Ahh, Italia.
After a ridiculously long plane ride and extreme motion sickness, I'm finally in the country of romance and insanely good gelato. After four days touring the Eternal City itself, though, I'm glad to be able to unpack for good and relax in the magnificent Tuscan city of Siena.
I must say, though, that Rome was nothing like I imagined it to be. Of course, reflecting on my last post I think it's safe to say I at least did have some moderately realistic expectations of how I imagined Rome would be, but alas tourism won again and diminished my hopes and expectations for touring the Eternal City. Despite the disappointment from the sheer number of tourists, however, I can't say I was completely disappointed by my visit. Here are some of the highlights, as well as some of the low lights, of my visit to Rome: The Eternal City.
This was my very first view of Il Colosseo. A first, it wasn't exactly as magnificent, or big, as I thought it would be. Surrounding the colosseum was a bunch of construction and there was an element of modernism surrounding the colosseum that shocked me. Tourists swarmed around the colosseum like flies swarm around a piece of meat with metal guide poles stuck up from the crowds everywhere you looked and it was, in general, quite overwhelming at first. But, through the chaos still, we went and at around 9:30 a.m. I found myself walking up two flights of incredibly steep stairs to the top of the colosseum itself. Inside, there was more construction, but the view was incredible to say the least. I'd love to get a chance to go back and view it again.
I do not think I talked about my expectations for going to see the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, because I didn't know what this place was at first. Now, after seeing it I can say it was one of the most beautiful places we visited while in Rome.
There was a regalness to this place that I had never experienced before. Even the chattiest of tourists were chastised with a quick shush of the lips; this place was one to not only admire but respect.
Similarly to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, I did not write about my expectations for our visit to the Pantheon. We arrived almost too late but were able to enter for just a few minutes and I cannot say that I have ever seen anything quite like the Pantheon. It, too, was full of tourists like myself, however, like the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, it commanded respect. I remember walking around the entire building, taking pictures of everything on the walls as I was entranced by everything around me. Despite having walked around 12 miles at that point with a hurt ankle and on the verge of passing out (at least it felt that way) I was utterly in awe. I remember being shocked at the closing announcements came on and I remember pushing myself past the crowds to get every single picture.
I do not know why the Pantheon affected me more than almost any other site we visited, but I know for a fact that I plan to go back to see it–preferably not 10 minutes before it's closing.
I do not have pictures from the Vatican museum, and it deeply saddens me. However, the memory of that day will never be washed from my mind. I'm sorry for anyone I'm about to offend, but I absolutely hated the Vatican. Not because it was ugly , nor because it was so large and spaced out, but because it was severely overcrowded and, in my opinion, not worth trying to fight everyone in order to look at a single sculpture. I can recall at least three instances where I was on the verge of having panic attacks (two of which I can thank the Sistine Chapel for) and then there's the story of how our group got separated in the Sistine Chapel and it took two international phone calls and about a mile's walk just to reconnect with each other.
I pray that I am able to return to Rome someday after this study abroad trip, and should I be lucky to do so I might reconsider touring the Vatican Museum again. Right now though I don't think I'll be able to think about that. Was it beautiful? Absolutely. Would I go again in those conditions? Absolutely not.
The Trevi Fountain was, for me, a similar experience to the Vatican Museum-just on a smaller scale. I would probably bet that out of all the sites, the Trevi Fountain is the most densely populated tourist spot in Rome. No doubt that the fountain is gorgeous and breath-taking, but it was yet again extremely populated. Everywhere you looked there were tourists in their backpacks and brown hats ready to get their very own piece of the fountain.
Unlike the Vatican, though, I can say that I would definitely love to revisit this site.
I didn't actually climb up the Spanish Steps. I did see them, and I did enjoy seeing them, but I did not climb up them. Instead, though, I did find a small tea room located right next to the steps; that was an experience all within itself. I later found out, after the tea room adventure, that I had shared the same space, and possibly even drank the same tea, as Audrey Hepburn herself. So, at least now I have something over my sister (who absolutely adores Hepburn). I even managed to get a cute little picture of one of the teacups as we sat down. Unfortunately, my internet and I are not on friendly terms right now so I have no way to share the cute little teapot.
All in all, Rome was an experience unlike any other I have had as a tourist. I am excited to return one day and see what will be different, and what might just stay the same.