Thanks Pete!!!! :-)
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I'll admit straight up that if, two months ago, I'd been able to choose any European city to visit over Easter, Rome probably wouldn't have been it. I had far more romantic visions of visiting some Eastern European city, or perhaps Barcelona, as my next overseas jaunt, but I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.
Four of the other Australian contingent over here in London - Romana, Jess, Gav and Sarah - had decided that an Italian escapade would be fitting for Romana's birthday last Saturday, which coincided with the Easter weekend. Given that potential damage to my back pocket is the most over-riding factor in any decision I've been making these days, sharing the cost of accommodation with friends sealed the deal - flights were booked, apartment found, guide books assessed. I can now, in hindsight, safely say that Rome was an excellent choice - Barcelona can wait a little longer!
Before I could start enjoying the Eternal City, I firstly had to endure my very first bargain-basement airline. My fave 'bargain' airline of choice at home, Virgin Blue, aint got nothing on the penny-pinching misers that run Ryanair over here. Firstly, our flight left from Luton airport at 7am, meaning a 3.30am rise to catch the 4.30am bus. We had intended to catch a later bus, but thankfully we didn't - we ended up running down the concourse and just made it on the plane - Luton is literally in the middle of bloody nowhere. Then we sat on the tarmac for an hour because the Ryanair plane scheduled to take off before us was malfunctioning - which they tried to fix by taking a part from OUR plane! While wondering whether I would soon be the victim of incompetent flight engineers, I tried to catch some z's, but found it impossible thanks to the seats seemingly designed to make your trip as uncomfortable as possible. There was a humorous moment upon arrival in Rome - two buses appeared to whisk us from the tarmac to the terminal - a distance of some 20 metres! We remain unsure whether this is due to previous planeloads of fat whingeing poms, or safety concerns.
The half-hour taxi ride from Fiumicino Airport to central Rome was a very reasonable €40 - a similar length trip in London would surely send you bankrupt. On that note, reasonable prices were to become a highlight of our trip - nothing highlights how extreme London's cost of living is, than traveling to another city with purportedly high costs!
Soon after booking our flights to Rome, it became apparent that booking an apartment would, amazingly, be a cheaper option that staying in a hostel dormitory. It was a little tricky booking one over the busy Easter weekend, and we paid a hefty surcharge for the privilege, but it still worked out at a reasonable cost. Our host, Roberto, was waiting for us with hospitable charm and assistance despite keeping him waiting for a couple of hours thanks to our delayed flights, and showed us around our quite wonderful apartment – small, but wholly suited to our needs. Located in the Trastevere district of Rome, just across the river from central Rome, in a lively area with cobbled streets, and a plethora of restaurants and bars.
Given that we'd arrived on the Thursday before Easter, and we presumed things were likely to get a little crazy in the Vatican for the next four days, we headed straight to the Holy See to get it out of the way first.
Nothing, but NOTHING, can prepare you for the monstrosity that is the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano, aka St. Peter's Basilica. I could keep throwing around adjectives like gargantuan and behemoth, and you could ponder photographs of the world's largest church, but you would still have no real idea what it's like to stand in St Peter's Square, marveling at the 25m-high colonnades surrounding you on either side, and the huge dome in front of you. You can't help but immediately be struck by wonder at the incredible achievements mankind is capable of – followed soon after by wonder at the incredible cost to get there. We were wise to visit St Peter's late on Thursday afternoon, as the queue to get in, while huge, was not snaking kilometres down the piazza as we had heard could happen. Instead we waited about one hour to get inside – and it was well worth it. Amazement at the interior of St. Peter's comes second only to the exterior. We were lucky to arrive inside just a mass was starting – to hear Latin rites echoing throughout the cathedral, with almost perfect acoustics was very special.
