*blissed out in roMe*

“just more marbles....”

So i thought about how to write this blog and how to best cover my 5 days in Rome & I thought “itinerary style” would be best.. Just like every other place there is SOOO much to talk about- especially when you are surrounded in the most famously religious city in the world- but i will attempt to be as concise as possible! xx

THE ETERNAL CITY

DAY 1

My greeting to Rome was fantastic! I landed in sunshine, clear blue skies (14 degrees celsius) peeling away MANY winter layers! Outside of my terminal i caught the terravision bus (great company) and met a couple rad dudes while waiting. One guy was from Italy but actually lived in Calgary playing soccer for a couple years- what are the chances! And the other dude was a home grown Roman and gave me some wise advise before my trek...

“When in Rome it is wrong to take the train because it is late- if it says 5 minutes, go grab lunch and come back. When in Rome it is wrong to take a cab because you will get robbed. When in Rome eat. That is what we Romans know how to do.” -Roman dude

So eat I did! I also mustered up some courage to take both the metro & a cab- and both were not so bad and i dont think i got robbed!

My bus took me to Termini station (the main metro stop in Rome) and from there I needed to find the apartment i was staying in and check in. I stayed in Esquillo- a suburban area of Rome. It is known as the “multi-cultural” neighbourhood near Manzoni station. Taking the metro was very differnt in comparision to other cities i have been to. It was poorly labelled and the tunnels were VERY windy just to get to the platform- chalk up the experience! After maneuvering my way to Manzoni i used my trusted map to find my apartment. This took a while not knowing that the streets change names without reason, and one street likely breaks into 5 others.... Rome is pretty much a labyrinth city, you kinda feel like you are Waldo in a “Wheres Waldo” book. Eventually i found my digs!

My apartment, although not “luxurious”, was in a cool part of the city. It was out of the touristy area so you really got to experience Italy like a true Roman. At the bottom of my building there was a delicious family run kitchen, “Giovino e Nino”, with yummy spicy pasta!! and then kiddy corner i became a regular at “Bar Piazza” a cafe with awesome locals running it! Every morning when i walked in they would shout out a "hey how are you" in their best english and make my americano ! I would sit in the morning & just listen to the local Italians bustle around and talk. Everything they say is so passionate and it is smiles galore- the cafe is a contagious fun loving atmosphere! On a side note, to go coffees are foreign in Rome and brewed coffee as well. The closest you will get to a coffee is a thimble size americano with a tin foil lid if you want one.

(picture below)

TIP: These little trinkets, Giovino e Nino and Bar Piazza, are tough to find when you are staying in “the Times Square” areas of different cities. So although the apartment was not “gourmet” it definitely served a tall order in location & my roman experience!

I met up with Mitch & Ahmed after checking in & we started walking...& never stopped the entire 5 days- seriously. in Rome it is easy to walk around everywhere, but the cobblestone does a serious number to your fEEt!

TIP: Pack OUTSTANDING, COMFY, DURABLE shoes.

We walked down to the Colosseum, a 15 minute walk, to realize it closed at 330...then we went over to the Forum, to discover it tOO was closed.. then we continued & decided we would check out Trevi Fountain- something that can not “close.” After a 2 hr. search...we finally found it!!

..grabbed some dinner- nothing special- and then called it a night!!

TIP: When travelling with Mitch & Ahmed enjoy listening to debates at dinner about:

1. -whether the pillars of the ruins are one big piece of marble or sections
2. -the clocks at the top of the spanish steps

1. -where did this pine cone come from?
2. -the evolution of man and religioN
3. -Star Wars vs. James Bond
4. -Cassey..

DAY 2

Hit up “Bar Piazza” for our americanos & treats and then went back to the colosseum to go INSIDE! ~~~~~grOOvy~~~~~~ I did an audio tour so when you walk through you actually understand what you are looking at. It was pretty fascinating, the most interesting part was about the gladiators..

ie. most gladiators were actually well taken care of because the people who invested in them wanted them to do well to make money. They fought typically 2 fights a year (it sure seemed like Russel Crowe fought more...) and they only lived to the age of 30. I would only have 6 years left to my life!eek!i!iii!!!i

Neighbouring the colosseum we went to the Forum where the famous quote was established....

