I am so behind. I have blogs piled up waiting for me to proof and post.
Written 7/9
Either these Europeans strike often or I have the worst luck of picking travel days. Italian train strike today...the day I am traveling to Florence. At least I'm traveling between main cities this time and it's Italy and not France so a lot of trains are still running. My train of course was cancelled but I managed to get another so I should be in Florence this afternoon, just a few hours late.
But right now...Roma
July 6
As you know, I woke up sick but I didn't feel like being around all those people in the heat so I decided not to go to the Colosseum and go out to Appian Way instead. Now I didn't know exactly what was out there but something about the description in the travel books made me want to visit. It wasn't too hard to get out there, a metro ride and a transfer to a bus. But when I got there, I realized that it would involve a lot of walking, in the heat, with my cold. Appian Way was the main road to Rome during the Empire. It connected all of the main cities of the Italian peninsula. And in the suburbs of Rome, it is line with tombs, the ruins of some villas, and St. Sebastian's catacombs. Since I was there and not into wasting a day in Rome, I walked around looking at ruins and whatnot. The place I really wanted to see, Villa de Quintilli was 7 km from the original bus stop. Luckily there was a bus that would take me there. Unluckily, after I made my way down the past the catacombs, I could not find a bus stop. Somehow, I ended up walking the whole way (without keeling over). I got to the villa...and the gate was locked. I read that it was closed from 1:30 to 2:30 pm and as it was 1:58, I decided to just take a breather and wait for it to reopen. The 2:30 came and past. I was saying all sorts of things about late Italians in my head when a man on a motor scooter came by and explained that I was at the rear of the villa and that there was no entrance from that way. Great. "Well how do I get in?" "You have to take a bus. The entrance is all the way on the other side. (I'm paraphrasing, he spoke little English)" "Well where is the bus." "On the other side." He must have seen the defeat in my eyes. He offered to take me across the way on his motor bike. I was leery at first but I could not walk another 2 km and I definitely could not walk the 7 km back. So I hopped on. It was very Italian. Especially when we were on the main road and the fear I felt for my life was no longer centered on turning up in one of the fields of ruins but on being hit by a bus as he zoomed down the street. After about 5 or 10 minutes, he dropped me off at the FRONT entrance to the villa and it was actually really cool. I am not sure it was worth all the trouble it took to get there, but I did enjoy it. There were plenty of buses by the front entrance so I got on one towards the metro. I was also supposed to visit Aqueduct Park but I just didn't have it in me. I actually didn't have it in my to visit my next stop, which were the Baths of Caracalla. However, with the Roma Pass, I had to go on the same day that I saw the Appian Way sights for it to still be "free." *sidebar* Roma Pass - 25 euro for three days of unlimited public transport as well as admission to two sights. The two sights I saw came bundled. The Villa de Quintilli, Tomb of Cecilia Metella and the Baths; and the Colosseum, Palentine Hill, and the Forum. Very much worth the 25 euro *end sidebar* By the time the metro stop came I felt like I might be able to make it but after walking from the metro stop to the baths I was not much into it. It was just soooo hot. Even without a cold I would have felt out of it. I did a quick loop and took a seat to appreciate the grand scale of this past building (and to motivate myself to make it back to the metro.) I eventually made the walk to the metro and from the metro to a pizza place and from the pizza place to the hostel. I sat downstairs and played on the computer for a while hopping the break might rejuvenate me enough to get some gelato since I still hadn't had any that day but I couldn't fathom walking anywhere. A couple of the ladies I had met the day before were going to the Ice Bar (where EVERYTHING is ice) and I had really wanted to go the day before (when I first heard about it) but it seemed like a terrible idea given the situation. I couldn't even see myself being up for more than a couple more hours. Keen foresight. I soon gave up on trying to do anything else that day, took a shower and went to bed at 9.
July 7
I woke up fairly early the next morning and felt marginally better. I had to go to the Colosseum this day. And I did. Colosseum, Palentine Hill and the Forum. They were all pretty awesome. The heat made it a less enjoyable experience but it was cool nonetheless. For lunch (between my visit to Palentine Hill and the Forum) I made a trek out of the ancient neighborhood to the area between Piazza Navano and Campi de Fiori. Elissa had sent me an article about eating like a local in Rome and I wanted to give it a try. It was this little place without a name above the door and it was delicious. I got pasta with tomato sauce, eggplant and cheese.
I also sat next to this Italian guy on his lunch break who assumed I was African (probably because there weren't any tourists at this place) and then proceeded to chat me up about America and Civil Engineering, which was also his field. Nice guy.