After leaving St. Peter's, we headed over in the direction of the Trevi Fountain via the Roman Metro (underground rail). I'd never heard of the Trevi Fountain but thankfully the girls had been doing their research. The Metro was much like London's, but with less security and TV screens in the carriages, cool! Much like St. Peter's, the Trevi Fountain is nearly indescribable in words, and not much better in photos. Imagine if the biggest fountain you'd ever seen was shoved in a random corner of inner-city Brisbane and you'd start getting the picture, except Brisbane is short of about 3000 years of history. A truly remarkable piece of work, and memorable also for our first encounter with the Roman tout. At every tourist destination, street sellers almost entirely of Bangladeshi or Indian descent fall just short of aggression in trying to sell you either sunglasses, rubber toys, or roses for the ladies. Thankfully the girls knew not to accept any roses handed to them, because the sellers mostly chase the guys they're with for the money. Admittedly, I did support this rampant street trading by buying a much-needed pair of sunglasses, only realising afterwards I'd paid a tad too much for them. I still have much to learn in the art of haggling! As per tradition, we threw a penny over our shoulder into the fountain and made a wish – the story goes that I'll also return to Rome one day now. One can only hope.
Catching the bus back to Trastevere for a much-needed feed, we got crammed onto a bus with many other Romans, exhausted after a long day at work. This, along with many other times over the next five days, was a nice reminder that Rome is a living, breathing city, and not some theme park of the ancients.
I could quite honestly describe to you in detail every meal that transpired over the course of our trip, but that would firstly be quite boring for you, and secondly make me hungry. But to sum up the experience of eating in Rome, it was easily the best thing about our whole Italian jaunt. The best thing about eating in Rome is, of course, the quality of the food – even for an Australian used to fresh and tasty foods, Roman food was quite literally something to write home about, as those of you who have received postcards (or will) can testify to. The Romans have a special way of eating – first comes the mandatory bruschetta (usually with tomato, or also with olive or prosciutto or anything really) or antipasto (salami, artichokes, olives etc). Then comes il primo piatto (first meal) - Spaghetti, fettuccini, and other pastas I'd never heard of, cooked slightly al dente with amazing sauces (including plenty of seafood no more expensive than the other sauces). Then secondo piatto, which is the main fish or meat meal, including the tasty saltimbocca alla romana – which literally translates as jump in the mouth – a veal and prosciutto dish that, when I think of it now just before dinner, makes me want to kill for it. All of this is accompanied, naturally, by copious carafes of vino or grande biere, or both. When all is said and done, the experience is topped off by asking for il conto (the bill) and never paying more than €25 a head for everything, service charge included. This translates to roughly the cost of one dish in London, and is around the same price as eating in Australia, probably cheaper. So, basically, we ate like kings for five days straight, and by the end of it I was almost glad to see the back of pasta and wine for a while. If you love food, go to Rome. It can't be beat.
We left our front door the next day – a stereotypically massive piece of wood set in the façade that needed a good pull to open – to glorious sunshine, as we did every day. I'm not sure if we just got lucky with the weather, but Roman weather in early April is splendid.
Rather than make half-hearted attempts at describing the places we saw from here on in, which will inevitably fall short, I'll link to them directly so you can see for yourself. First up was the Palazzo Caffarelli, which we stumbled across almost by accident, and where we had our first great view over Rome, with a skyline dominated by domes, cathedrals, TV aerials and satellite dishes. Next door was the Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo and graced with a marvelous bronze statue, and the famous statue of Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome. From there we wandered down into the Roman Forum, through the biggest arch I'm ever likely to see, and then pondered the many steps and columns that were left to fall by the Christian Church after the fall of the Empire. Over past the Palatine Hill to the Collosseum, every bit as huge as you'd imagine and twice as full of tourists (we didn't go in until the day after though). All this before lunch, which we enjoyed at a small local eatery nearby where I had my first real Roman cannelloni. And our first gelati, served in a huge waffle cone with 3 scoops of the real thing for just €3. Then, over to the truly stupendous Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II – another building so huge you can't comprehend it until you're actually standing in front of it. Then, finally, over to the Pantheon – just when you think you've seen enough amazing buildings in one day, you stand under this massive dome that has been standing for almost 2000 years and wonder at what has transpired where you're standing in that time. We were very lucky to score a table at a bar right next to the Pantheon, where we drank the afternoon away while the sun set behind the Pantheon – a completely memorable sunset if I ever saw one. Walking home, we passed through the Piazza Navona and marveled at the Castel Sant'Angelo over the river before pausing to take some photos of St. Peter's that night. After such a long day, needless to say, we ate copiously at our local spaghetteria and slept soundly!
