Leaving Florence, roaming Rome

On Tuesday we left Florence to come to Rome. It was quite sad actually. Florence had been our home-base for 9 nights. We were starting to really know our way around and feel comfortable there. Nevertheless, it was on to the next city. 

So we got up around 9:30 and packed up our things to check out. We left our luggage at the hostel and decided to go ahead and do one more load of laundry to secure NO laundry-doing in Rome. So we did that for an hour and got lunch and gelato (of course). Then we did a few other things (ATM, etc), got our luggage, and went to the train station. 

As I mentioned, most trains in Italy require reservations. Trains around Tuscany don't, but all the other ones do unless you want to travel for 5 hours instead of 1 or 2. A reservation is €10, which isn't awful, but since Tuesday was a travel day and we had nothing planned, we looked into trains that didn't need reservations. 

With a reservation it would take 1.5 hours to Rome, and without it would take 3.5 hours on a little regional train. So we figured what the hell, we have time to kill and we like saving money and seeing the countryside. So we took the long free train.

For the first hour of the ride we slept. We were exhausted from Florence. The rest of the trip we just played on our phones and looked out the window. There was no table on the tiny train to play cards. 

We got to Rome around 6:30 and found the hostel very easily. Our last hostel thank god!!! It is very mediocre. It's kinda big and dirty but the wifi is pretty good and hey, I get to go home after this. 

So we got settled and walked down the street to an amazing pizza shop and got some dinner. 

Do these food pictures ever make you hungry? Tuna pizza and margarita pizza. 

We took a short walk to see what was around and called it a night. 

That was Tuesday. Almost caught up to today!

Wednesday we woke up and I had a very odd mix of feelings. I was so excited to be in Rome and yet... I was just in a bad mood and tired. I was ready to go home. Part of me, for some reason, felt like I should be getting out if bed back in the US. I felt done, but I wasn't. 6 more days. 

I left this out before but now it seems relevant so I guess I'll mention it. While I've been here, 2 people I know have died. One was a new friend- acquaintance actually- who lived far away. I found that out in Copenhagen, and all I wanted to do was hug my friends who knew and loved him, and be there for everyone. It was so sad to me, being someone I had just met so recently and being so far from friends. It made me think about how lucky I am and how important this trip is, but mostly it made me pray, wish, and beg that nothing else would happen while I was away. But sometimes life doesn't work that way. 

The second I found out the night before Venice, and this one was much closer. He was a grandfather to me and as I'm writing this I am still fighting back tears and in total denial. He can't possibly be gone. 

I should have been home. I should have been there for him and my family. I should've been able to give and receive hugs. I should not have been 4,000 miles away. 

But I am! Somehow life keeps going even when you're away from it. And I think that is a big part of my "over it" feelings. I am still enjoying it, but I am so ready to come home. To be around the people I love and to deal with these emotions. I am pushing them off, staying in denial until I get home, soaking up very second of this that I can. That's what he would want, I think. 

Sorry for that completely depressing tangent. 

So Wednesday wasn't feeling toooooo great. It was the first day in a while that we weren't going somewhere... Moving, you know? It hit me- Rome. 6 days. Ok. Here we go. 

So we decided to take it easy and sleep in. I get anxious when I'm tired so I thought a little extra sleep would help. We paid for breakfast at the hostel- €3.50 for an egg sandwich and glass of orange juice. Cheap for Rome but expensive for me. Then we set out to just see the city and some of the big free sights that are clustered together in the city center. 

First was the famous hang out spot, the Spanish Steps. These 135 steps are the widest staircase in Europe. It was pretty cool to see, but very crowded. 

From the top looking to the first landing. 

From the first landing looking up to the Trinita dei Monti church at the top. 

From the very bottom looking up. 

The fountain at the bottom- Fontana Della Barcaccia- by Bernini's father, in the Piazza di Spagna. Nice yawn, girl in bottom left corner. 

As you can probably tell, there were a lot of people there. 

We stopped for lunch at a little touristy cafe, but it was cheap and had a bathroom so we were good to go. 

The second sight was less crowded. Piazza Navona is home to three beautiful fountains. This piazza is on the site of an arena where games were held, like the Coliseum. This arena was called the Stadium of Domitian. Now it's home to some of the best gelato in the world. :)

La Fontana Del Moro is the southern fountain. 

The Neptune is the northern one. 

And the Four Rivers fountain by Bernini is in the middle, though it was off for construction. 

The gelato was also in the middle. Oh. My. God. 

Ok that one HAS to make you hungry!!!

Third on the list was the Pantheon. This was a building originally designed as a temple to every major Roman god in the first century, and is one of the best- preserved buildings from Ancient Rome. It is now a Roman Catholic church, and has been for centuries. It is an amazing structure, with just an oculus- hole in the dome- used to light the massive room inside. 

The floor is amazing- ancient stone that drains to the center and the side when it rains. And gorgeous. 

And we didn't even know this going in, but Raphael (you know, the painter guy, and also one of the Ninja Turtles) is buried here! Funny thing- he was buried here immediately after his death in 1520, but in 1833 they just wanted to check if he was really here. So they just opened his tomb and checked! The Pope then donated a stone to the tomb that reads (in Latin), "here lies Raphael, by whom Nature feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die." That is some serious complimenting. 

He is under the arch at the bottom. 

So that was pretty cool! We walked around for a few more minutes before heading out. It was much more colorful than I expected. Just beautiful. 

The fourth site of the day was the Trevi Fountain, a huge fountain that is one of the most famous in the world. The legend is that if you toss one coin in, you will come back to Rome, and if you toss 2 coins in you will fall in love. 

We each threw in 3. When in Rome right? Ha!

Our final stop was a garden/park that used to be part of the Medici villa in Rome. It was a good spot for our usual afternoon rest. 

I'd say that was a pretty successful day!

We got groceries and headed back to the hostel to eat. We had Italian vegetarian tacos- no meat and mozzarella cheese. We just needed a break from pizza!

We hung out at the hostel bar and had a few drinks before heading to bed. It was a very good day, and a great way to start Rome. By the time I went to bed I was feeling much better. I was feeling like Rome was a good place to be and I would be just fine for 5 more days. I was still dreaming of home, but much more excited to be here than I was in the morning. 

My next post will be about Thursday- the Coliseum day. Coming soon!

<3