When In Rome

Without further ado, I now present the insanely
long post about my 5 day visit to Rome...

After waking up extrememly early on Wednesday
morning (around 4am) so we could get to Gatwick
Airport and catch our 7am flight, we arrived in Rome
around 11am. After getting our bags, we hopped on a
train from the airport to Termini Station in central Rome.

Here is Anna on the train on our
way into the city.

After an hour or so (we, well I, thought walking
to the Bed & Breakfast wouldn't be too far) we arrived
at our accommodations. Tanya greeted us and immediatly
showed us our room and made us feel at home. She showed
us how to get around the city, what trains to take where, and
was just super friendly (if you ever go to Rome, I highly
recommend you stay at this cute little B&B).

This is a picture of our room (note the cute pig).

This was the view from our window.

After cleaning up a bit and grabbing a bite
to eat, we headed out for the afternoon. First
it was off to the Colosseum (well after trying
to get some money...long story).

The Colosseo!

The view up the street from the Colosseum.
We soon realized that everything was in pretty
close proximity to each other. You really could
walk to all the different sites in Rome.

After figuring out our cash situation, we finally got
our tickets to take a tour of the Colosseum (the ticket
also got you into the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill).

Inside the Colosseum...

Like I mentioned in the London post, we did
audio tours almost everywhere we went
(well Anna did at least). You will notice the
audio guides around are next almost
everywhere we go.

Here are our photo ops on the outside landing with
the Arch of Constantine behind us.

Some more inside shots...

We got a couple of pictures of us
together here and there.

We then made our way over to the
Roman Forum, passing by the arch.

We were too late, so we decided we would head
over first thing in the morning before going to
the Vatican Museum (we already had already

bought tickets to avoid the lines).

So as planned, we head to the Roman Forum and
Palatine Hill early Thursday morning. Of course
we purchased audio guides, but here it proved
to be rather confusing. The map wasn't easy
to follow and because it is an active archeological
site, pathways were blocked off which made it hard
to know where were were supposed to stop and
listen to certain items. With that said though,
it was very cool to see what was left of what used
to be a grand part of ancient Rome.

What's left of the Roman Forum.

The Arch of Titus.

With the headache of the maps and everything, it
took a lot longer to get through the tour than expected
(we hadn't even toured the Palatine Hill yet). After
talking with an employee about returning later without
having to purchased the audio guide again, we headed
over to the Vatican Museum.

This is the courtyard area of the museum. There
was a lot to see here, including the Sistine Chapel, so
I'll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves here.

View of city from the Museum.

The School of Athens.

And the Sistine Chapel. Technically you aren't
supposed to take pictures, but everyone was and
I figured I could take some without using my flash.

We would see the mosaic version of this
painting at St. Peter's Basilica.

After getting more than our fill of the museum,
we decided to head back to the the Palatine Hill.
Loved this staircase as we exited the museum.

Entrance/Exit to the museum.

Of course a magical thing happened when we
arrived back at the Palatine Hill. After getting our
audio guides back and setting off to take the rest of
the tour, I look over across the way and I see my friend Mark
standing there. He was in the city for a study abroad program and
we had even talked about trying to meet up as we would
both be in the city at the same time for a couple of days.
We joked about meeting at the Spanish Steps, so the fact that
we ran into each other by a set of stairs was rather hilarious.

These pictures are from Mark's camera (thanks for
sending them by the way Mark!)

He also took some pictures of Anna and I for us.

Well after our encounter with Mark, we took
our tour of the Palatine Hill.

I just loved all the views of the city from all
the different hills.

After wrapping up our tour, we grabbed some
dinner and some pastries and called it a night.

Friday, we decided to take things easy and
sleep in a little. We had been waking up pretty
early and had been on the go the whole time, so
it was nice to relax and enjoy the city and at a
leisurely pace. Our first destination for the
day was the Spanish Steps.

We found out from Tanya that morning
that Friday was a big holiday in Rome (and most
of Europe for that matter) and there were tons of
people that had come to the city for a huge concert
that was going on that day (Vasco Rossi, a famous
Italian Rocker was performing). So the city was
pretty crowded that day. But, it was so beautiful!

