Italian Adventures, Part I: Roamin' with the Romans

Before I get into the nitty gritty of my trip, I must say that I really do think the subtitle of this post is quite catchy and unique. However, I'm sure it's also the title of a billion other blog posts about Rome. Can't blame a gal for trying, though.

Now, on to a recap of my Italian adventure. Madrid, and most of Spain, had a week-long holiday in honor of Holy Week, which is the seven days between Palm and Easter Sundays. For schools, it's the closest they come to Spring Break. For me, it meant a nine day vacation in Italy with three friends. It. Was. Phe-no-me-nal. From March 22-31, I traipsed around Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan. The next four or five posts are recaps of the highlights of my trip, including photos, of course. 

So, let's start with Rome. I was there from March 22-25. Highlights: 

Day 1:

• The flight was nice and uneventful. Iberia should really work on having enough representatives at the desk, though, because check-in was completely ridiculous and drawn-out for no reason at all. Alas, Spain isn't known for its customer service. 
• One of my friends, Ashley, picked up the wrong luggage. Thanks to the other friend, Atiyah, she realized this before we boarded the shuttle to our hotel. Heroic switch occurred. Crisis averted.
• The shuttle to the hotel was cray!! My gawd, Italians drive worse than Spaniards! The driver hit a hump twice, which brought up fond memories of my early driving days. Traffic was horrible and turned our little 40 minute trip into a 90 minute nap.
• Our hotel was really a room in an apartment (via Air BnB). The room was nice, as was the lady who rented it to us, though the location was awful. 
• The landlady took us on a driving tour to show us where the Colosseum was. 'Twas nice, though we were exhausted. She then dropped us off near the Colosseum and we were on our own. After a day of traveling, consider this the equivalent of being dropped in the forest with a map and compass and told to find your way home. It wasn't really that dramatic, but in my jet-lagged mind, it really was.



My first Italian meal! 4 euro and absolutely delish!

• Dinner that night consisted of a 4 euro pizza. No, not a slice of pizza, an entire  (cheese) pizza for 4 whole euros from this little restaurant near our place. At that moment, I realized Italy and I were going to become bosom buddies for life!

Day 2:

• The sightseeing begins. Before doing that, we purchased the Roma Pass, which is valid for three days, costs 34 euro, allows you free entry into the first two museums/sights you visit, discounts many others, and gives you unlimited access to public transportation for those days. 
• We went to the Colosseum first. Talk about having a flashback to a scene from "Gladiator." It was really lovely. My overactive imagination saw the sword fights and cheering Romans.

  

  The Colosseum is the largest ampitheater in the world and
  the largest built during the ancient Roman empire.

• Thereafter, we hit the Roman Forum, which is a plaza that includes ruins of government buildings from ancient Rome. Thankfully, visiting it and the Colosseum are included as one use of the Roma Pass. It was nice, but I definitely wouldn't pay just to see that. 
• During a quick food stop, I first taste of authentic Italian gelato from the gelateria near our apartment. Food. Gasm. I had strachiatella (chocolate chip), tiramisu, and creme. Therein began my almost absurd habit of eating gelato at every turn.

  

  First phenomenal taste of gelato!

• The Palazzo Venezia is absolutely beautiful. Walk up some stairs and it's a plaza, which Italy seems to be famous for. We stumbled upon a wedding; I don't think the bride appreciated having random tourists snap photos of her on the Big Day, but that's what you get when you decide to get married in one of the most touristy areas of the city. 

  

  We stumbled upon a wedding in Palazzo Venezia

• Our first night in Rome, we were dropped off near the National Museum, which was lovely and illuminated by night. By day, it was fabuloussssss. It became my favorite building in Rome.

  

  The National Museum.
  For some reason, I don't have a full photo by day.

• Finally, the day ended with more 4 euro pizza. Yum.

Day 3: 

Tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain!

• Trevi Fountain day! It was amazingggggg!!! The water was so clear and brilliantly blue that it almost hurt my eyes to see! I threw some money in to make a wish; tossing a coin behind your back is also apparently supposed to mean that you'll one day return to Rome. Guess I'm going back...
• I had this really delicious panini for lunch with salami and peppers. I'm not even that much of a pork person, but with those peppers and lightly toasted, it was fab!
• Gelato, round 2: more strachiatella and tiramisu, the latter being worse than yesterday and the former being better. 

  

  Fancy presentation of my gelato!

• We went to the Spanish steps thereafter. What I could see was nice enough, but definitely not a must-do if you go to Rome. You can hardly see the stairs because so many people are sitting there! 

  

  If you squint your eyes, pat your head,
  rub your belly, and stand on one foot,
  you can see that these are the Spanish Steps.

• Sightseeing ended with the Pantheon, which was built as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome. It was closed when we got there, but the outside was absolutely beautiful. It's the most well-preserved of the ancient Roman structures in the city and extremely regal.

  

  The Pantheon, that phenomenal tribute to ancient Rome.

• Dinner: Roman-style ox tail with a traditional tomato sauce and a side salad. My first go-round with ox tail and it was delicious! 

  

  Oh, how well the Romans do oxtail...and tomato sauce :)

• Dessert more strachiatella gelato from the place by our apartment and, finally, my first taste of tiramisu, which was well worth the wait. By that time, however, I was still looking for cannoli. I'd discovered that it's Sicilian, so not necessarily that popular throughout the rest of Italy. Le sigh. #touristproblems

  

  Tiramisu!!!!

Day 4:

• The Vatican. It's definitely better to buy tickets online so that you can just go straight through or else you'll be standing in line for about 20 minutes while people try to sell you "personalized" tours and convince you that if you don't do their tour, you'll be in line for two hours. 
• The Sistine Chapel, which is considered Michelangelo's greatest work, was extremely moving and spiritual. The guards constantly yelled about being silent and not taking photos (because that was really effective). 

  

  No pictures of the Sistine Chapel, my. foot.

• I'd say go earlier before the masses descend. I'd also suggest going inside the actual city, which I didn't get to do. I think it'd be worth it. 
• I finally went inside the National Museum, though it was about to close and I only saw one portion of it. When you get inside, you walk up a "few" stairs, but it's completely worth it when you walk outside and see the phenomenal view. Again, it's my favorite building in Rome. Regal. Stately. It's just breathtaking. 

  

  View from the National Museum. Can you see the
  Colosseum!?

• Final Roman dinner: penne all'arrabiata (penne pasta, tomato sauce, basil, garlic, paprika). It was heavenly and not the last time that we'd meet during my romp in Italy. Sadly, dessert didn't happen that night since our little gelateria was closed. 

  

  Penne all'arrabiata. Killed. It.

Conclusions:

• While our apartment room was nice, it would've been better to stay within walking distance of a metro stop/major monument and have coughed up a few extra euro. Pizza and pasta are filling, though I started to miss veggies after a while. The Roma Pass is great, though people just tend to get on and off of buses and the streetcar without paying, so the Pass was more for the benefit of tourist sights than transportation. Try to sight see earlier in order to avoid massive crowds. Unless the restaurant is spectacular, try to diversify. 
• Rome is large. Definitely crowded. Horrible traffic. However, it's extremely lovely in a non-traditional way. It's a city that was created around ruins. There's definitely more to see than what I've listed if you're proactive about getting out and exploring. Walking exposes you to the miscellaneous statues that make the city a lovely tribute to ruins and gladiators. 

After four days and a very intimate relationship with gelato, we were of to Florence...