Easter Break Part 5: Rome

(4/2) My train arrived in Rome around 2pm and my first order of business was to find an Internet cafe. I grabbed my stuff, picked a direction, and started walking. Thankfully I found one only a block or 2 away from the station. I hopped on a computer and went in search of directions to my hostel. To my surprise it was only a few blocks away from where I was sitting so I paid for my time and hit the street. I quickly arrived at my hostel and checked in. After I dropped my stuff off I called up Dennis, who was with Stacey and Katie on the complete opposite side of the city. We made plans to meet up a while later so I went and did some grocery shopping to waste time. I brought my groceries back and put them away then headed out towards Piazza della Repubblica. On my walk I ran into Diego who had just arrived. He and I were staying at the same hostel so I gave him directions to our place and I continued on to the Piazza to meet up with the rest of the group and wait for Diego to get settled in.

There is a beautiful fountain in the center of Piazza della Repubblica and the sun was shining so I laid down and enjoyed the weather while I waited for everyone else to arrive. When everyone showed up we headed out to see the Trevi Fountains. The fountains were really impressive and the area was teeming with people. We grabbed a beer from a nearby shop and sat around the fountain enjoying a little siesta. The next stop on our walk was the Spanish Steps. The view from atop the steps was an great panorama of the city. As the sun was setting we walked through the city until we decided to stop for dinner. I had told the group about appertivo and so our target was any bar that was hosting appertivo for the evening. We found a nice one near the Tiber River. The food was pretty good and everyone was happy to sit down and enjoy some wine and snacks.

After dinner we headed to Campo dei Friori, which was one of the larger squares in the city. The square was alive with street performers and people enjoying drinks. We went into a bar at one of the corners of the square and to our pleasant surprise the bar had a beer pong table set up. Being the beer pong fan I am I was so excited to find this place. We played 2 games, with the teams of Dennis and I versus Katie and Stacey. As you can guess, Dennis and I schooled the ladies. The drinks were a bit expensive in this place so after our 2 games we headed out. We split up for the night to go back to our hostels, cause Diego and I were at one hostel and the other 3 were at a different one far away.


(4/3) Since there is so much to see in Rome we decided to divide up our 2 days. Today was designated as Ancient City day. Diego and I grabbed our free croissant and latte and then headed out to meet up with the rest of the group at the Colosseum. The people who run the hostel where I stayed let us in on a little tip for seeing the Ancient City. Their tip was to go to Palatine Hill first and buy a ticket for all 3 areas. Then go to the Forum and then the Colosseum last cause with the ticket already purchased you can skip the massive line. With this tip in mind our first stop was Palatine Hill. The hill is covered in ruins and vegetation. It was really nice walking through the gardens on the top. From Palatine Hill we walked down a path directly into the Forum. The Forum was huge, with tons of ruins all around. It really made me wish I could see that place at the height of the Roman empire. After the Forum it was on to the Colosseum. The Colosseum is truly massive and awe-inspiring. When we passed through the exit gate we found ourselves flanked by carts selling various types of food, so we deemed it lunch time. I bought a big slice of pizza and a bottle of water and we set up shop on a grassy hill nearby. The weather was absolutely perfect, which made it hard to not just sit and bask in the sun.

After lunch we went to Piazza Venezia which was just next to the Ancient City. In Piazza Venezia is the gigantic monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle II. We walked up to the top of the monument for some bird's eye views of the surrounding city. Upon a hill near the monument is a place called Compidolio. It is a small square with some cool buildings on 3 sides and a statue of Caesar in the middle. We hung out at the top of the steps for a little break from walking. When we were ready to keep going we headed for the Tiber River. There is a small island in the river called Isola Tiberina, so we decided to go explore it. There are a few buildings on the island, including a gelateria, so of course I had to stop and get a scoop. There wasn't much to see on the island really, but it was a leisurely stroll. After the island we worked our way along the south side of the river. We found a path leading up to a large hill near the river so we walked up. At the top we found a great park with a perfect panoramic view of the city. Further down the road from there was a famous door with a keyhole. The keyhole has a perfect line of sight to St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. After looking through the keyhole we walked down the hill and back to our respective hostels. Back at the hostel I took a short nap, ate a snack, and got cleaned up.

Around 8pm Diego and I met up with the others at the base of the Spanish Steps. We had picked up a flyer the day before while we were at the Trevi Fountains. The flyer was advertising an organized bar crawl for 20 euros, which included several bars and loads of free drinks so we were sold. We hung around for a few minutes while the rest of the bar crawlers showed up. With everyone in attendance we headed to the first bar of the night. At the first bar we got unlimited beers for the first hour, so we were all downing our drinks as fast as we could and then going up for more. I ended up getting 5 down before time ran out. After that bar we went to 2 more where we got a free shot at each. Then it was on to the club to finish out the night. The club wasn't that great, but we had a good time regardless. Dennis, Katie, and Stacey each made some "friends" on the crawl and Diego and I had some good laughs about it. After the club it was time to find our way back to our hostel, which ended up being a 45 minute walk.


(4/4) The morning wasn't very friendly, as I was nursing a nice hangover and we had to get up early to meet up with the rest of the group in Vatican City. Joining our group today was a Swiss guy named Roland, whom we had met on the bar crawl the night before. The first item of the day was St. Peters Basilica. It was definitely the most impressive church I've ever seen. I guess that is to be expected though, since it is the seat of Catholicism. We spent quite a while walking around looking in the various apses and such. We decided not to pay the money to go up to the top and we also didn't get to see the catacombs underneath. After the museum we went to the Vatican museum. Like the basilica, the museum was amazing. The amount of artwork that that museum houses is staggering. I must say though, the Sistine Chapel wasn't as impressive as I was expecting it to be. All in all though I think it is my 2nd favorite musuem, with only the Louvre being better in my opinion. After the museum we walked to Castello St. Angelo, which is yet another impressive old structure. We didn't go inside, merely admired from the park which surrounds it. After the Castello it was lunch time.

With lunch taken care of we headed to the Pantheon. Sadly there was a mass going on when we got there so we couldn't go in, but at least we got to see it from the outside. It had begun to sprinkle so we split up and headed back to our hostels to get cleaned up for dinner. We met up again a few hours late at the Trevi Fountains. Even at night that place was loaded with people just hanging out. We found a restaurant nearby which was called "Thats Amore". Dinner was really good and we enjoyed a toast to our last meal together as only Diego and I would be continuing on together. After dinner we went to Campo dei Friori and sat around drinking the free bottles of wine that our hostel had given us for staying there. The weather was perfect and we all had a great time drinking and people watching.


(4/5) After 3 great days in Rome it was time to say goodbye. Next stop Naples!!


Rome Photos 1

Rome Photos 2

Rome Photos 3