In front of the Spanish Steps.

View from the steps.

We stopped and had a little snack as we sat on the steps.

We then made our way to the Trevi Fountain.

We continued to walk around and even stopped
for some gelato. Oh so yummy!

Besides audio guides, Anna was about
the food. Anna ended up buying a delicious
pork sandwich from this little shop.

It was conveniently located next to the Pantheon.

The Pantheon was one of my favorite sites in Rome.
It is one of the oldest buildings in Rome and it still
in amazing condition. Such beautiful architecture.

After the Pantheon was continued to walk along

and found our way to the Piazza Navona.

Some more gelato was consumed.

Continuing our walk...

Back in front of the Pantheon again.

Anna's sandwich shop.

Our walk then took us to the Church of the Gesu.

Anna and I both enjoyed the interior

decoration of this church.

The Monument of Victor Emmanuel II.

Sites of the Imperial Fora (forums).

This is the Trajan Column that was apart
of the Trajan Forum.

More views of the ruins.

After our long walk, we decided to check out
the concert that was going on. Along the way
I decided to get a picture of the Metro.

And you thought trains in New York were
covered in graffiti!

I didn't take any pictures at the concert (too crowded)
as I didn't want to risk losing or my camera getting damaged.
We didn't stay very long (maybe 10-15 minutes), but it was
pretty crazy (especially all the garbage everywhere). Checking
out the concert probably wasn't our best idea as then we didn't get
to the tram until later and at that point because of the holiday public
transportation was basically nonexistent. So after a long day of walking
we made the long walk back to the B&B for a second time during our stay.

Ah Saturday! After some much needed rest,
we end back to Vatican City to see St. Peter's Basilica.

The piazza in front of the basilica.

And yes, there was quite the line to get in (as you can
see), but surprisingly it moved pretty quickly.

Check out those sexy Swiss Guards.

Finally making our way in.

Statue of St. Peter (far right).

The High Altar.

There's that mosaic I was telling you about.

After visiting the St. Peter's we ended back to
the Capitoline Hill to go visit the museum there.

There's the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II again.

And here is the Capitoline Hill.

Making our way up to the piazza and museum.

Copy of the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius.
The real thing was inside.

The Born and Thorn.

The famous She-Wolf and symbol of Rome.

The real thing.

Statue of Constantine.

Both of us at this point were starting to get tired
(and later sick). We did a little more walking around
that night trying to find a place to eat, but ended up
just getting McDonald's at the end of the day (I know
that's terrible). I blame my bad judgment on the cold.

On Sunday, the cold was on full force now (for me),
but it was also my last day in the city (Anna was staying longer
and would be meeting up with a friend in Venice). We starting
off visiting Basilica di San Giovanni, or Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Anna took her time taking the audio tour, while
I simply looked around (I had had enough audio tours
by that point and had a very stuffy nose).

Near the basilica there was a building that
housed the stairs that apparently Jesus walked
when going to see Pontius Pilot. You are only
allowed to climb the stairs on your knees.

Another outside view of the basilica.

Inside the baptistery.

Back at the front entrance of San Giovanni.

As Anna continued here tour of the church (and
visiting with one of the guards) I decided as it was so nice
outside, I decided to wait for her out in the piazza.
I ended up getting quite a bit of sun.

Finally we headed over to see the ruins of
some Roman baths.

Finally we ended our day visit the Villa Borghese.

Views of the city from the park.
After locating the Galleria Borghese for Anna (she
would be going to visit Tuesday morning before
she left the city), we sat on a park bench for a little
bit to take in the last moments in the city before
headed back to the B&B to get things gathered.

That night we wrapped up our visit with a final
meal from our favorite little restaurant near the B&B
(it was our third dinner from this place). Mmmmm, I can
taste that delicious carbonara now just thinking about it!

Well, that was my visit to Rome. I know this post was long overdue,
but thanks for being such a wonderful travel companion Anna. Also
thanks to Tanya and Cristian for a wonderful stay at their B&B.