very convenient for us. We checked in to our hostel successfully and dropped off our stuff. I had heard that we shouldn’t expect anything good from hostels and hotels in Rome, but ours is actually very nice for a hostel. We were supposed to be in an 8-bed dorm, but our room is only a 6-bed, which is nice—cuts down on the snoring roommates. The room is pretty large, with two tables, 6 chairs, 6 lockers, and a window/balcony. The bathroom is nice as well—four showers, toilets, sinks, and even hairdryers! It’s the first hostel that I’ve been to that has free hairdryers in the bathroom. :)
comfy (not) hostel beds
We were hungry when we got in on Friday night, so after we dropped off our bags, we got a recommendation for dinner. We ended up at a restaurant about 5 minutes away from the hostel, and we had pizza margarita and the house wine. It was delicious and filling—just what we needed after a travel day.
On Saturday, we got up around 9 and went to breakfast. Our hostel has free breakfast consisting of cornflakes, bread, milk, juice, and coffee. Not much selection, but it’s free, so we’re not picky. After breakfast, we got ready for a day of exploring. On our way to the Colosseum, we stopped in a few churches that were pretty cool. It seems as if every block in Rome has a church, which gets a little overwhelming for me. At this point in my European adventures, most churches and cathedrals are the same to me. But that’s okay. Finally, we got to Palatine Hills and the Roman Forum, where we got in line to buy tickets for those two things, as well as the Colosseum. Luckily for us, the past week (until the 17th) was “culture week,” so it was all free! Yay for saving money—money that would later be spent on gelato!! :) Anyway, once we got our tickets (we still needed tickets, even though it was free), we went to the Colosseum. The outside is cool, and looks just like you would picture it from all the movies, drawings, and pictures you’ve seen. The inside is cool too, but there were a lot of people in there, which always makes things less enjoyable for me. We had a good view of the Arc of Constantine from the Colosseum though, so that was great. We walked around on both levels for about half an hour and then made our way over to the Roman Forum.
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
First view of the Colosseum
Roman Forum
in front of the Colosseum!
inside
At Palatine Hills and the Roman Forum, we just walked around and took pictures of everything. It’s all ruins, so it takes a lot of imagination to think about what it would have looked like 2,000 years ago, but it was still cool. I loved the first part of Palatine Hills because it was a great, green, grassy area with beautiful views—very peaceful and pleasant. The rest of the area was more crowded and rocky—cool but not as serene.
awesome tree in Palatine Hill
perfect day!
Circus Maximus and the stadium
After the Roman Forum, we saw the Trajan column, and then got lunch to go and sat by the Victor Emmanuel II Monument (which is called “the wedding cake” because it’s a huge white building) to eat. From there, we walked to Trevi Fountain, which was awesome. I didn’t really know what to expect from the fountain (I just knew that it was famous). It is a huge fountain built on the side of a building. There were tons of people surrounding the fountain, taking pictures, and throwing coins in. We eventually managed to get a seat near the fountain, and we rested for a while. When it got too crowded for comfort, we left to find some gelato. I had a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of mixed berry. It was delicious! My first combination was a success. :)
Fontana di Trevi
Gelato!
After that, we headed back to the hostel. We were still pretty full from our late lunch and the gelato, so we just stopped in a supermarket to pick up some fruit and wine that we ate for a snack before bed. When we got back to the hostel, we watched a movie and ate our food—it’s nice to be able to take things slowly on this trip instead of trying to cram everything in two or three days.
Sunday was Palm Sunday, so we got up early (6:45) to get ready and go to the Vatican for mass at 9:30. We took the metro to the Vatican and got there around 8. Mass was outside in St. Peter’s Square, and there were already a ton of people lined up to go into the square. We didn’t have reserved tickets, which allowed you to sit in chairs instead of stand for mass, so I really wasn’t looking forward to the next 4+ hours of my life. On the bright side, my friend Katie found us in the crowd, and we got to chat for a few minutes (she was at mass with people from Loyola University, where she is goes and is studying abroad). But walking into the square was amazing. Just looking around and seeing the basilica and everything set up for mass was really cool. After taking the regular touristy pictures, we picked out a great spot by the wooden barricades and set up shop. However, as we were standing there, jealously watching people with pink “reserved” tickets go in, the guard let some people without tickets go in saying “no problem.” So, we got to go in and have seats! It was wonderful—nice surprise for the long mass. We also ended up sitting by a brother named Joe who is from the quad cities (western Illinois) and a girl who goes to Marquette and is studying at John Cabot University in Rome. Joe told us that we had the best seats in the house because we saw the Holy Father as he processed to the obelisk in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. A long procession ended when Pope Benedict XVI came down the aisle in his pope-mobile. It’s a Mercedes, in case you were wondering. Pretty legit. Anyway, mass was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Joe sat right behind us and offered to translate everything for us. The different parts of mass were said in several different languages (the first reading was in English, so I didn’t need help with that!) but the whole gospel was in Italian. It was great to have Joe translating because it helped me to pay attention and not get lost in my thoughts. Being in the square with so many people and celebrating mass was a really cool experience for me, and I will never forget it. Even though it was a 3-hour long mass, it didn’t feel that long, surprisingly.
St. Peter's Basilica
Pope Benedict XVI in his car :)
After mass, we found a restaurant and had lunch. Delicious pasta for lunch was just what I needed. Then we tried to go to the Vatican museum, but it was closed, so we found some gelato instead. After that, we went back to the hostel and rested for a few hours. For dinner, we stopped at the grocery store, picked up some bread, meat, and cheese, and walked to the Colosseum for a picnic. Pretty classy, huh?
Picnic in front of the Colosseum!
