Monday, June 20, 2011

Rome

15 16 & 17 June
WARNING: Yes, this is long. It’s almost 1000 words. If you want, you can just look at the pictures, it’s ok.
Arrivaderci Italia, Hola Espana! Yes this is yet another traveling post to be put up when I finally get internet again. Come on people, you know the drill by now. I can eaily sum up Rome in one word; hot. I have the sunburn to prove it (Kendra you are going to be proud, I will be tan when I get home). Of course there are many other facets to Rome other than the weather, but the weather was a predominant factor in what we did, where we went, and how we got there.
We arrived in Rome pretty early on the 15th so we spend that day wandering around. Our hotel was two blocks from the train station, so after we figured out the metro, we rode it everywhere. Unfortunately, we didn't even think about this the first day, so we went marching off down the hill to the Colosseum. It was only a ten minute walk, but it was so hot out we were all exhausted by the time we got there. After a quick jaunt around the outside we walked down the street a bit and found that the huge park (for lack of a better word) full of remains could also only be accessed by ticket. Since tickets for that were also good for you to go into the Colosseum, we bought tickets and strolled our way back to the Colosseum since it was smaller and there was going to be more shade.

After wandering through the tour groups Colosseum, we hopped on the metro stop (conveniently located across the street) and went back to our hotel. Once it cooled down, we took the metro up to the Spanish Steps. We ate dinner in that area and walked down to the Trevi Fountain. Even at 22h, it was still completely packed. Michelle, dad and I did the typical “make a wish, throw a coin in the fountain.”

The next day we got up early in the morning and visited the park across from the Colosseum full of ruins, like Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. It’s referred to as “Ancient Rome.” It’s so neat to see all of those ruins and how they were built, and the excavations that are still going on today. The only problem was that it was hot. We had our Vatican tour that afternoon, so we were all covered up, which made it almost too hot to handle, we were constantly seeking out shade.
That afternoon, we took a tour of the Vatican Museums. Our tour guide was awesome, at least at the times when I was paying attention. I learned a ton about some of the works in the museum, including a bunch of details about Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel. I like to wander through museums at my own pace, so I didn’t always stay with the group. The Sistine Chapel was just breathtaking, except it was filled with people. I felt that many of the people there did not respect the fact that it is a sanctuary, and that they needed to be quiet and to not take pictures. For a chapel, there was a constant buzz of noise. Afterwards, we walked into St. Peter’s Basilica. Wow. Just....wow. There was mass being said in the back of the basilica, and we were privileged enough, we got to walk back and receive the Eucharist.

*My opinion on the Vatican; skip this paragraph if you might be offended in any way. You have been warned* The Vatican was my favorite place in Rome. Hands down. In the basilica, even though there was a fair amount of people in there, you can still feel that it’s a holy place. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful, like I said before. The problem is, that with the re-structuring of the Vatican Museum a few years back, in order to see the Sistine Chapel, you have to pay to enter, then walk through the entire museum. I think that this is wrong, that if myself, as a practicing Catholic, travel to the Vatican, then I should not have to pay to see someplace that is so deeply rooted in my faith. #endrant

Friday was exciting. In the morning, we had our segway tour of Rome. I had more fun riding the thing than paying attention on the tour (in case you haven’t noticed, tours aren’t exactly my cup of tea). Segways are ton of fun. If you get the change to ride one, you will have a blast. Sadly, ours had speed limits on them, so when I would get a little too excited (which happened a lot), mine would start tipping backwards, forcing me to slow down. Our tour guide, Amanda, was awesome, and we got to see some really neat places in Rome that we would have otherwise not gone to. It made going up and down hills super easy and we weren’t tired when it was over at noon. After a quick lunch, we walked over to the Pantheon and checked it out.




Overall, Rome was hot, and just packed with tourists. I know we hit pretty much all the major tourist attractions of the city, but it was just insane. I’m glad to get out of Italy and away from all the crazy tourists for a while.              

No comments:

Post a Comment