When in Rome, Take Over Six Hundred Photographs

     What is one to say after a weekend in Rome? After climbing the dome at St. Peter’s Basilica, coming face to face with the work of Bernini and Raphael, and walking through the place where Rome's democracy was born on our democracy’s date of birth (happy Fourth, guys!), I am somewhat at a loss for words.

Good thing that pictures can say it all. Click to enlarge.

Day One of Three

Our first day marked a visit to the Borghese Gallery and Gardens.

What a great way to start out our travels in Rome.

The Borghese Gardens

     The Borghese Gallery immediately set the standard for what a gallery experience in Rome should be. Reservations are required for entry, and only 350 people are allowed in the museum at a time, with a strict time limit of two hours per visit. The museum was decadent to say the least, and allowed you to come within my-drool-might-land-on-this-Bernini proximity to the pieces. After visiting all of the major museums in Rome, I would recommend this as possibly the best. Incredible. The gallery was also surrounded by large grounds containing hundreds of sculptures, including this one of a horseman that stood about sixty feet tall. 

 

Our soon-to-be 95 euro dinner... uh...             Resting at the Piazza Repubblica   

The Repubblica at Night

     One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about Rome was how the city looked at night. That, coupled with how relatively close and accessible things were, made Rome a wonderful place to walk after dark. We took our trusty Rick Steves' advice and spent our first evening walking down Via del Corso (Rome's "main drag") and taking in the city. 

 

Via del Corso and Our Humble Hotel's Lobby in Rome 

.....okay kidding. However this was a pretty sweet hotel on 

Via del Corso that we meandered into during our walk. 

Capitol Hill

    Walking down Via del Corso was wonderful way to see more of the city, however even more exciting was what was waiting for us at the end - modern day Capitol Hill. I decided to be "just a bill" that night and hang out on the steps lapping up some good ole' Roman gelato. The gelato at this spot was particularly democratic - er - delicious. We caught the last metro at about 12:50am - running past the lit up Colosseum in the process!

The Colosseum at Night

Day Two of Three

     Day two of our visit, our first full day in Rome, was a real marathon. Our itinerary included the whole of Vatican city and everything Roman from the Campo de' Fiori to the Spanish steps. And we did it.

     The first stop of the day was the Vatican Museum. I have to say, even though this museum has been called one of the best in the world, I honestly preferred the far less popular Borghese to this. Why, you might ask? The tourists. Notice how I couldn't entirely crop them out of my pictures even though I desparately tried. The fanny packs - THE FANNY PACKS!!!

 

Various Works at the Vatican Museum

     Our visit to the Vatican Museum culminated in the Sistine Chapel. Kane and I spent about forty minutes or so in the Chapel trying to decode each one of its panels. However, as far as tourists went, this was by far the worst room to deal with. I won’t go into detail, but you will really want to visit this place in the off-season if possible. The art, on the other hand, was amazing.

     Finally it was time to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. After trudging around for several hours in jeans, it was gratifying to watch as scantily clad tourists were turned away at the door for their inappropriate dress. And guess what surprise was waiting for me inside!

The Entrance to St. Peter's Basilica

Stephanie!

     Stephanie’s tour group creepily coincided with myself and Kane’s personal wanderings. It was great to see her there, especially because rain later in the day caused us to miss her dress rehearsal (still upset about that L).

    The Basilica was incredible. I don’t think I have ever been in a more beautiful place. We stood in awe at each corner of the church while heards of people went in and out. The interior was even more enchanting when an afternoon mass began near the end of our stay. The pope speaking softly and beautiful music filling the space was enough to make any atheist forget that they were not even remotely Catholic. Between hours of admiring the church, we climbed the dome to the top of the Basilica, which offered a lovely panoramic view of the city. 

St. Peter's Basilica - for scaling, you can see the people on the ground next to the Tomb of St. Peter.

The Dome

 

The View from the top of the Dome and St. Peter's Square

After we visited the Vatican we returned to our hostel for a much needed shower and rest. That night we walked from Campo de’ Fiori across the city to the Spanish steps. Sights on the walk included; The Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini, the Pantheon, Piazza Capranica, Piazza Golonna, the Trevi Fountain, and of course the Spanish Steps, which were exceptionally lively that night after Spain had beaten Paraguay 1 to 0 about an hour beforehand. After loitering for quite some time we once again ran to the nearest metro about five minutes before close. What an eventful, whirlwind of a day.

The Pantheon

The Four Rivers Fountain sculpted by Bernini

The Trevi Fountain

Day Three of Three

     After having not slept very much our first night in Rome, I was happy when we slept through checkout until about 11:30. Luckily the hostel was very relaxed and did not charge us  for an additional night. We were happily on our way by about one o’clock.

     The first stop on our list was the National Museum, which was blissfully empty by the time we arrived. The museum was home to a slew of sculptures but included just enough history in its exhibits to keep us from feeling museumed-out. Plus, as in the Borghese, you were allowed to get ridiculously close to each of the works, which is always a treat in its own. 

 

Various works at the National Museum

     The Colosseum was next on our agenda. If I had any advice for seeing the Colosseum, it would be this – get a Roma Pass. The Roma Pass costs about 25 euros and allows you free transportation on all buses and metros for three days and free admission to your first two sites (ours were the Colosseum, usually 12 euro, and the National Museum, 10 euro). But the best part about the Roma Pass is getting to skip the ENTIRE line of whatever site you enter. Confused, sweaty tourists watching us angrily as we were ushered down a separate, completely decongested aisle straight to the entranceway - what fun! We have my tour guidebook’s author Rick Steves to thank for that idea – I also highly recommend that you buy his guidebook if you are ever coming to Italy. It's great. We purchased a single audio guide and held it to both of our ears as we walked along this ancient stadium’s ruins…

The Colosseum. The very calm cat you see was guarding the stadium's entranceway. We joked that she was the last of the descendants of the lions that fought here over two thousand years ago.

The Colosseum

     As promised, an exorbitant amount of pictures were taken of the Colosseum for a particular William Miller. Having spent a bit too long at the Colosseum, we actually missed the last call for entry at the Forum. However, there was a nice view on the street adjacent to the Forum, Via dei Fori Imperiali, which we walked along while reading about this ancient democratic center. There were no fireworks involved, but this was probably the most appropriate way I will ever spend my Fourth of July. All is not lost as far as visiting the Forum goes, however – I have one night at my disposal in August the day before I return to the states that I will spend by myself in Rome. We’ll see!

Details of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum

Our weekend in Rome was absolutely incredible. Exhausted, satisfied, and craving a return trip (in the off season), we caught the final train back to Perugia at eight. It’s about four in the morning here right now, so I think that I will finally say goodnight to this fabulous weekend. Goodnight!

Rebecca