Rome: Day 2 (14 September 2010)

I've slept very good on my first night in Rome. Even though our hotel is very close to the station, I haven't had any trouble with noise. Unfortunatly my boyfriend pulled the curtain a bit loose while opening it in the morning. (It wasn't repaired when we left, so if you ever visit this hotel and the curtain is a bit loose in room 138, that was us, lol.)

After eating breakfast, which wasn't great by the way, but since Romans normally don't eat breakfast I didn't mind, we went to the Forum Romanum. On our way we found out that the Italians' reputation about being bad drivers is absolutely deserved. :p They don't stop when a pedestrian wants to cross the road, they park where it's not allowed, they pass eachother with the most impossible maneuvres, etc.

After a fifteen minute walk we arrived at the Forum. The view was amazing!!



You'll also find a lot of Italian men dressed as Romans asking you to take a picture with them at the Forum. But beware: they ask 10€ for each person they take pictures with! Before we knew we had to pay 20€ for four pictures.

We also had to buy a cap for my boyfriend. Because of all the sun he had the feeling his brains were boiling inside his head. And it wasn't even 10 in the morning at that moment!

We entered the Forum Romanum for free with our Roma-pass. It was HUGE!! It used to be the center of Roman civilasation and you can still see the remains of a lot of temples, houses of important people, etc. We thought we would have seen everything in about two to three hours, but we spend all morning and a little part of the afternoon walking through the remains.

Especially the Palatine Hill is very nice. It shows the biggest remains and has the most beautiful views of Rome. I absolutely recommend visiting it.

 

We also saw Circus Maximus. The Circus Maximus used to be a large chariot racing stadium. Unfortunatly there's not much to see anymore but grass. Sometimes they use the terrain for concerts.

In the afternoon we went to visit the Colosseum. You know it's big because you've seen it on pictures, but when you're standing in front of it, it looks even bigger than big. We could enter here for free also with our Roma-pass. And another advantage was that we didn't have to wait at all. We could just go to the counter and enter right away. We also hired an audio guide to get some exra info. It was amazing! To think about the animals and the gladiators that lived, fought and died there, the emperor and the people watching.I can't believe they build such a building at that time. It's absolutely amazing.

Our last visit of the day was to the Baths of Caracalla. We were a bit dissapointed here. There wasn't much to see but the walls and some mosaic and I had a hard time imagining how it used to be like. In Ancient Rome these baths used to be more than just baths. It was a complex to relax. There was a library, a whole series of different baths, shops, etc.
The gardens were very nice to just sit for a while and enjoy the view from the shadow.

At the end of the day my feet hurt and they were very dirty, but I had lots of fun and I saw some beautiful sights. I was already looking forward to day 3. :D

Rome: Day 1 (13 September 2010)

Today is the day, the start of our travel to Rome.
It will be a travel of firsts. The first time we, my boyfriend and I, booked and prepared the travel ourselves, being on a plane for the first time and visiting Rome for the first time. EXCITING!!

Our flight to Rome left at noon from Brussels, so we made sure we arrived on time. We got there by ten and after the necessary waiting and the inavoidable toilet breaks, we finally arrived at the gate.
I waited impatiently to catch a glimpse of the aircraft that would take me to the sun, to visiting history and to a wonderful and relaxing week with my boyfriend. Until... I saw somebody waving at me intensly.
My honey had discovered our gate had changed. Not long after arriving at the gate (the right one this time) our plane arrived.

We got on and... YES! I'm at the window! Notwithstanding the wing, I could see everything beautifully. We left Brussels with 30 minutes delay. I didn't know what to expect. Would I be afraid or nauseous? How would it feel? Well, it felt awsome. First accelerting until your back is pressed to your seat. Then loosening of the ground and seeing how the world gets smaller and smaller. Once we were above the clouds, the experience got totally different. I didn't feel as if we were going fast or as if we were very high. The clouds looked like a landscape with mountains and valleys, just underneath the airplane.

After arriving in Rome we took the train to Termini station. We discovered you have to be very careful with Italian trains. One man pressed the button to open the door. He started getting on the train and the train just left! His wife could just grab him and pull him back on the platform. Everybody was startled.

In Termini station we collected the Roma-passes we had ordered beforehand. With a Roma-pass you can use the metro for free during three days. Also the first two museums you visit are for free and the other ones you can visit at a discount rate. I recommend to take this pass, it will save you money (certainley if the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum are one of those first two museums you visit) and you won't have to wait in the queue for so long.

Next stop: our hotel. We stayed at the Kennedy Hotel.

I had read it wasn't that great but it's only five minutes from termini station and we were on a tight budget so we took it anyway. Outside our hotel we smelled the aroma of urine and beer so we knew we weren't in the best part of town.

At first sight our room looked very good, but when looking a little closer the room was decrepit. Also there was no safe and no fridge. So it was impossible to keep your drinks cool. On the other hand we had a great view from our room. We looked straight at the little park next door with an archeological site in it.

Near our hotel was a beautiful church: Santa Maria maggiore. It's really worth a visit. Entry is free, but make sure you don't wear shorts and your shoulders are covered. There are guards at the entrance of the church that make sure you wear the proper attire.

According to the legend the Virgin Mary appeared to pope Liberius in his dreams. She ordered him to build a church on the spot where it would snow the next day, the 5th of August. And indeed, it did snow. Even nowadays, on the 5th of August, it still snows blossoms from the roof of the church as a remembrance of that snow.

Afterwards we ate some bread on our room and got ready for bed so we would be rested for day 2.