When in Rome

After our two days in Venice, we hopped back on the train and returned to Rome. I really enjoyed the train ride. I got to see such beautiful landscapes that I didn't on the way in because I fell asleep. I loved seeing small towns and then crumbling buildings and open fields. We arrived back in Rome about mid-afternoon.

Our hotel was conveniently located about a block away from the train station and that is about the only positive. As promised here is the story I alluded to in the previous post. We arrived back in Rome with the incredible heat wave that struck Europe, not ideal, but we took comfort in the hope that we would have AC. Well that didn't happen the first night. We went through two rooms that first night and our room at 11:30 that night was about 80 degrees. I was sobbing, this is my low point for the trip, and we did complain about the air not working. They finally found a fan. This is also where going through Costco was a benefit to us. We called them and told them about the situation, it wasn't that they didn't have AC, it just wasn't working. They called on our behalf and between them and us, we finally got a room with noticeable AC for our last night before the cruise. So if you were counting that is three rooms in two nights. I am not going to call out the hotel, but upon our return we found out through customer service with Costco, that this particular hotel received quite a few complaints, which made me feel good, in that it wasn't us being spoiled Americans...well, not more spoiled than the average American...first world problems and all that.

Ancient Rome

Day 1: An evening stroll through Rome

So the evening of our first night in Rome, we took the metro and went to the Coliseum and Forum. I can't put into words what all I felt when I came out of the metro and the Coliseum was in front of me. I was simply awestruck. I have dreamed about seeing these monuments and remnants of the Roman Empire since I was a little girl and to finally have it in front of me was just incredible. We climbed some stairs to an upper terrace to get a better view than just street level. On the stairs was a man dressed in a Roman soldiers uniform and Ken wanted me to take a photo. First lesson: always ask how much, we thought it was a donation but they had a set price. It was fun though. Afterwards we walked on the sidewalk along the Forum. It is hard to imagine what this would have looked like, massive temples and government buildings, vendors selling goods, people meeting to catch the news of the day and the gossip. Again awestruck. In the background of the Forum is this massive white monument, Altar of the Fatherland, dedicated to Emanuel II and commemorating the unification of Italy.

We then took a long walk towards the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Along the way we saw Trajan's Column, which again, is something I have always wanted to see. It tells the story of Trajan's conquests. We also heard the most incredible duo singing a song from a famous opera and right now the name escapes me but they were simple amazing. When we arrived to the Pantheon, the size was more than I expected. It was built as a place to honor all the gods but now is used as a church. We went back two days later during the day to go inside and I am still baffled at the scale in which they built the building and supported the occulus. The engineering is subtle like with the floors. Because their is a big hole at the top of the dome the floors are slanted to have the rain flow towards the walls where there are drains. We also found out later that Raphael is buried there. This was worth the second walk, as it is free to go in.

The Trevi Fountain was gorgeous. It has only recently been reopened to the public after undergoing restoration. Being there definitely brought to mind one of my favorite old movies "Three Coins in a Fountain". It is easy to see why people return again and again; it is exquisite and awe inspiring. The size alone is remarkable. Of course we took our picture, among the hundreds of others who were vying for the perfect shot as well. Afterwards we made our way back to the hotel and ate at the restaurant across from our hotel on the corner, called Santa Maria. It was reasonably priced and Ken and I enjoyed their brushetta, ravioli and lasagna.

Day 2: A walk through Ancient Rome and a neighborhood food tour

The next day was again a two tour day and both tours we looked forward to. The first on the agenda was a tour through the Coliseum, Forum and the home of Augustus. The Coliseum was where we began and getting through was fairly easy when you are with a group. My suggestion is if you want to see the Coliseum and you want to be in and out fairly quickly the skip the line for individual tickets; a group tour is the way to go. They only let a 1000 people in at a time and groups are given priority over the individual ticket line. With that being said, you don't get the freedom to roam as you would if you were alone and there was a really cool museum inside the Coliseum that we did not get to see. The other neat thing I learned about the Coliseum is only one side of the Coliseum has the original 5 tiers. The other side shows only three because the upper two crumbled due to a terrible earthquake. Once you are inside you have a great appreciation for the engineering it took to build such a massive structure. After we exited the Coliseum, we passed across the street into the Forum.