“i wonder what that is?” -mitch

“just more marbles...” -ahmed

more ruins, more monuments, more sculptures, just more marbles really does sum it up!

it is crazy though, by the end of the trip you are “marbled” out. You walk through the city and there are ruins, monuments everywhere and it does not even phase you.

TIP: When in doubt, it is most likely a church or museum, or just more marble.

After the Forum we grabbed a quick bite & walked over to the Spanish steps. I thought the spanish steps were “over hyped.” what was really cool was the organized shopping district by spagna. Each street was organized from most expensive to least, about 8 streets in total. I have never seen more fur anywhere else in the world..fur jackets, fur hats, fur mitts, dogs wearing fur (wow), leather here, leather there- a lot of animal and A LOT of money!

TIP: To fit in in Spagna, wear a leather jacket, fur hat and buy a jack russel terrier...random.

After 7 hrs of walking we were starving so we trekked off to find “Enzo”- a little Italian kitchen that was recommended to me by a friend. We managed to find this place with a little more ease than Trevi fountain the day before!

I thought this place had the bEST food! I had home made spinach Raviolli- yummmmmmm! And this awesome appetizer of artichoke and i think tomato... it was so citrus-y and delicious! I felt like i was sitting right in the kitchen next to mom while eating this dish!

Post dinner, off to sleep :)

DAY 3

The Vatican.-------------------------------enough said??

 

Anyone who has been to Rome probably knows what this means... a LONG day! We spent 7 hrs between the Vatican & St.Peters Bascillica.

 It was incredibly fascinating & a lot to take in. I never realized the HUGE role Michelangelo played in the Vatican. In the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo had created in only 3 years time the entire painted ceiling telling a story between each panel. And now i FINALLY understand the significance of the famous Michealgno painting with the two hands reaching out towards one another 

(pic below)

Later, we ended up back by the Spanish steps & did a little shopping. Me & mitch were not so successful but Ahmed came out with a pair of shoes :) We caught the Metro & then headed back to our “area” of town.  Dinner at “Giovino e Nino” then we called it a night!

TIP:Go to "Giovino e Nino" with a few Italian phrases in mind, zero English lots of charades going on!

DAY 4

By this time we had pretty much covered, what we felt, was most of Rome so we took our time soaking up the city & basking in the sun! We checked out the Pantheon, a church/museum, that honours all the pagan gods, and then walked down to Piazza Navoni. This piazza is a must! It is pretty much a square with a beautiful fountain, a whole bunch of painters and then restaurants and gelato bars surrounding the square. This is totally what I imagined Rome to look like. We sat and people watched for an hour or so, grabbed a bite and then kept wandering. We took our time walking around, went back past the Colosseum, we went to a disappointing “Home Sapien” museum, sat & ate gelato & just enjoyed! This really caps all of our Day 4...

DAY 5!!

i was flying solo by this point & i was clueless what was left to do....sooooo i took my time waking up in the morning..grabbed my americano. Now that our map master, Ahmed, was gone i walked towards termini to make sure i could get there tomorrow morning... i managed quite alright! i embarked through the rest of ROme only to realize when forced, it is quiet easy to maneuver around- just keep your eyes open! 

 I found Prince.....

(pic below)

where the RRRRRRIIICHHH tourists stay in rome- above the spanish steps when you venture more north there are a whole bunch of beautiful hotels! i walked back through piazza navoni and then made my way towards a book store we had passed earlier on our trip. I looked and the large array of ENGLISH! I bought Animal Farm by George Orwell- great book! grabbed some fruit from across the street & then walked to a park that overlooked the colosseum. I sat with my book & fruit and enjoyed :)

And i found this guy.....

*pic below*

I took the metro to Termini then walked back to my apartment...big mistake! I decided to walk one street over because the one i had walked earlier was not all that exciting. Little did i know that just one street over i walked through china town and into the LEGIT hood. I do not think i could have walked any faster through those 8 blocks of unbearableness (if that is a word.)

Thennnnnn showered, packed, grabbed dinner, read and off to sleep!

DAY 6...

back to Orebro- sunshine or no sunshine- i was ready to boogie. Caught my bus, took my flight and then drove home a sweet extra 2 hours... home sweet home :)