Our third day doubled as Romana's birthday, which Gav and I began by cooking a large serving of scrambled eggs on our tiny apartment stove (which also served as our kettle, since we didn't have one) and succulent fried pancetta. Once we got on our way it was through Circus Maximus and back over to the Palatine Hill, where we endured out only real queue of the whole trip – a little over an hour to get in, which cost us €11, but included entry to the Collosseum later. The Palatine Hill is a huge area of ancient relics, and a very scenic view over the Forum which we'd visited the day before. Onwards to the Collosseum, where we bypassed much of the ridiculously long queue by already having a ticket. Once inside we all marveled at the size of the place, and placed a small wager as to how long it took to be built. Gav and I guess at the lower end of the scale – less than ten years – while the girls guess anywhere up to 100. Calling in at the archaeological survey office on-site, the correct answer was supplied without hesitation – eight years. Amazing what thousands of slaves can achieve in such a short space of time!
We enjoyed a particularly long lunch in celebration of Romana's birthday, including a hearty rendition of happy birthday by some local jazz buskers hawking outside the restaurant, we enjoyed some beers while watching the sun set behind the Collosseum in a park across the road. Since it was a birthday, everything gets pretty hazy from here on in – but I do know it involved polishing off quality vino at the apartment, heading off to a local Trastevere bar, thoroughly enjoying ourselves, and making it home safely. There's photographic evidence of us having a good time, and I didn't feel too bad the next day, so our big night out in Rome must have been good.
The third day started off with a little hitch, as our hot water system was broken, but Roberto ensured us he would fix it soon. We did leave the house slightly whiffier than usual that morning though. I was determined to see one thing only this day, as I'd been tipped off about something a little different from the usual Roman attractions - The Capuchin Bone Chapel, where the bones of thousands of monks have been arranged into... words can't describe this. Just check the photos! It's undoubtedly macabre but also strangely beautiful. I'm very glad we got to see it. After wandering down the Spanish Steps – which would have been a lot nicer if not for the massive crowds – and through the traffic-free streets (always closed to cars on Sundays) we ended up at restaurant La Dolce Vita in the Piazza Navone – a little more expensive than most of the places we'd eaten, but according to the menu, graced by many famous people over the decades. Our evening took a quite unexpected turn after that – while strolling out of the piazza, I spied some green and gold on a television screen in a bar, and upon investigation found to my disbelief that they were screening the Australia vs England cricket match! Unsurprisingly the girls continued home, while Gav and I enjoyed a few Fosters and watched the Aussies comprehensively slay England. It was a little bizarre watching the cricket in the middle of Rome though, especially as we were the only people there interesting in the match.
Having more than two days to rush around to see an entire city pays off when you get to enjoy the kind of day we had on day four. After a relaxed cappuccino in the sun at a café on Trastevere square overlooking the basilica of Santa Maria, we headed to the Largo Argentina archeological site – not to see the ruins, but because it's home to over 250 stray cats. Not really strays, though, because they're all well fed, vaccinated and healthy thanks to the Roman Cat sanctuary, and free to lounge around the ruins all day. All of them are more than happy to be hugged, photographed and cuddled again… they do smell a bit though. The sun was particularly hot, so while the girls lounged in a park under the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, Gav and I had a look inside at the historical museum and the tomb of the unknown soldier, which hadn't been open the first time we walked past. With a whole afternoon to kill, we slowly worked our way up to another of Rome's seven hills, the Aventine, where the view was glorious, and a little less off the tourist trail (I didn't hear a single non-Italian accent up there). Another wonderful thing about Rome is the spring water sprouting from fountains everywhere, fresh and clean and very inviting after hiking up the hill for the view.
And so our Roman tour was coming to an end. We enjoyed another grande Peroni while looking out over the city from the Campidoglio, wandered down to Trastevere for one final wonderful eating experience. The trip back to the airport the next morning was, admittedly, a little sad, as we left the Eternal City… until next time.
Enjoy the photos.
Grazie Roma!
PL
P.S. Thanks to my travelling companions being very shutter-happy there's hundreds more photos of our trip here:
http://jessblandford.smugmug.com/gallery/2694770 http://romana.smugmug.com/gallery/2697884
