When in… actually we ARE in Rome!

ROME, ITALY – Nov 15-20
Rome is huge on so many levels – physically, historically, mentally. It’s hard to wrap your brain around some of it. Architecture that is thousands of years old standing in front of you – or beneath your feet! We stayed in Trastevere which is a pretty busy, trendy neighborhood. It was about a 10 min walk to the tram stop or sometimes we hopped on a bus. Then another 15 mins on the tram to the city centre.

Our apartment in Rome was ultra-tiny. Basically a kitchen with a queen bed in it and then a bathroom – similar to a college dorm. Jett slept with Myla and I while the girls slept on foldout single beds in the entry way adjacent to the bathroom. By far our smallest place with the exception of private rooms. But we made it work and cooked several meals throughout our week in Rome.

We spent the first day inside, catching up on homework, blogging, researching the city. That evening we visited the spectacular Trevi Fountain. Crazy how crowded it was on a Tuesday night in November. But there is a steady rotation of people taking selfies then moving on. Highly recommend coming in the evening as the lighting adds another dimension to the experience. From there grabbed gelato and strolled the back streets.

Next day we hit the Forum and Colosseum. We decided to skip going into the Forum to save on the entry fee. You can actually see many of the ruins from the perimeter. For the Colosseum, we listened to the audio guide from Rick Steves. In preparation for the visit we even watched some of the fight scenes from the movie Gladiator the night before. We also viewed a fascinating documentary in which historians and engineers constructed a human powered elevator which they believe the Romans used to raise animals into the Colosseum from the various chambers below. As we toured the Colosseum the elevator from the film was still there. It’s an overwhelming experience to stand in that structure and not only consider the crazy things that happened there but just the construction alone. It’s mind-blowing.

On another note. Paris was attacked by terrorists while we were in Siena. It was heartbreaking for us to read about and our condolences go out to those who lost loved ones. Many of our friends and family expressed concerns about us traveling at this time as there were threats to continue attacks in Europe. Getting to Rome, the first thing we noticed was the ultra-high level of security. Law enforcement and armed military personnel were literally everywhere we went. It was actually quite comforting and didn’t take away from enjoying this amazing city.

  

One interesting thing we noticed in Rome were all the birds. Like millions and millions, it was crazy. In the sky they looked like clouds of smoke, turning and weaving – always staying together in formation. In the trees you could hear their chirping from great distances. And the smell of the poop and pee was overwhelming! On our first night we actually walked under the trees with all the chirping and could actually feel the mist of the pee falling on us. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Nasty! So we avoided the trees for the rest of the week.

Later in the week, we went to the Abbey Theater Irish Pub for “Taco Tuesday”. It was recommended to us by our student friends, Bridget and Ellie, that we had met in Siena. Apparently Taco Tuesday is only for students but the waitress decided to give us the deal since that’s why we had come there. It was fun, the tacos were pretty good and it was a nice taste of home – tacos are tough to find in Europe. As we were leaving Ellie and Bridget arrived so we got to catch up with them for a bit. They told us that they had decided to go to Paris the following week. While in Siena, we had all learned of the terrorist attacks in Paris and they were supposed to visit there shortly after but were now on the fence. We were proud and excited for them to make that decision, they will love it.

We also spent another evening just wandering. Piazza Navona is long and oval shape and is one of the more beautiful squares here with great street music, art and fountains. From there we of course grabbed gelato then toured the Pantheon which has one of the most incredible domes ever built. It has a hole in the center to allow light to come in during the day, sunlight shines down through the hole forming a column of light and is said to be the most beautiful Roman ‘column’ there is. Also, the floor is sloped with holes to drain water during rains which don’t disrupt Mass. Our audio guide was great for this as well. Out in the piazza afterwards, we saw some hippie street musicians perform a jaw dropping acoustic cover of Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ followed by ‘Wish you were here’ by Pink Floyd and lastly ‘The Chicken Dance’ song. Unfortunately, the Spanish Steps are currently being refurbished so we had to miss them on this trip.

  

Our last night we made it to the Vatican and St Peters Cathedral. The plan was to visit the Vatican Museum and see the Sistine Chapel but we got there too late. So we spent time touring St Peters – arguably the most stunning and magical church ever built. It’s dome was built by Michelangelo and it also features the sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus after his death. We’ve seen our fair share of beautiful churches throughout Europe but I have to agree, nothing compares to this.

Our final morning was a bit chaotic. Since we screwed up and didn’t see the Sistine Chapel the day before, we had to get to the museum early to get a quick visit in before our train departure. I mean, leaving Rome without seeing what many consider to be the greatest work of art by a single human being really wasn’t an option. When we were in Siena, there was a print on the wall of the scene in which God reaches out to Adam giving him life – it is in the center of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Jett named it, “The Touch” and was excited to see it in person. Due to our time constraint, we had to blow through most of the museum. We did see an amazing Egyptian exhibit featuring unwrapped mummies and several artifacts. And of course, Sistine Chapel didn’t disappoint. It does do a number on your neck, however, constantly craning. We had an audio guide for this as well which is super valuable. And no pictures allowed.

And that was Rome. Not built in a day but visited in a week. Next stop, Napoli and Pompeii.