Our trip to Italy was probably the most adventurous thing I've ever done in my life. And that was probably because I was in charge of putting the whole shebang together and I was headed to a country I'd never been to before. That being said, our trip included losing one another in the heart of Rome, participating in pickpocketing and breaking the law therefore having to pay a fine.
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| roma. |
So where shall I begin? Roma!
P.S. I like to add pictures that capture the city. Anyone can Google a million pictures of the Colosseum and every other historic site in Italy. So here's to capturing the city!
Day 1: Arrived in Rome at 9:00 a.m. after getting very little sleep on the overnight flight. As soon as we got off the plane, it hit me that I had to get us from point A to point B on this trip. It was very nerve racking and I had a slight panic attack (no worries, I didn't tell Katelyn any of this), but said a plea to Jesus that He would help me... then I starting feeling a little better!
We managed to find our bed & breakfast with a bit of searching because the sign for it was about 2 inches long and about a centimeter tall & only by God's grace did Katelyn see it! We were greeted by the sweetest, Asian-Italian owner, Isabella. She talked really fast when explaining to us the 6 keys to all the doors and the elevator. Luckily, her english was good. She taught us our first Italian word "grazie" which means thank you. At this point, we felt exhausted and gross after traveling so many hours, but we knew sleep nor shower were anywhere in the near future. It was time to see Roma!
We walked to the Colosseum, Arch of Constantine & the Roman Forum. After covering these three sights, we realized we were spent. So we found a nice little cement bench in the shade & unintentionally fell asleep...oops. We woke up and laughed - feeling like country people who got thrown into the city, but it was well worth it. We learned once we arrived in Rome the Rolling Stones were actually playing that same day! But we soon realized it was one big party and we didn't want to be apart of it so we just bought a cool t-shirt. We finished up the day with touring a few other historic sites and had dinner at a nice little Resturante enjoying our own pizzeria margarita.
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| There are tons of painters on the city streets. You can watch them paint & purchase a picture! |
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| Fortunately, there were clean (cute!) water fountains throughout the city. |
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| You see why we had trouble finding our hotel? Tiny. Sign. |
Day 2: After an amazing night's sleep & a yummy breakfast, we were ready to face the day. The most important sites for us to see were St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum. We knew the lines would be terrible so we started early and...the line for the Vatican was terrible. Luckily, the two people behind us in line were from the US and soon became our new friends - Laura and Donna. Also, I quickly realized that I had completely forgotten about the dress code for these two sites. Katelyn and I were both in shorts which is a risky choice. So we purchased scarves and made a skirt. They were so hideous. We looked absolutely ridiculous - it was hilarious. I still can't believe we spent half the day looking so atrocious. See for yourself...
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| our new friends. |
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| on our way to the sistene chapel. |
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| fancy skirt. |
After going through parts of the Vatican and seeing Michelangelo's amazing work in the Sistene Chapel (it really is a-mazing), we headed over to St. Peter's. This is where our day got a bit interesting. And I'm going to give the short version. We waited in line, went through security and were about to walk through the guards when I got stopped for not having sleeves...even though my hair was down and you could barely tell. Katelyn and I decided that she should go ahead and go in and see St. Peter's - this was discussed and decided in about 10 seconds or less. So off she went!... with both cell phones, both passports and all of our money in the backpack. I literally had nothing. Once I smiled and waved her goodbye, it hit me - you are a moron. You have nothing!!! So the short version is for an hour and a half (which felt like 15 YEARS) of me searching everywhere for her, going to information for help and crying... we finally ran into one another. Her first words to me were "I've been looking for you for 5 MINUTES! I was so worried." I wanted to slap the girl. I quickly let her know that while she was away admiring the lovely St. Peter's and catching a dreamy view of all of Rome - just having the time of her life, I was down below choking down vomit because I thought she was gone forever. I told Katelyn I'd give Jesus all the money in my savings account just for allowing us to find each other lol.
After a good hour, I finally started to relax and we were able to finish our day seeing the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and different shops. We had dinner right around the corner from the Spanish Steps at Antica Enoteca (as seen in Rick Steve's). Shortly, after dinner we headed back to our hotel and called it a day.
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| us with sweet Isabella. |
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| these little pizzeria's are scattered all over Roma. |
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| we were real sad about this scaffolding on the Spanish Steps. |
Traveling Bible: Rick Steve's: Italy 2014
Hotel: B&B Smart (hardy breakfast included- I highly recommend this place!)
Transportation: It's very easy to travel from Fiumicino airport to Rome's Termini train station. Be sure to buy tickets to the Termini Station (main train station).
Tips: It's not necessary to purchase the Roma Pass if you're staying 3 days or less. We bought it and it was a waste of precious Euros. Rome can easily be covered walking (if you're wearing comfortable shoes!)
Be sure and wear sleeves and a skirt if you're planning on visiting St. Peter's and Vatican Museum. The guards can be very strict - as we well know.
A lot of museums and major sights are closed either Sunday or Monday - plan accordingly.
If it's even possible, I would try and find out what major sites are under construction. Unfortunately for us, the Trevi Fountain had no water & the Spanish Steps were covered in scaffolding.
I literally almost had a panic attack just while reading about you & katelyn getting seperated!! OMG!!! Must have been terrifying!!!! Off to read your other posts!!!
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