When I finished my lunch, I explored the area a little and then made my way back to see the Forum. There was a bit of complication with my ticket, but in the end, I saw the Forum which was definitely one of my favorites. I think it had the best (and most important) ruins. After the Forum, I did a bit of a search for the 100 flavor gelato shop that I had heard about. It was a lost cause and the heat was not motivating me to keep looking. I settled for a place that had canoli and creme caramel. Yum! But by that time, even though I had a couple more things on my list, I had to go home because I was worn out. I went back to the hostel and laid in my bed reading for a while in the ac.
About an hour later I caught myself drifting so I took my pc downstairs to surf. I couldn't go to bed at 7pm 1. because I'm on vacation in Rome 2. because if I did my roommates would wake me up from 7 until 12 with their comings and goings anyway. While I was downstairs complaining to Rob about how I wasn't making any friends, a group of people were gathering. One person in this group was my tour guide from the other day and he waved to me. I took this opportunity to jump in and ask where they were heading. To the huge Roman park to watch the Spain/Germany match. Sweet, I'm in.
The night involved a lot of walking; to the metro, to the park, in the park to the massive screen where the game was broadcast to hundreds of people, then from the park to the bars. The walk to the bars was THE longest walk. And the payoff was subpar. We ended up at Campo de Fiori which seemed like it could be a fun spot but I wasn't having that much fun. Let's just say the people in the group weren't the most interesting people. Or we can just say that they were boring. The ones that were fun were throwing back shots but I wasn't into going hard with my cold, and they were going very hard. In the end, a few of us took the bus back around midnight. We also made plans to go check out the river for the next night.
July 8
I made it another early morning and went out to the Vatican. I did the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel first and then St. Peter's Basilica. It was so nice to see things that were in tact and beautiful. It was also nice to see sights in ac. I got a snack of gelato before I made my way back to the city center for late lunch on the Spanish Steps. The gelato was the most disappointing. I'm gonna blame it on the fact that it wasn't in "Italy" (I guess it was actually Italy since it wasn't within the wall of Vatican City).
I had some parts of the city left to see on my list and they were all along the metro on the way back from the Vatican. I got off at Flaminio to see the huge piazza, then Spangola to do some people watching as I ate a yummy panini on the Spanish Steps, then to the Trevi Fountain. From the Trevi Fountain (great), I decided to walk around and take in some more of the city. I also planned to have dinner at Baffetto Pizzaria on someone's recommendation and since they didn't open until 6:30, I had some time to kill. I arrived at the pizzaria at 6 (I was told the queue can get pretty bad and I was meeting everyone at 7:30 to go to the river). This was the most delicious pizza I have ever had in my life. It made me sooo happy. I thought I might never eat pizza again it was so good. I got the pizza named after the pizzaria, the Baffetto.
It was topped with mushrooms, onions, sausage, artichoke, peppers, cheese and an egg. *sigh* Heavenly. The crust was just so thin and crispy and the toppings were so fresh and there was just the right amount of toppings. mmmm...I could go on and on...
I caught the bus back to the hostel to make sure I got there on time. We didn't end up leaving until about 9 anyway. We took the bus down to the river. It was lined with tents that were full of shops or restaurants. Nice set up. We stumbled upon this restaurant where a band was setting up. We decided to grab a table and get some drinks. Turns out this was the hot spot. By the time we got our drinks, a crowd had built up around the tent and there were no more seats. The band was cool. They played a lot of blues covers. If you've never heard "Go Johnny. Go." with an Italian accent, you are missing out. They also had some originals which were pretty good. Too bad I had no clue what they were about. When the band wrapped up, we did too. We decided to go see some of the sights by night, the ones I had seen earlier. Trevi fountain and Spanish Step. The Trevi Fountain is quite pretty at night (during the day it's just kinda awesome). The Spanish Steps looked the same except there were no people to watch and they were dark. Nothing special. We made this our last night sight and went back to the hostel.
Now my thoughts on Rome... I don't really like Rome. This opinion could be influenced by the fact that I was sick, but I wasn't a fan even before that. Or it could be that the people I met, while very nice, were kinda lame. It could be that I expected to do a bit of partying and I didn't. It could be that the people of Rome were rude. It could be that it was tragically hot. Or it could be that Rome is just not my type of city. "We don't have any chemistry." I hate Geneva, but as a city, I actually really liked it. We had a love/hate relationship. I don't hate Rome. But I def don't love it. I would go back, because the food was it's saving grace (soooo good) and there are still other things to see there. But I cannot join the I [heart] Roma camp. And I won't be pitching a tent with the I like Rome campers either. I still love the Roman Empire, the history and the engineering in Rome. That is undeniable. Just as a city, not a fan.
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