Spring Break: Roma

Continued from: Part 2

Rome Day 1: Colosseo

Rule of thumb for European air travel: Don't ever fly EasyJet or Ryanair. Just don't. I know it looks cheap but pay the extra money, I promise you aren't getting a good deal with either of those airlines.

Rome at first glance is slightly terrifying. The Metro system is dark and dirty and the people are a little shifty. I could not stand taking the Metro in Rome, it freaked me out inside every time we went down there. Luckily, much of Rome is easily accessible on foot. Our first visit? The Colosseum of course! The whole place was pretty much empty that time of night except for the creepy crappy souvenirs guys (we had enough practice shooing these guys away in Paris, not to bother). Catie bought a mini tripod and let me borrow it to play with long exposure. WIN. Not much else to say about the first day other than the horrible experience that was EasyJet.



Rome Day 2: Forum and such
We visited the Colosseum once more in the daylight and got there early enough to have some private time with the old ruin. The inside is more spectacular than photos describe, it was absolutely amazing. It was then we discovered our first Colosseum cat. Apparently, Rome is home to lots and lots of cats as we came to find out. We got some photos with the Gladiators outside too.




From here, we entered the Archeological park, home to several arches, Roman villas and the famous forum. Here are some highlights:

Arch of Constantine:


Arch of Titus:


Forum:


After several hours of wandering the huge park, we found the exit and began searching for food. Then we saw the Column of Trajan:


After food, it was a march from monument to monument trying to find the Pantheon. We stumbled upon some ruins in an area called the Torre Argentina only to find the place crawling with felines. A search around brought us to the headquarters of the foundation who cares for the kitties. They take in the ones who need rehab and neuter, spay and give shots to the others they find. This controls population and keeps disease down and I really appreciate what they do! Of course...we had to spend about an hour with the kitties.


After kitties, there was the Pantheon. A disappointed trio of travelers found the place covered with scaffolding and closed for evening mass. The only thing left was to gorge ourselves on gelato from the place around the corner from the Pantheon. TIP: Go to this Gelato place if you're in Rome. It is wondrous! The rest of the day consisted of more wandering until we retired to our hostel to watch Glee on the internet.


Rome Day 3: Villa Borghese and Ara Pacis
Early start this day as well. I really enjoyed the Villa Borghese until we reached the Gallery. This is where several famous Bernini sculptures are housed and, to our dismay, was closed for reservations only. So, furious, we made a reservation for the following day. By this time, I had caught a cold and was not only pissy, but not feeling well. Almost got into a verbal fight at the Gallery because my foggy head didn't realize I may have offended the guy at the ticket counter.


To alleviate our disappointment, we went to the zoo in the back of the Villa. The zoo made us happy once more.


The best part of the day was our trip to the Altar of Augustan Peace or simply the Ara Pacis. We studied this monument in several of my art history classes and I was thrilled to finally see it in person. While Hali and I were having our excited moment, we were approached by another American man who asked us if we were archaeology majors. We told him we studied art history and had a good visit with him. He asked me what textbooks we used in my class and I told him Art Through the Ages. After more conversation he leaves us to our viewing of the Ara Pacis, shakes our hands and says, 'hey btw, i wrote art through the ages.' I couldn't believe it myself, not yet. After we left we hung around outside and ran into him again. He showed us some places on the map and gave us his card. Indeed, we has one of the authors of that book! Quite an amazing encounter.



Since we were already out and about, we took a quick detour to find the Trevi Fountain. Why yes, I emptied all the pennies from my purse into the fountain. In actuality, I tossed them all one by one over my shoulder as is customary. With this act, I have ensured my return to Rome.



And then we went back for more gelato.

Rome Day 4: Vatican
I will start this by saying I do not mean to offend anyone. The Vatican was probably the worst experience I had in a long time with crowds. Luckily, Catie and I caught a tour and skipped the line, but the inside of the museum wasn't any better. We had to rush through so we could make it to the Borghese at 3. I was impressed by the Sistine chapel and the wonderful collection of sculpture, but the crowds began to upset me. I would love to rant about how much I can't stand idiot museum-goers, but I'm not in the mood to get that angry. I just wanted to break a few hands that day.


Also, the Vatican has very few exits. Lord protect that place even more if there ever was a fire. I don't want to think about it.

The Borghese, however infuriating the were the day before showed us a good time in the afternoon. I love Bernini's work and I felt honored to be in the presence of these works. This little gem made my day. Artemis and the huntresses, hazzah.

Rome Day 5: Spanish Steps and EasyJet Hate

We decided to spend our last morning in Rome at the Spanish Steps. We had no idea there'd be a marathon happening in Rome that morning. Since we had dragged all our luggage with us, we sat on the steps enjoying the people watching. Bored, we headed to the airport.


Now....EasyJet. Don't ever fly them. NEVER. They don't have good service, they only allow ONE carry on and the mean ONE carry on, this includes purses. They also do not assign seats so everyone rushes the gate counter the instant boarding begins. And they had terrible delays and no free food or drinks either. Not good, just not good, don't ever fly them.

We didn't get home until after midnight, 5 hours after we thought we'd be there. Don't fly EasyJet, they suck.

So there you have it, Spring Break 2010. Great time of ups and downs but completely worth every minute.