All Roads Lead to Rome

For our second independent travel break Jess, Kelsey and I went to Rome. It is located in the central-western portion of Italy, along the Tiber River in the Lazio region. Rome is the capital of Italy and the largest populated city in the world. It has some of the world’s most influential subjects such as architecture, artwork, culture, politics, law, literature, and religion. It also includes the Vatican City, an independent city controlled by the Pope since 1929. Due to this, Rome is constantly flooded with tourists year-round and given the nickname “the capital of the world”. After reading about it and all its glory, I was eager to explore Rome and see all it had to offer.
We left for Rome on Thursday after a lovely lunch prepared by Margerita, our cook. We had penne pasta for the first course and chicken with vegetables for the main course. I ate all I could because I did not want to get too hungry on the train. After all, it would take 4 hours to get to Rome from Sansepolcro. Once we finished our delicious pasta we headed into the crowded streets to catch our 2:30 bus. The streets were crammed because there was an annual fair taking place, similar to the State Fair in North Carolina. The only difference is that this one celebrates the middle of Lent. I was a little upset that we would miss the celebration but I figured if we got back early enough we could still. There were all kinds of booths, demonstrations, and food along the streets. We tried our best not to get lured in by all the stands, but were unsuccessful. Kelsey and Jess both wanted to buy earrings that were 2 euro. I did not want any so I stood along the side, waiting for them. After they bargained for earrings, we went to search for the bus stop. It was very confusing since the fair had already begun. The fair covered all of Sansepolcro and the bus stop was moved from its original location. Instead of being near the café and restaurant as usual, it was further up the street on the right. It would take us about 3 minutes longer to get the bus stop. Just as we were crossing the street, our bus flew past us. I quickly checked my watch and it read 2:23. The bus was early and the next one was not coming for another hour. Instead of getting discouraged, we made the best of our time by walking through the fair.
We arrived in Rome at 9: 30 p.m. and immediately went to find our Bed & Breakfast. Everything was still open at this time so we were able to buy our Roma pass and a metro ticket inside the train station. I was really excited to purchase the pass because it would save us a lot of money in the long-run. This pass covered all public transportation, two museums, and discounts at other museums for three days. We paid 25 Euros for the pass but it was well worth it. After that was settled we went to find the metro. We got on line A which would take us directly down the street from our Bed & Breakfast. The metro went fast; it took less than 10 minutes. Our Bed & Breakfast was called Domus Betti. It was run by an older Italian man name Eugene. He and his wife had both run two bed and breakfasts, but once they divorced they separated the businesses. Eugene spoke English very well and was able to give us useful advice on Rome. He told us to be careful when crossing the streets and about thieves.
Later on, we took a long walk throughout the city. Our first stop was the piazza where St. Peter’s Basilica is located. Although it was night time, the basilica was remarkable. I tried to take pictures but my camera was not working properly. Our second location was at the Trevi Fountain, and we took a few pictures there. We were bombarded by men wanting to take our pictures, but simply ignored them. I wanted to shout out BASTA, my favorite Italian word, but they quickly understood we did not want any pictures and went away. We each made a wish, threw a penny in the fountain for good luck, and left. The walk back seemed to take forever. My feet were hurting from all the walking. Soon after we reached Doumus Betti, we went to sleep.
On Friday, we woke up at 8 o’clock and had breakfast at a nearby café called Mauri. Our breakfast was covered by our bed and breakfast, which saved us money. After eating, we headed to the Roman Coliseum. We used our Roma pass for free transportation to the Coliseum and for free admission. There were tons of people lined up to enter, but lucky for us we were able to skip the line. Once inside, we took beautiful pictures from the second level. We were able to find a nice man to take a picture of all three of us together. We spent about an hour inside the Coliseum then proceeded to the Roman Forum next to it. Just as the Coliseum, the Roman Forum was filled with tourists.
The Roman Forum contains a large number of monuments and temples that date back to the 5th century B.C., indeed back until 608 B.C. We walked up Palatine Hill and saw the Arch of Titus. We wandered around inside for a little over 2 hours; there was so much to see, which made it hard to leave. Once we finally made our way out, it was time for lunch. There was a stand close by, where we bought sandwiches. I had ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on mine, while Jess had tuna. Kelsey was smart and packed her own lunch. We found a bench nearby to sit on and eat. It did not take us long to finish and before we knew it we were walking again.
We went to the metro station to get a lift to the terminal. All four parts of the Museo Nazionale Romano were located by the terminal. We wanted to see all of them but ended up visiting two. We went to the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme and Terme Diocleziano. The Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme was formally a Jesuit College next to the Termini Station. It is one of the world’s largest exhibitions of art and contains four floors, including a basement. There are many famous masterpieces inside including Discobolo Lancellotti (Lancellotti Discobolus) and Ermafrodito dormiente (Sleeping Hermaphrodite). All the sculptures were astonishing and most of them I had studied before. Afterward, we scurried through traffic to the Terme Diocleziano. This museum built by the order of the emperors Massimiano and Diocleziano in 298 A.D. It includes a rotunda, the hall of Sant’Isidoro, luxurious gardens, gyms, changing rooms, and successfully illustrates the birth and diffusion of the Latin alphabet. Masterpieces from famous artists, such as Michelangelo, can be found inside the museum as well. We found this museum to be very interesting, calm and peaceful. We snapped a lot of pictures in the gardens and near the fountains. We sat and rested for quite some time before leaving. We liked this museum better than the first one.
Following the National Museums of Rome, we visited the Pantheon. It is a very famous site that was built over 1800 years ago. It still remains today as a tribute to the building skill of the ancient Roman Empire. It is one of the world’s oldest stone structures and contains the tombs of Raphael and Italian kings. The interior is amazing and the ceiling has only one cut-out, the oculus, which was once the only source of light. When we entered we were overwhelmed by its interior and people. The Pantheon was flooded with tourists and we escaped after taking many pictures.
Considering that we had been looking at historical sites all day, we all agreed that it was time for a little shopping. We searched nonstop for markets but it was harder than we expected. We saw a few booths but nothing like the markets in Florence. However, we did stop at one booth to buy t-shirts that were three for 10 Euros. I bought two shirts for myself and one for my brother. I was excited that I had finally found the perfect shirt for him; it read “Roma” in graffiti. As soon as we were done we went on main streets to look for places to shop. We found a huge street called Via Corso that was lined with many stores. There were also a lot of American stores there, such as H&M. It is one of my favorite stores, so it was only a matter of time before we stopped there.
First we went into a store called Zara’s, which seems very popular in Italy. Kelsey was dying to shop there since she had seen so many people carrying the bags around. We spent about a half hour inside, despite the fact that we spent 15 minutes looking for Kelsey. She was lost inside the store, so Jess and I waited outside until she found us. Next we went to H&M. It was packed with people, mostly Americans. I was able to find two cute shirts, a cheap pair of sandals, and accessories for fewer than 30 Euros. While comparing our items at the register, we noticed that we had the same shirt but in a different color. We all intended to wear it on our beach trip to Capri in two weeks. We spent little time in H&M, but it was well worth it. Shopping made us work up an appetite, and by then it was time for dinner. We did not have trouble deciding where to eat. We all agreed to finish our day off Americanized, by having dinner at the Hard Rock café.