Roma, Italy

Although getting to Roma was quite eventful, I was so excited to be here! It was quite easy for me to find my hostel and get situated. I had never stayed at hostels before so that itself was a new experience for me.

As soon as I put my bags away, I ventured out to get some food and walk around. It was hard to believe I was in Rome!!! I was breathing the Roman air, and kept wanting to pinch myself and couldn't stop smiling.




After making phone calls back home to let them know I arrived safe and sound, I started following the map the lady at the hostel gave me. Once I got on Via Natzionale, I could pretty much keep walking to hit many historic sites. I spent 4.5 days in Roma, and I could have spent more.


This is the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II). It seems to be surrounded by ruins, and it's a wonder to me that it's in such good shape being in the middle of these ruins.



At the hostel, I met some girls, and the next day with one of them we ventured out to the Vatican City.

This is St. Peter's Basilica. There was such a long line outside to enter it that we decided to skip out on it that day. A couple of days later, with some other people from the hostel, I went there early in the morning and got to see the inside. It's pretty amazing, the art, the history, the nuns!!! Actually, in the Vatican, everywhere you turn, there are nuns... more than priests, actually, I think!





I had to take a picture of the guards at the Vatican... So unintimidating!



















As we were walking towards Castel San Angelo, there was some construction going on in Fiume Tevere... Granted it was a hot day, but I never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined seeing a construction worker in speedos, working with nails and nail-guns and hammers, etc. But I guess if you want to get an all-over tan, you do what you have to do!!! Zoom in if you don't believe your eyes...










This is me, at the Spanish steps... One of the first afternoons I spent solo. It's really not very steep but I had to catch my breath once I reached the top. At the top, there are many artists painting pictures, drawing your caricature, etc. And it's a wonderful view of the city. In front of the steps, there's a fountain, but it's not so magnificent compared to many of the other fountains in Rome.






For example, the most wonderful fountain I think in all of Italy, is Fontana di Trevi. I fell in love with this fountain. It was impossible to take a the whole thing in in a picture because not counting the fact that it's so big, but it's also very crowded. The water was so clear though, and since it was so hot, I was so tempted to jump right in. People seemed to be sitting there for hours... I heard that you toss a coin and make a wish to come back and see Trevi fountain. I came here twice during my stay in Rome. LOVED IT!!! It was a cold drink of water in that heat.








Although I went to where the Colliseum is located twice before, I only finally had time to go inside it on my last day in Rome. I must have spent a couple of hours in there, and if it was not so hot, I could have spent more time in awe of it. I didn't take a tour, but I tried to listen to the tour guides as much as I could. They set you straight about the un-truths in some of the things in "The Gladiator" movie, such as the "thumbs up" which I guess never was used. It's incredible to see where they kept the gladiators and the lions and the tigers, etc. It was amazing walking thru it. Again, had to keep pinching myself in disbelief!








And finally, the real Roman gladiators in front of the Colliseum!!!

As I was taking his picture, they call you to get a picture taken with them. But you have to negotiate on how much ahead of time. Being on a budget, I was happy to find a happy family of gladiators and get a free picture of my own.






Rome was my favorite city in all of Italy... I took more than a hundred pictures there, but none of them really do it justice. I was really not very interested in the food when I was there, and mostly ate bread and cheese and fruits from the supermercato. I was walking around so much, all day long, and I couldn't get enough of it. I was really tired from 4.5 days of sight-seeing, but I would do it all over again.