How do I describe a city like Rome? There's so much there and so much to do that it's hard to capture it all in words. We arrived late Wednesday night after a long day of travel (5 hour layover in the Kraków airport and then a 1 hour delay) and slept in a bit on Thursday before setting off. My first thought of Rome was how dirty it was, especially around the train station. It seemed dirtier even than Paris!
Between orienting ourselves and dealing with the metro ticket machines (which were being difficult!) we finally got to the Vatican area around 11:00. Before even walking all the way to the Vatican from the metro, we stopped in for our first meal in Italy: lunch! We were starving, having not had much dinner the night before or breakfast.
I ordered an espresso and then stuck with what I know best: caesar salad. I know it's Italy and all but sometimes I'm just not willing to risk stomach troubles!
It turned out to be a good thing that I stuck with boring old Caesar salad because it turned out to be the BEST salad I've ever had. It had fresh, crunchy croutons, 3 very thin slices of parmesan, fresh tomatoes, and the dressing was amazing. It was so good that we went back on our second day (today) and I ordered the exact same two things: espresso and the Caesar salad.
After lunch we finally made it to the Vatican. We (or maybe I'm speaking for myself!) felt kind of harassed by the number of street vendors there were. They were not aggressive, like in Paris, but you'd have someone approach you every 5 steps. It was nuts! However, we did notice that the vendors were friendly and helpful, and we slowly got a bit more comfortable when we realized we didn't have to feel threatened. We only briefly walked into the Vatican before getting swarmed and turning around to go to the museum for our reservation. We decided to return later and just go inside to the see the Sistine Chapel.
It was very slow going through the museum, with many works that I was unfamiliar with. Once we finally got to the Sistine Chapel, guards rushed us through. Of course, no pictures were permitted but I took some sneaky ones. However, we were funneled through so quickly that I didn't get a proper look for myself.
On our way out of the Vatican, we stopped for sorbetto/gelato. This MAY have been one of my primary inspirations in coming to Italy. Let me tell you, it is worth the trip!
Alex got banana - it was great!
Next it was time for the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Both were, of course, swarmed with tourists. We took our time at both, sitting on the fountain for awhile and also climbing the steps.
Next, we did an activity that Europe has taught us to do very well: shopping. We make an effort to go into an H&M in each country we visit and so far we haven't failed. We usually walk out empty handed (often out of necessity!) but we enjoy going into this chain and seeing how the styles differ in each region. Italy was more different than most others, with a very distinct style (not really to my preference, or Alex's).
We stopped for dinner in a very touristy spot because we were starving, and then slowly made our way back to the hostel. Without too many activities, it had ended up being a very long day!
Oranges over the sidewalk!
Today we started out earlier and went to the Roman Forum. Most people do the Colosseum and then the Forum, but we'd gotten a tip from some friends who said to buy the ticket at the Forum where there wouldn't be a line and see that, and then go to the Colosseum where we could then advance the line with the ticket we'd already bought. This plan worked out perfectly and I definitely recommend it if you ever travel there!
I was excited for the Forum and the Colosseum, but I hadn't realized how interested I would be. It turned out I was fascinated! I wanted to read each informational sign (there were many!) and soak in each part. I particularly loved the Forum, which was very empty when we were there. We got to walk right inside it which I hadn't expected. Definitely a topic that interests me!
It didn't hurt that the weather was amazing.
After the Colosseum, it was about time for lunch so we headed back to the same old restaurant by the Vatican. This worked out well because I wanted to go in the Vatican again. When we got there, they were starting preparations for the Pope, who was going to be speaking later on! We still got to enter and take a look around though.
We even ended up making a full circle around the Vatican City so that we could say we circled an entire country in a day on foot! It took longer than I'd expected...about 40 minutes!
After that, we headed off the to Pantheon on foot. There was no metro line that would get us close, and it was pretty far! It took a good hour to get there while walking. Along the way, we passed several other monuments and castles. I didn't know much about them but it was cool to see. Rome is so rich with history.
The neighborhood that the Pantheon is located in is really nice. Somehow all of the tourism is pocketed right at the Pantheon and the rest of the neighborhood seems a little bit more normal with authentic Italian shopping and restaurants. I'm glad we took the long trek through it!
After that, it was time for an early dinner and then back to pick up our bags for our train! We went to a nicer Italian restaurant and I had veggie minestrone and bruschetta. I wanted to try something truly Italian before leaving Rome. I didn't finish the bruschetta but I'm glad I tried it - it was great! Alex had his favorite spaghetti aglio a oglio.
We got on our train for Florence at about 8 and loved the lavish comforts that our business class tickets provided us! We got complimentary juice and a biscuit. There was also supposedly wifi but it didn't really work for me! I took a short nap and suddenly we were in Florence!
It took some time to find our B&B after leaving the train station but once we found it, we saw that it was quite nice and in a great area. I already love Florence! Tomorrow: the Uffizi Gallery and a cooking class (!!!) and some general exploring (I've learned that we love unscheduled time that we can use just to wander and get a feel for the city). Sunday will be the Academia Gallery and a couple more monuments and who knows what else is in store! Happy Easter!
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