On Monday, we explored the western section of Rome, including the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the river, and Il Gesú, which is a Jesuit church. Everything was pretty crowded, but it was cool to see famous sites in Rome, even when I didn’t know much about them. Victoria is taking ancient art history this semester, so she taught me a little about the buildings and architecture we saw—thanks buddy! We tried to go in Il Gesú, but it was closed for some reason, but that was okay because we went back on Friday and got in. After exploring all day, we went back to our hostel for free pasta dinner, which was mediocre at best, but again, free so we dealt. We also met two new roommates, guys who are studying in Paris for the semester. After chatting a bit, we all went out and explored the Roman sites at night, which was pretty cool. We walked the exact same route as that morning, which was a bit tiring, but it’s great to see things in daylight and at night!
Pantheon
fountain in Piazza Navona
I love this balcony with the beautiful flowers
River
After a few days of exploring and being ultra-tourists, we were ready for a little break, so on Tuesday we took the train to a town called Anzio, which is an hour away from Rome. We brought some fruit, crackers, and water and lied out on the beach all day long. It was wonderful. There were only a few other people on the beach and the weather was perfect. Relaxing was a good change to the busy go-go-go of exploring a new city.
our private beach haha :)
Mediterranean Sea!
I see Spain! ;)
Wednesday was our Vatican day—we spent the whole day exploring the Vatican’s vast museums. I didn’t know what to expect at the museum exactly, but they had a little of everything—ancient Roman statues, Vatican post stamps, and even an area dedicated to the indigenous people of Australia. It was very interesting to see all of the artwork, statues, and artifacts that have been collected over the years. My favorite part was an exhibit of Fabergé eggs. I always thought those were English, but they actually started in Russia. Very interesting information about them, and they were all so beautiful.
Fabergé eggs
this was my favorite
After the museum, we saw the Sistine Chapel. It was cool to see the iconic paintings by Michelangelo, but the chapel was very small and packed with people, so we didn’t spend too much time in there. Then we went into St. Peter’s Basilica, which was awesome. It was so much bigger than I was expecting. Very impressive, but again, full of people, which detracts from the ambiance. After the basilica, we visited the tombs of the popes. There were a lot of people praying in front of the tomb of JPII. It amazing to see what a huge influence one man can have over so many people.
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
St. Peter's Basilica with sunlight streaming in
Michelangelo's Pieta
When we left the Vatican, we got gelato at a place called Old Bridge, which is apparently one of the most popular gelato places in Rome. It was good, but in my opinion, pretty much all gelato is the same. It just depends on the combination of flavors that you choose.
On Thursday, we went back to Anzio to sit on the beach again. We thought about going to Naples for the day, but it was a lot more expensive and a longer train ride, so we did what we knew and hung out on the beach. There were significantly more people out on Thursday, but it was still fun.
Friday was our last full day in Rome. We met up with Katie since she doesn’t have class on Fridays. First, we met at the Spanish Steps, which is literally just some steps that lead to the Spanish embassy (I think…). Nice for pictures, but way too many people around. Then we walked around Villa Borghese, which is a giant park, with an art gallery that we skipped. Finally, we made it back to Il Gesú, the Jesuit church, and it was open, so we went in and enjoyed it for a bit. Afterwards, we headed to the Trevi Fountain again, and Victoria and I threw American pennies in. Just our little contribution to the money fountain. Then we had dinner at Katie’s favorite restaurant L’Archetto. Delicious pasta and really good conversation—so nice to be with friends.
Il Gesú
Inside Il Gesú
After dinner, we met up with a group of people from Loyola University and went to the Colosseum for Stations of the Cross with the pope. We got there early to get a good spot, but once it started, it was amazing. Everyone had candles that we lit and held as the stations were read. Everything was in Italian, but I felt that I understood a lot of it. Definitely can’t translate it, but I got the gist. It was another fantastic experience that I will never forget.
Katie, Victoria, and me at the Colosseum for the Stations of the Cross
Saturday was our last day in Rome, and we had a late flight. So, we walked around Rome in some areas that we hadn’t seen before. We stopped at Hard Rock Café so I could get a shirt, and then we wandered around. We found a few bookstores that we explored, which was fun. I really miss spending time in bookstores—can’t wait to do that when I get home! We went back to L’Archetto for lunch because we wanted to have something substantial before our late flight. Then we took a bus to the airport and went back to Madrid.
After a week in Rome, it was really nice to get back to Madrid. There’s something to be said for the comfort of a familiar city. Such a radical change from how I felt when I first arrived in Madrid and was scared out of my mind. I wonder how I will feel when I get home in two weeks… I have heard about reverse culture shock, and I do think I will experience that to some degree, but probably not too much. I guess we’ll see in 2 weeks!
Unfortunately, one of my souvenirs from Rome was a bad cough that started on Saturday. I felt pretty awful when I got to the apartment, so Maria made me some tea and then I went to bed. I had to get up a little early though to get ready for Easter Sunday mass. Victoria found an English-speaking parish here in Madrid, so a group of us met for mass. It was so nice to have a familiar mass where I understood everything. After mass, we all went out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. It was a way different Easter than I’m used to, but it was still good.
The rest of Sunday, I rested and tried to catch up on some of my work. On Monday, I went to my classes but felt terrible the whole day, so I went straight to bed when I got home. Yesterday I felt much better, but had to write a Spanish essay, so I didn’t have time to update this blog. So I’m finally doing it now. I’m not feeling great again today, but I’m hoping in a few days I’ll be back to normal. Say a prayer please! I would definitely appreciate being healthy for finals…
Okay, well that’s it for now. I hope everyone enjoys reading about my Roman adventure. Have a great week!
Much love,
Elizabeth
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