Roaming around Rome

I figured I should probably finish my epic 3 part series about spring break (distractions arose, but it's worth the wait!)

We arrived in Rome around 7 pm after paying more money so we could take the train that we had tickets for. We found our hostel which was aptly named the "Hotel Alessandro Palace". It was amazing - really nice rooms, actual fast internet, a bar with free sangria for girls after midnight. The only downside was that we were in an 8-person room, which we had booked to save money, but, as we found on the trip, is really not worth it.

Travel note: book 4 person room hostels if that's the size of your group. Part with the extra bucks because the added four people will go to sleep at 10, wake up at 6, snore while they're asleep, and stage whisper while they're awake.

Anyway, we were starving, so, relying on my handy Rome Lonely Planet Guidebook, we set off in the general direction of a bunch of allegedly amazing pizza places. We stopped in the first one they had and I immediately said a thank you to the Lonely Planet Gods (or writers). It was a pizza place stuffed with locals and, from what I saw near me, thin crust pizza. New Jerseyans will understand when I say it was just a more Italian version of Pete and Eldas. Mmmmm. Meg, Tim and I shared 2 pizzas and decided to trust in the book to find us a gelato place. We got gelato (it was good, but better was to come later) and went and looked at the Trevi Fountain. Rumor has it that, if you throw money in the fountain, you will definitely come back to Rome. Here's hoping!

After that, we were pretty tired, so we saw Meg off on a bus back to her home near Vatican City (hmmm) and went back to the hostel and went to sleep.

The next day was the only day I had to see Rome, so Tim thought that it would be a good idea to take a bus that was headed toward the Vatican but get off before it got there and walk. We ended up a half hour away circling a Roman hospital, so I found our way back and he had to carry the water bottle around all day.

With my leadership skills, we found the Vatican (add another country to my list!), which, after Greece and Florence seemed sort of anticlimactic:



We went in the Basilica, but not before being instructed by some very helpful signs:



We touristed around there for awhile - the building is much cooler and some of the statues inside are breathtaking (more photos if you click the link at the end of this post).

We moved on to try to find a gelato place recommended by Meg. Unfortunately, Vatican City is a pretty big place, so we couldn't find it. We were standing on a street corner and I said, "I really want to find gelato!" Suddenly we hear a voice from behind us, saying the blessed words, "are you looking for Old Bridge gelato?"

We were!

American accents in foreign countries are like beacons of hope to other American tourists. This man had heard our call for help and, through either insightfulness or psychic powers, figured out where we wanted to go. We found our way there, and began the battle to be known as Alyssa vs. the Gelato.

At Old Bridge, you can get 3 major scoops of ice cream in a cone with whipped cream for 2 Euros (about $3.50). By major, I mean this:



And I think that photo was taken while it was halfway done (Tim has the good pictures, I'll hunt him down).

The gelato was big, but my craving for Ice Cream 2.0 was much bigger, and I walked away victorious:



With the score Alyssa 1, Gelato 0, we went and looked at a few piazzas (Rome has about 10,000). Then we decided to check out the Colosseum which was wayyyy on the other side of town from where we were, so we decided to hop on the Rome Metro.

Travel note: Rome Metro bad. Walking an extra 2 miles good.

The Rome Metro only has 2 lines and construction on a 3rd has been delayed because they have uncovered another "major archaeological find" (ho hum). Apparently they have had this same problem in Athens but they're working harder over there. Anyway, so the Rome Metro system is sort of useless except for getting from one tourist destination to another. And it smells. And it is crowded. Did I mention that it smells?

We eventually escaped from the Metro and walked out and were confronted by the sight of the Colosseum. We headed to the Palatine, which is another "major archaeological find" of ruins nearby. Tim bought his ticket for both places and I went to pay and the woman handed me my ticket and all of my money back. March 9 in Rome is apparently "Women's Day", which is their version of Mother's Day but for all women (I like it better that way), so we girls got in everywhere for free. We wandered around the Palatine and Colosseum for awhile:



We headed back to the hostel for a siesta and then wandered Rome searching for a salad place (this is harder than it sounds). We finally found a restaurant specializing in salads (I had a craving!) and had a late dinner. We found the Pantheon, as well as a street named in honor of my Grandpa (that's my theory):



That was pretty much the end of spring break. The next morning I caught a flight home to Luton Airport, which is London's itty-bitty baby airport and got a bus home which only took me a half hour out of my way because they packed my luggage wrong. But I made it home safe and sound and entirely exhausted. Trips to come: Edinburgh, Brighton, Barcelona, and Malta!

For Rome pictures, go here