We made a beeline for the bathrooms upon entering, which we found a little annoying because it cut into the time we had for the Forum. Only one of the original temples survives and that is because it was made into a church. We didn't have time to go in but it was a fun fact to learn. We also were shown the alter where Caesar was cremated and the foundations of the Temple of Julius that was built, when he was defied by the Romans. We walked our way up to the Palatine Hill to see the biggest treat of the day. Included with our tour was a visit to see see Caesar Augustus's home that he grew up in as a child. The story goes that before he was Caesar his home was struck by lighting, Roman's were very superstitious and viewed this as a bad omen, so he had it filled in. He eventually would build his palace and and temple dedicated to Apollo over it it. By filling it in and then building on top of the old home, he preserved some of the only Roman frescoes you can find in Rome. It is also cool because the palace he built was destroyed by Nero when he burned down half of Rome, so it is the only building tied to Augustus that you can really see. Another fact as a side note; after Nero burned down the city he built his palace where the Coliseum sits and when he died the Senate filled it in because they hated him so much. Anyway back to Augustus. When you go to the entrance of Augustus' home there are ruins that are under a roof and these date back to the time of the original inhabitants of Rome, which was great to see. Upon entering the room you are in an open area and you stand and watch a five minute video that discusses Augustus and his home. After the video you go on a narrated tour of the house, and in some of the rooms there is a digital projection system that projects what the room would have looked like, it also explains the frescoes and what you can make out from what remains. It is crazy that the color in some of the rooms is so vivid, still to this day. It was such a fun experience and I am thrilled it was included. If you want to see this and you are touring the Forum on your own you will need to purchase a separate ticket to go in. I strongly recommend that you do because it was such a neat exhibit.

After our tour we found a place to grab something to eat and then we headed to San Pietro in Vincoli. This is a little church tucked away that holds one of the most spectacular sculptures created by Michelangelo, The Moses. I have always wanted to see this. Everyone knows his Pieta and The David but the Moses goes overlooked and I can't understand why. It is the only one of his sculptures you can get real close to and see all the detail that went into creating it. The David is crowded and the Pieta is behind glass at St. Peter's Basilica, so you aren't given the opportunity to appreciate it. We got there right as it opened after the lunch break and didn't have to try to get by people to see it. It is huge, full of detail and looks very realistic. Afterwards we went back to our hotel, where we moved to the third room with AC and rested until our evening tour.

Pasta, wine and more!

• Our evening tour took us to one of the neighborhoods of Rome call Prata. It is near the Vatican. This tour was a walking food tour. Yes you read that right, we payed to walk through this neighborhood to eat and it was worth the price. It consisted of five stops. The first stop was Gabriele Bonci's pizza, Rome's 'Michelangelo of pizza' makes amazing pies at his tiny pizzarium, located just five minutes from the Sistine chapel. My favorite pie was potato and mozzarella, like an eggless quiche. To let you know how legit the pizza shop is, it was once featured on the late Anthony Bourdain’s show. Then we went to La Tradazione, reviewed in the New York Times as a meat and cheese museum, with over 300 cheeses. The store teamed up with famous chef, Alessandro Cecere, to open a full service restaurant - Secondo Tradition, where we tasted prosciutto and cheeses, with wine of course! The third stop was at La Bufalino, where we tasted fresh buffalo mozzarella from Campania and pesto, with aged basalmic. If that wasn't enough we then went to dinner at Al Giardini Del Gatto elaVolpe which consisted of spinach ravioli, gnocchi with four cheese, and fried calamari. We ended the tour with gelato - which we learned to be authentic it must be even with the pan container. Much of the gelato you see in the tourist areas is whipped to increase its volume and is not as tasty.

Day 3: A few more highlights

On our third day in Rome we had some time in the morning before are car arrived to take us to the port to catch our cruise so we decided to go see The Spanish Steps. We took our picture to celebrate four years of marriage as that day was our anniversary, climbed the steps and then questioned why we did that in the heat. We also walked to see the inside of the Pantheon and steal one last look at the Trevi Fountain before we said Ciao for now.

We headed back to Rome after our cruise around the Mediterranean. More on the amazing cruise in my next post! The best way to see so many places in just one week!