After falling in love with Florence, it was time to take my dairy-bloated self to Rome. I really didn't have any sort of plan for specific sites I wanted to see, and was honestly feeling a bit blah about the whole place.
When I got in, I found out my hostel did not have kitchen facilities or included breakfast, which meant I would have to eat more meals out--an expense I wasn't expecting and was a bit choked about. The hostel also wasn't very conducive to meeting people, so I spent the 4 days pretty lonely (especially after having so much company in Florence). My first full day there, I decided I would start at the coliseum and work my way around the main centre. When I got out of the metro station, I came across a breast cancer marathon. Consisting of over 34,000 people. Greeeeeeeat. Trying to get across the street to actually see the coliseum was a nightmare and the lines were already ridiculously long at 10 am. Unimpressed Rachel was unimpressed. I did notice that you could get a city pass that would grant you free access to your first 2 sites and unlimited transit usage for 3 days, so my goal of the day became to acquire one of these. Which turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated because there was just so many people around that you couldn't get your bearings.
I think part of my negative attitude was traveller's fatigue. By this point I was about 4 - 5 weeks into my trip and I was just getting sick of wake-up-stand-in-line-dodge-tour-group-see-sight-take-pictures-eat-picnic-repeat. I know, first world problem, but this nomad lifestyle can be exhausting, both physically and mentally. I used the evening to get to bed early and hopefully recharge my sense of wonder.
The next morning was a bit easier. I started at the Vatican (just the site, not the museum) and worked my way down the main road, across the river to plaza nuovo and the trevi fountain. And the answer is no, I did not throw a coin in. *GASP* It was so crowded by that time of day that I was terrified I would hit someone in the face if I tried to do it. So now I HAVE to come back to Rome in order to throw my coin in. Take that.
I checked out the roman forum and palatine hill in the afternoon, and figured I needed a fix I hadn't gotten since Lyon: seeing a movie! This time: The Great Gatsby with Italian subtitles. Not Baz's best work, but it filled the gap.
Speaking of filling the gap, guess who found 2 (yes 2!) vegetarian restaurants in Rome?! THIS GIRL. The first was The Beehive, which is actually a hostel with an organic cafe inside. It was Sunday night so I happened to be in time for the set menu for 8€. Ohmygodsotasty. I really wished I had stayed there as it was just around the corner from my hostel, has free breakfast and kitchen facilities and was only 5€ more a night. I also had a little curry platter at a place by the Vitoria that was also ohmygodsotasty. Definitely a nice change from pasta.
Things I have learned:
- I found I enjoyed the roman forum ruin more from outside the actual site as you could see better where all of the foundations were.
- actually, I found I enjoyed ALL the sites more from outside. Rome really is a city of history, and there is so much around you really don't need to go in the attractions to appreciate them
- compared to the other major European cities I've been to, Rome's metro system is fairly lacking. I imagine that anytime they try to expand it though they come across another archaeological site.
- reading Jane Austen makes me instantly sleepy.
- the Spanish steps are kind of unimpressive...
- Rome sells hot priest calendars! Like firemen calendars only with less abs and more crucifixes.
- there is still way more Pope John Paul II swag than ones for the new Pope Francis. It seems everyone just wants to forget about Benedict...
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