Travelogue: When in Rome

First dates and stepping foot someplace new— instances when first impressions REALLY count. When it came to Rome, well, Nick and I didn’t exactly have the best first impression. We arrived after midnight. Despite the late hour, it was still broiling hot. 85 degrees maybe? Our cabby dropped us off not AT our hotel, but, you know, around it. He assured us in broken English we could find it (“Si, si…via Marghera, via Marghera”) before taking off in his little Fiat. With Nick lugging a heavy suitcase and oversized duffel and me strapped down with a backpack suitable for a Himalayan hike, we walked up one side of the street.

Wow, there’s a lot of graffiti. Back again. So many scooters. And..garbage. Yuck. Down the other stretch. Okay, really, all we need are signs on our backs that read ‘I’m a tourist, rob me now.’ Back again. Oh god…we’re really lost now. Don’t panic, don’t panic. We stop, desperate at this point, to ask for directions at another hotel. “What’s the name again? Yeah…neverrrr heard of it,” the pony-tailed clerk tells us. I’ve been HAD!, I think. Don’t cry, don’t cry. Back down the street we go. Around the corner. Another hotel. “Can I use your phone?” I ask, gesturing. “No customer, no use phone.” Nick leaves me fighting tears with a pack of teenage tourists smoking cigarettes outside. I’m going to make one last attempt to find this place, he says, sweat pouring down his face, steam ready to come out his ears. Okay, okay, I’m so sorry..this is all my fault, I plead, convinced my mother would have a coronary if she knew the predicament we were in. Five minutes later, Nick rounds the corner, relief on his face. He’s found it. HALLELUJAH HE’S FOUND IT. I hug him, he hugs me. I’m apologizing for picking a hotel so hard to track down. He’s apologizing for being cross. After 8 hours stuck in an airport and 18 hours without sleep, could I blame him?

The little hotel where we stayed for our four nights in Rome quickly grew on us—sans air conditioning and all. After we’d returned home, their customer satisfaction survey arrived in my inbox. And while I gave them a lot of high marks, I couldn’t resist tackling their “Suggestions” box with one final comment: “If you don’t want your guests to show up at your doorstep with puffy eyes, for the love, GET A BIGGER SIGN.”

Our first full day in Rome and where do we head? The Vatican. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many tourists gathered in one place. Let alone in 95 degree heat! (Whose idea was it to go to Rome in July again? Oh yeah, right…mine. Geesh )

The inside of St. Peter’s Basilica was absolutely incredible. Everywhere you looked, there was nothing but ivory, marble and gold. The high altar made my jaw drop a little. From St. Peter’s, we walked around the exterior walls of the Vatican City (which, before visiting, I had a) no CLUE how big it was nor b) that its brick walls would top Fort Knox). We made it to the line for the Vatican Museum, which is where you go when you have one goal in mind: To see the Sistine Chapel. What you can’t comprehend is how many gilded ceilings and painted halls and ancient exhibits you’re going to encounter before you can get there. After 20 minutes of walking past sights like this…..You get to what, without a doubt, is THE most beautiful work of art I’ve seen in my life. Period. I craned my head up at this masterpiece for 15 minutes and had a sore neck for a few hours after. How Michelangelo spent four years doing the same is BEYOND me. Can you spot the Creation of Adam in the very middle? Gave me goosebumps. (And for the record, photos are SO not allowed here, but I fired the fish eye at the hip a few times before a security guard caught me in action. Soooo worth it!!)

The Vatican Gardens and the trees of Rome. The exit to the museum. I loved this staircase. If you notice, there are actually no stairs. I feel like M.C. Escher would approve. We went back to the hotel, then headed out for the night. We got off the grimy subway at the Colosseo stop, walked outside and lo and behold, spotted this. Yes, we were in Rome. Yes, this was the Colosseum. And suddenly, we understood the amazing awesomeness that is this city. Seeing the ruins at night? There are just no words for this experience. I will hold it dear for all my life. Our second day and we had our sights set on the Pantheon. This place was incredible. I didn’t get a good shot of the exterior because it was covered in scaffolding (the presence of which is as much a part of the summer tourist season as the appearance of fanny packs and travel guides), but I can assure you, it was spectacular. Nick was fascinated to learn that modern builders today couldn’t recreate what these men built in 100 A.D. Rome more than any other city made us realize just how young America is — and how sophisticated life was here millenia before our little country existed. One of the many fountains of Rome. With the heat, people were all but bathing in these things. Anything for relief…Yes, yes, you pass lots and lots and LOTS of streets with shops exactly like this (*tumble grumbling*)Next we meandered along Rome’s streets (which feel more like alleys) to Campo de’ Fiori, a piazza a bit more off the tourist track and bustling with Roman life. The smells from their lovely market about drove me insane. Nom, nom, nom…. The Italians? Oh yeah, they LOVEEEEEEEE their scooters. For real …. Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome/focus looking forward the ColosseumTrevi Fountain at night. More beautiful in this frame than in person, because, well, there’s less people. It’s so nice to have a lens that can crop out the bajillion other tourists who are pushing their elbows into your backside to get the same kind of shot. Oh, and the blue hour? My FAVORITE time to shoot! Streets of Rome at night. The best time to walk them in the summer. They describe the Villa Borghese gardens as a breath of fresh air over Rome, but I want to know if “they” have ever tried to make the hike to get here with sweat pouring down their backs? Beautiful scenery on our last full day in Rome, but at this point in the trip, we were BAKED and had our sights on Dublin and its 65 degree temperatures. But the views here? FABULOUS. The famous Spanish Steps Our last night in Rome and we went out with a bang, visiting the area of Trastevere. I LOVED this side of the Tiber. Genuine, authentic Rome. Swoon.And this, too, is authentic Rome. I had nooo idea that graffiti would be this bad here. It’s everywhere. Defacing everything. And it’s kind of depressing. I had the best pizza of my LIFE at this little place called Dar Poeta. I also had a half-liter of red wine all on my own, but that’s another story. Walking back to our hotel along the Tiber River, I saw this view and I stopped and I stood and I took in the moment. Just let what I was seeing wash over me. Because it was all so beautiful, so surreal and I felt so lucky to be taking it in. It all made me realize that none of what Nick and I saw on this trip should be taken for granted, not even when sore feet and sunburned shoulders tried to tell us otherwise.  Good night Rome, good bye Rome

One final stop in Dublin before the Euro-trip comes to an end!!!

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