Italia... Roma

 

I forgot to get a street sign photo in Rome. :-(

We left Assisi fairly early to head to Rome because we had a 3:00 PM entry time at Vatican Museums. Since the ZTL zone is much larger in Rome, we knew it would take a while to get the car to the garage for parking and then get to our hotel to drop our bags, which we did. We made it in time to make the lengthy trek to Vatican City on foot (we have logged to many walking miles!!) and still had about 40 minutes to spare so we stopped for a break at a cafe!

At 3:00 we began our Vatican journey and it is truly a journey. Honestly, we felt more like cattle being herded into a stockyard! There were so many people!! My main goal was to see the Sistine Chapel - I mean can you go to Rome and not see it? I am sure many would say, absolutely! But I wanted to see it. However, to get there we had to meander among the throngs of people through everything from ancient Egyptian artifacts to modern art! 

Floor mosaic

Salvador Dali

Diego Rivera

We finally made it to the Sistine Chapel and I didn't even realize that's where I was!! Y'all! SOOOO... MANY... PEOPLE! There are multiple signs and the expectations are even announced allowed that no photography is allowed and that silence is to be observed in the space. Did people follow the expectations? Absolutely not! Rude, rude, rude people. I was so disappointed with the entire experience. I had my earbuds in to listen to an audio recording about the space and STILL heard people shouting about it. I truly expected such a different experience. The paintings are amazing though! And what was so surprising is that when Michaelangelo was asked to paint the ceiling of the chapel, he felt like he was not a worthy choice because he felt his specialty was sculpture! And now, look how famous it is! I am sure he had no idea that throngs of people would come to view it many, many years later. I respected the wishes and did not take any photographs. I am sure you look them up online though!

As we made our way back out of the Vatican Museums we went through a map room with elaborately painted maps, a gift room where gifts to the Pope are kept on display and occasional glimpses through windows onto the Vatican grounds. While the place was stunning, I honestly left a little jaded about the whole experience. 

This was one of my favorite ceilings.

This was beautiful!

A view on the way back from the Vatican

Afterward, we trekked back to the hotel and our room was ready. This hotel stay was one of the best! The location, the staff, the beautiful building - all of it was just gorgeous! One of the staff members shared with me that the building itself dates to the middle 1800s and was originally some type of embassy. Currently, the boutique hotel uses the first floor (which to us US folks is actually the 2nd floor) and floors 2 and up are residential. The ground floor houses a courtyard and a few businesses. I just loved it!

Our room is the shuttered window almost in the middle of the photo.

Very old elevator in our building.

Marble staircase

Ceilings and floors were all original to the building - this it he main lobby area.

We had dinner at a nearby restaurant (there are so, so many) and then took a walk to the Spanish steps in Piazza de Spagna. 

Various types of bruschetta

Tiramisu

Spanish Steps

The next morning, Chris and I found a spot for a more hardy late breakfast and both had a wonderful meal. He had eggs, bacon and such and I had very yummy Pancakes! We then walked up to Piazza del Popolo which is where the original northern gate to the city stands. If you stand facing the northern gate, to the right is a large and lush park. To the south are two basilicas that look like mirror images of each other. While we were there, the bell towers of these two basilicas along with another belltower closer to the gate began to ring. We realized it was noon. It was soooo pretty to hear! There are three main roads that go out of the piazza and the two basilicas are in between them. These three roads are the main area for shopping if you are looking for designers and such. One of the roads leads straight back to the Spanish steps. 

Yum!!

Piazza del Popolo - you can the northern gate behind the monument.

The carving were so intricate on so many of these monuments.

The three roads are clearly visible between the buildings.

Spanish Steps in the daytime.

Later that day, we had tickets to the Colosseum. I really enjoy history and we go tickets to go inside the Colosseum and onto the arena level as well. The walk there was fairly long so on the way we stopped by Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. 

Once we reached the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (the first king of unified Italy), everything beyond that was ancient Roman ruins with the Colosseum at the end. It reminded us a great deal of the ruins we say in Greece. 

This was ridiculously large for a monument.

When we reached the Colosseum our first entry was to the main level of the Colosseum - like the outer ring, but not all the way to the top - that's a different ticket. When we went in, we were so surprised at the condition. I really expected to see more detail, at least in some places of what it originally looked like. It was completed sometime in the 1st century AD and after several hundred years, it went through a period of not being used. We learned that during that time, pieces of it were taken and reused to construct other buildings in Rome. I just imagine small chunks of the Colosseum scattered among the city. The arena in Verona where we attended the opera was completed in 30 AD so it isn't much younger, yet it was in MUCH better shape. The second part of our tour was the arena floor. This is a reconstructed area of floor that would have covered the entire underground originally. It is where all of the action would have take place. 

The underground - I can only imagine the nervous and anxious fighters waiting here...

Reconstructed arena floor

Roman numerals still visible in some parts - these indicated seat sections for spectators - the same system we use today.

Chris and I both decided that if we had to do it again, we would not get tickets to go inside the Colosseum. Honestly, we didn't think it was worth it. There just wasn't much to see. For sure, we would recommend visiting the entire area, walking the entire outside and perusing the views of the Roman ruins there and back, but forego the inside. If you feel you really have to see the inside, I would only do the Arena floor ticket. That level gives you pretty closeup views of the underground section, and it gives you views of the entire inside but you aren't walking around the perimeter of the middle level.

These trees were so pretty when manicured.

We discovered that the trees were some sort of pine tree!

My guy!

We made our way back to the hotel to cool off and then get ready for a lite dinner. We happened upon a restaurant just walking around and asking to look at menus and we ordered their cheese tray and some toasted focaccia. Oh my goodness, what a great surprise this was! It was delicious!! We both love cheese and they served it with a jam and some honey. That, along with the focaccia, was at hit!! I was trying to identify all of the cheeses and asked the manager about one of the them and we struck up a conversation about them and he brought out another sample for use try. He called it a creamy gorgonzola. I have only had the dry, crumbled version of Gorgonzola and I like it, but this creamy one was delicious!! 

I would say that my overall impression with Rome is that it is worth visiting but it is a BIG city. But it's historic so to me, that makes it worth it. There is way more to explore than what we saw, but we were okay with just a taste. I will say that compared to NYC, it's cleaner and way less smelly! I do recommend visiting when it's not a kazillion degrees though! The heat is draining!

Goodbye to this beautiful hotel and our calm courtyard view!

The next morning, we packed up and headed to the parking garage to pick up our rental car. Our next stop is the Cinque Terre!