Mika was the author of this trip theme song: Rain!Baby, I hate days like this!
Dear reader, I must confess: I am a history junkie, Europe is my dealer and Sergio is helping me overdose...
If you know a bit of history, you will have, like me, some dreams about amazing civilizations, vivid images of what lost times look like, and an amazing need to see it all, to stand where they stood.
Rome is one of those places where sooo many things have happened, one can not stop digging. From pagan Romans, to catholic crusaders, from the Pantheon to St. Peter's Basilica, passing through the amazing food and people.
We used Ryanair, the cheap airline of Europe, to get to Rome. At this time, one could get flights for as low as 20 euros each way!, and that is what we did. We took the Ryanair bus service to get to Rome central station Termini (5 Euros each). If you don't know Ryanair, you will probably not like it, they are not the nicest customer service, they try to get your money for anything extra, and they treat passengers like cattle. Now try to see it their way: they cut expenses by using as little personnel as possible, so time is reduced, they can not just chat with you. They offer you a very cheap basic service, and any additional commodity is for charge, so if you read carefully and follow the rules (print your ticket!, your bag should fit the space and weight restrictions, if you are not European, you should do a visa check on arrival to the airport, etc.) you will have absolutely no problem, and you will travel incredibly cheap. So we are very happy with Ryanair, and we enjoy paying very little and being able to travel a lot.Again we took a city sightseeing bus. No, we are not getting money for advertisement :).
This company serves most major cities, and is an amazing way of seeing the city when your time and money are limited. In Rome there is something called the Rome Pass, it may be interesting if you have more time than we did.
The coliseum is impressive, not only historically, but also architecturally. Is a brilliantly constructed space, planned for theatrical spectacles, It has galleys planned for the underground (and out of sight) movement of gladiators and wild beasts, it was even planned so it could be flooded for the recreation of maritime battles . In the ruins you can definitely appreciate the grandeur, is worth the money and the line (And the feet blisters).
It rained the whole day, and at a point, it was raining so hard that i was hard to plainly walk. So there we were, trying to get to the Isola Tiberina, and the rain was hitting us hard. My new shoes were dirty and damaged beyond repair (suede), and my feet where aching so badly, I could barely give another step. So I had a tantrum, and started crying, and Sergio did what Sergio does, he was bursting in laughter, and started singing, 'When it rain and rain and rain and rain', I wanted to kill him, and to this day, he is banned from singing that song.
Gladly, the sun came out again, and we could happily stroll through the beautiful Piazza Navona, walk on the Spanish steps.You may have heard the story about the The Trevi Fountain, you have to trow a coin using your right hand over your left shoulder in order to come back to Rome. According to wikipedia, around 3000 euros are collected every night from travelers that wish to come back. Gladly this money is used to help people in need.
There are so many places worth a visit. You have to plan your trip, and accommodate your schedule so you can see most of it. I think one month in Rome would not be enough to really visit the well known touristic spots, so if you, like us, have only one week, plan ahead, and take comfortable shoes.One additional remark I want to make is about the Pantheon, the building is 43.3 meters high (150 roman feet). It is the world largest unreinforced concrete dome. The oculus is 9.1 meters in diameter.The oculus illuminates different altars during the day, like a spot light, besides is the only opening (window) to allow flow of air and light. There are many more mysteries about this building, all of them are worth a read.
Last on this trip, let's talk about the Vatican city. The smallest county in the world. This was one of the most interesting visits I have ever done. For this visit we booked a tour via viator, and it was a great idea. There are many guides outside of the vatican trying to sell their tours and are very aggressive (there is even a discovery channel documentary about their aggressive ways). The tour was great, very informative, but it had the disadvantage of forcing us to move fast in places where we could have stayed forever. Sadly, the sixtine chapel is just a stop and go, with or without tour, you are not allowed to take pictures or stay there for long. The guides will explain the main points about the chapel outside, using pictures, and then you can go in and see the true masterpiece, Our guide was amazing and he helped us find a space so we could appreciate all the details and all the magnificence. One needs to know just a little about Michael Angelo, and the beauty and perfection of his painting to be amazed to only be in there. A few years later I came back with my mom, and I realized that most people are only passing through the chapel, without even looking up, to busy following the tour schedule, very sad. In this room, one should take a deep breath, and imagine it alone as it should be, just the amazing murals, the wonderful ceiling, and the genius behind it. The basilica is another work of art. And there one can also appreciate The Pieta, a piece of art so perfect it hurts. The architectural magnificence of the Basilica and the richness of its interiors are definitely worth an entire day to admire, we had no time to go up the dome, but in the next opportunity I have, I will go up there and marvel myself with the size of the inscriptions, where each letter is 2 meters high.
Rome is an amazing city to get lost.
