At the heart of this entry is what I consider one of our lesser-informed traveling decisions. Around Christmastime, we realized we’d been in the country more than a month already and still had not done any traveling outside of Naples. We decided to start easy with Rome: for us it is really just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Alan had some time off from work for the holidays, so we thought: what better way to ring in the New Year than to spend the first weekend of 2010 in the Eternal City? After all, we were both familiar with Rome, but had never gotten a chance to go there together.
In theory, it was romantic. In practice, hardly. Apparently, everyone and their nonni had decided to do the same thing. This experience is exactly why I tend to harp on touring in the low seasons.
We did get some nice shots of ourselves at the main attractions. Our smiles at the Coliseum mask the fact that we waited in a “line” (see my Easyjet posts) for over an hour to get inside…and then somehow managed to circle the Forum and surrounding buildings--if you’ve been to Rome, you know they are huge--without ever finding the entrance. Poor feet! Poor growling stomachs! Poor eyes, dizzy from map-reading and locating badly placed--at least that’s what we told ourselves--signposts!
By the time we finally reached the entrance to the Forum, they were just closing up for the day. (Our guidebook told us it closed at sundown, but it was clearly still daytime…) We looked at each other, thoroughly regretting our initial wrong turn and consequent body-aches, wondering what to do with the rest of our afternoon. For me, there was no other option but to head to my favorite spot in Rome, the Piazza di Spagna: a bunch of steps overlooking a pretty piazza and a shopping district where you’ll find all the biggest names in fashion. I’ve always liked this area because I equate it with taking a gelato break in the sun, resting my feet, and watching the people mill about.
But despite our hunger, there was no gelato break: it was too cold. And although we got to rest our feet, the people-watching was a little more than what we had bargained for:
Fun, huh?
Shortly after, we headed back to the hotel to regroup. We had gotten an early start, taking the train in that very morning and dropping off our bags at the hotel (after waiting about an hour for our room to be cleaned). The rest of the day had been nothing but waiting in line and trying to get around all the other tourists. Trying to make the most of our evening, I decided to locate a recommended hole-in-the-wall eatery, where we could escape the masses and get our strength back alongside the locals. There was one very close to the hotel, so we headed out, dodging the raindrops that started along the way. Once there, we found it locked with three men sitting and talking at the back. We had to knock to get a response from them: chiuso (despite what the opening hours on the door said).
I wanted to search for another recommendation, but we really needed to get out of the rain. So we stopped inside the next place we saw, where not a soul was speaking Italian and the service was quite impersonal. We got a hot meal, but I regretted having ended up in yet another tourist trap. My goal when traveling is to avoid these whenever possible, but it is not always easy.
That night was not the most restful. We decided to get to sleep quickly—while the rest of the city was just heading out to dinner—and gear up for a better day of touring. I had read good reviews about our combination hotel/hostel, but all of the comfort and cleanliness in the world could not have made up for the huge racket that went on next door. Apparently we had ended up next to a group room filled with partying college guys. At one point I got up to knock loudly on their door with a firm “Silenzio!” (as if I had not done that enough in the classroom!), but to no avail. That night, I decided that, despite our youth and our aversion to spending big bucks on hotels, we would think long and hard before booking a hostel again.
The next morning, things were starting to look up. We got up extra early to beat the tourist rush, and indeed, there was not a soul in front of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele.
We ended up being the very first to enter the Musei Capitolini that morning. The ticket takers and security guards were exceedingly welcoming—I guess that wears off very quickly as the day goes on! It was my first time at this particular museum, so it was refreshing to see something new, and be able to enjoy it without half of Italy pressing us onward. Here are some of the highlights of the museum:
Romulus and Remus feeding at the breast of the She-Wolf:
A large equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius:
A fascinating collection and study of various ancient epigraphs:
A beautiful view on the Forum (we got see it after all!):
Even though we didn’t see everything in this impressive collection, we were happy to have a successful morning. I would definitely revisit this museum to find some of the treasures we missed the first time around. Our smiles here are a little deceiving: all we can think about is lunch!
After a quick pit-stop, we thought we would revisit some of the highlights of Rome.
The Pantheon and its impressively constructed dome:
The Trevi Fountain, where I no longer throw coins…I plan to return often! (At this point, I have seen Rome’s main monuments, churches and piazzas at least 3 or 4 times now, so I am looking forward to discovering new things upon future trips.)
At this point, we were starting to get lost in the crowd again. Not only that, but our gelato break did not turn out as planned: after navigating our way to what has been billed “Rome’s greatest gelateria,” we discovered the artisan ice cream there, though innovative, had a really different flavor. I think the gelato is honey-based instead of vanilla-based. Perhaps our palates are not all that refined, but we were nevertheless disappointed (as was our wallet—if I remember correctly, their prices started around 8 or 9 Euros!).
After seeing a couple of churches (the very ornate church of St. Ignatius and Basilica of St. Giovanni in Laterano), our time in Rome was up, and we headed back to Termini Station. How wonderful it was to go to sleep in “our” bed (we were still at the Navy Lodge), away from all the noise and tourists!
In short, I think travelers everywhere would agree with me: getaways are wonderful, but it’s hard to beat the comfort of your own home…especially in a land where restrooms operate on a pay-as-you-go basis, restaurant and shop hours are not always convenient, and public benches are sometimes sparse. To my readers who are thinking of visiting Italy for the first time, I don’t want to dash your hopes of a fabulously romantic vacation. This place is grand. I just want to challenge the highly romanticized view we Americans tend to project onto Europe, and enjoy it for what it really is. Just bring your Kleenex (here, it doubles as toilet paper), water bottle, snacks, and walking shoes, and you’ll have an easier time focusing on all the beauty around you.
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