If you ever want to be entertained, hop on a flight to Rome. All Gladiator jokes aside, Rome is one of my favorite places I have ever visited.
My first few weekends in Florence, I chose to spend my time in the city and not travel in an attempt to get myself acclimated to my new surroundings. Not being built in a modern day grid plan — meaning that there are perpendicular streets that are connected to others by 90 degree angles — it’s hard to figure out where a street is going to lead you. I really took for granted that, in the U.S., if I accidentally walk up an extra block, I can walk down a random road and end up on the street I was intending to. Here, I take one wrong street and I can end up in an entirely different section of the town.
However, my attempt to get used to my surroundings was constantly being deterred by the incessant, torrential daily downpours. Another important detail is that, being a historic city, most of the sidewalks only comfortably fit one person. So, when it’s pouring and no one has umbrella etiquette, it’s not the most enjoyable experience to walk around town.
All this to say that the beautiful image everyone seemed to be painting of Florence for me was dashed, and I was borderline — actually very — miserable. So, when sitting around the kitchen table and one of my roommates brought up the idea of going to Rome, I was very excited. Rome. The city of the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and many other tourist attractions. Who wants to be entertained by seeing tourist attractions? Me. I wanted to be entertained by the tourist attractions. So, with very minimal planning — literally booking the Airbnb the night before — we got ready to go. Little did I know at the time that this would be my first of many Roman Holiday(s).
My roommates and I made the decision to take a high speed train to Rome at night. Getting to the station this time was a nicer experience than our previous trip to Pisa where we almost missed the train by a matter of minutes. However, this time was challenging in its own way, because the train flew on the track. Climbing to over 250 km/h — around 155 mph — the train took intense turns and jolts. This would have been fine had we been able to see outside. Instead, it was pitch black out, and we seemed to be driving into nothing. We eventually pulled into the station where we came to realize the scale of Rome.
The city is massive in comparison to Florence but was strangely easier to navigate. We discovered that our Airbnb was inside a large apartment building with a hallway leading to three different rooms each for a different guest or party. Our room was nice, with two sets of windows that were situated very high on the wall. After traveling for a few hours, we went out in search of dinner. Walking up a sketchy flight of stairs, we turned down an even sketchier alley. Turning out of that, we stumbled upon the Colosseum. It was incredible to see at night, its presence seeming unreal. In Boulder, sometimes the mountains look so fake that it seems as though, if you reached up, you could pull down a poster. The Colosseum was the same way; no post card or picture could ever capture its true presence. We found a restaurant nearby, though it was not anything to write home about.
The next day, we tried to determine how we were going to spend the rest of our trip. We happened to travel at the start of February and our last day was the first Sunday of the month. This is significant because we didn’t book tickets for anything on Saturday, and on the first Sunday of the month, all the museums have free admission. We settled on traveling to Vatican City and seeing the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain on Saturday. That meant that we were saving the Colosseum for Sunday.
After deciding we were content with our choice, we went to an American breakfast spot. This may seem bizarre choosing to eat at an American restaurant in the middle of Rome. However, for me — a very homesick abroad student — it was very much needed. Run by a friendly American man who had hung a Buffalo Bills flag on the wall, the breakfast felt as though, if I didn’t look out onto the street, I was back in the States.
Shortly after breakfast, we went in search of Vatican City. After a few moments of walking, we found ourselves in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. Around the massive square, wrapped a line of people trying to get into the Basilica. It being the off-season for tourism, I cannot imagine what the crowds look like later in the year. Not having the time to wait in the line, we picked up a few post cards and left.
The side streets were wider, allowing us to walk leisurely while looking at the architecture around the city. Being built around ruins, it’s beautiful to see the areas where more modern buildings pair with the ancient stone of the city. One of these ancient buildings is the Pantheon, which, despite being built in 125 AD, is just as impressive all these years later.
We left the Pantheon and walked to the Trevi Fountain. Being one of the top tourist attractions in Rome, it was not surprising that it was so busy. However, because it was so busy, it was incredibly overstimulating. People were pushing us around to try and get to the front gate so that they could take their photo with the fountain. Some vendor kept grabbing my arm trying to sell me something and I almost lost my mind. We did eventually find a quieter place to throw coins over our shoulders. It is a tradition to throw a coin using your right hand over your left shoulder, making a wish as you do so. We made our wishes, and it was time to get out of there.
For dinner, we went to the birthplace of Alfredo sauce, Alfredo Alla Scrofa. It was so good. We got fried meatballs, my roommates had the fettuccine Alfredo, and I had spaghetti with clams. We ended the night at an Irish bar, Scholars. It was a confusing scene, half the bar being a traditional bar space, the other half being a dance floor with a DJ playing.
The next morning we got up just early enough. Our initial plan was to wake up at 7 a.m., which we all individually did. However, we all went back to bed. I inhaled an energy drink and laid back down, getting back up around 8. We all got ready, discouraged by the fact that we knew the line for the Colosseum was going to be long, and that we had to catch an early train.
Leaving the hotel, we wandered back towards the Colosseum. Coming down the hill that leads to the entrance, we saw a line that wrapped around the massive structure. As we went to the back of it, I truly thought that we would have to leave halfway through waiting to catch our train. Although it didn’t seem as though the line was going to move quickly, it did. Within about an hour, we were at the front and walking in. Because of our time constraint, we had to quickly run around in order to see it. However it was enough time to walk around and get a glimpse of how remarkable the space is.
My time in Rome didn’t end with this trip. A few weeks later I would return, this time with my dad. While we followed a similar agenda to the previous one, I had a new level of familiarity with the city. This allowed me to enjoy the experience more. In a few weeks, I will be returning to Rome for the last time before I head back to the U.S. It was always a place I wanted to visit, and now it is a place I will never forget. Love you Rome!