Roma (Rome), Italy

We arriving in Rome in the evening and took to the streets to make our way to the hostel. We ended up, as usual, turning what should have been ten minute walk into a 30 minute roundabout until we finally ended up at our destination. We checked in and were shown to our room where we arranged our things and met some of the roommates before heading out in search of food. We strolled the main avenue in our neighborhood before deciding on a nice looking restaurant with cheap eats. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that they (like Kitsch in Florence) were offering a buffet with the purchase of a drink. Our drinks were fabulous and the food was both healthy and delicious. Satisfied, we made the short walk back to our hostel and prepared for bed. We opted to take showers that night rather than fighting the masses in the morning but were disappointed to find out the water was cold. We doused ourselves quickly in the attempt to get clean before finally going to bed.

We rose early, had breakfast and headed out to the bus station. We previously purchased hop-on hop-off open top bus tour passes for Rome and were excited to use them to see the city. It proved to be a helpful way to get around the city, view the sites and hear some historical information along the way. After a few stops, we chose to descend and begin our day at the infamous roman Coliseum. We waited in line and bought tickets for entrance which also granted us passes to the Mostra, Palatine and Foro. We started in the Coliseum itself, admiring the architecture and design and reading about the historical events that had happened at the site. We followed a few English tour groups around and heard accounts of the gladiator battles as well as the hunting games that were organized for civilian entertainment.

After exiting, we used our passes to enter the Mostra and Palatine areas of the grounds. Both are extensive ruins of ancient temples, bathhouses, mansions and other things dedicated to the gods. We finished looking down to what used to be the roman track.

We headed back to our bus stop and boarded for the continuation of the circuit around the city. We passed the chariot race track, important governmental buildings and the Vatican. A few stops later, we got off at the Triton fountain and made the short walk to the Spanish Steps. Along the way, we stopped at the Blue Ice gelato shop and had what we agree to be the best gelati each of us has ever had (and cheap too!). We ended up adding this gelato shop to our itinerary for the following day as well.

After descending the Spanish Steps and taking photos of the views, we walked back up to the bus stop at the Triton fountain and awaited the bus. It finally came and we finished the loop back towards the stop near our hostel. We returned home as our hostel offers wine and dinner at 6pm and we were excited for the free food and drink. We settled in the lounge to eat, drink and use the internet to book future plans (a time-consuming process). Finally, after some conversation and solidifying of plans, we prepared for bed.

We rose early again on Tuesday and donned our nicer clothing for today we were going to the Vatican (no shorts or bare shoulders allowed). We ate breakfast as the hostel before heading to the bus stop (our passes were good for two full days) and took the bus to the Vatican.

We entered Saint Peter’s Basilica and were immediately awe struck by both its size and splendor.

On our way out, we passed by the Swiss Guard post. They were sporting some festively awesome outfits so we stopped for a photo before continuing on our tour of the Vatican. Our next stop were the tombs of the popes (including the latest) where the tombstones vary in style, size and décor based on the era of the Papal Papa it is devoted to.

Next we made the walk through Vatican City, stopping for a snack on the way to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. After buying tickets, we toured through the museum with the masses of people through room after room before finally arriving at the famous Sistine Chapel. As usual, photos are not allowed but we snuck a few.

After the long museum tour, we excited the Vatican and headed back to the bus. We headed to our next destination, the Trevi Fountain. Its impressive size and detail makes for quite the photo and we each took turns throwing in our coins for both a wish and to signify our fated return to Rome someday.

After the Trevi Fountain, we walked through the streets perusing the shops and people watching before choosing a place for lunch. We ate our full of pizza and pasta (neither of which was that impressive, sadly) before continuing on to the bus stop. We rode a few stops before descending again at the Triton fountain for Blue Ice (delicious). Afterwards, we rode to the Rome City Hall, an incredibly large and lavish building designed by Michelangelo.

Growing close to dinner time, we decided to finish the loop heading back towards our hostel. At our stop, we visited the Santa Maria Cathedral, another impressively large and lavish roman cathedral. We were afforded the rare experience of viewing a traditional Latin mass, complete with the priest facing the alter away from the people in the original mass format, with chanting galore. We silently took in the experience before heading back to the hostel for dinner.

Unfortunately for us, this night’s dinner was pasta with red sauce with tuna mixed in. Corinne dislikes tuna and in general the dish had the air of cat food so we opted to pass on the meal. We found a friend from the night before, Chris from Seattle, and asked him if he’d like to join us for dinner and drinks at the restaurant we’d told him about the first night. He agreed and after some brief preparation, we headed out. After the meal we ventured to a small pub down a side street and chatted with the American bartender about travels and such. After a long conversation of various topics, we headed back to the hostel, said our good byes and headed to bed. This was our last night in Rome and a new adventure awaited us in the morning.