Tuesday, July 19th:
Trajan's Column and Trajan's Forum:
Today was our first breathtaking day in The Eternal City and the first day of our two weeks in Italy! We woke up early after a very long and hot night in Split, Croatia and were given a ride to the airport by the hostel owner who calls herself “Ladybird” for whatever reason. It was a pleasant hour-long drive and we hopped on our plane to Rome after a short delay and some airport food.
Ciao Italia!
We got off the plane and took a train to the main train station, Roma Termini. We were delighted to find that our hostel was only a short walk from the train station and that it was the best hostel I had stayed at to date on the trip! The Alessandro Palace Hostel was very spacious, had air conditioners and refrigerators in the rooms, and each guest gets a free bottle of wine at check-in! We were very tired from the night before, but I was so excited to see Rome for the first time that we pushed through it and got off to sightseeing quickly.
Piazza Venezia:
We decided to take a long walk through the city and head for the famed Colosseo, or Colosseum. The walk took much longer than we thought, as the city is absolutely massive, but literally every step in Rome is worth taking the time to look at what is around you. The architecture, the people, the food…it is all eye candy. We arrived at the Colosseum after a twenty minute or so walk. The building is just as stunning as I had always dreamed, and stands as such a magnificent reminder of Ancient Rome that stands above the rest. We decided that we wanted to walk around the inside later in our trip, so we continued on passed Trajan’s Market, Piazza Venezia and the monstrous new monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, and strolled down Via del Corso in the city center. Funny fact we learned on the way: Rome has a flourishing metro system, however it has met major problems as a station is being built at Piazza Venezia. The metro path underground must cross the center of what used to be Ancient Rome, and every time they dig another few feet, they find literally hundreds of Ancient Roman artifacts!
The Trevi Fountain at Night:
By now we decided that we were significantly hungry and wanted to dig into the famed Roman cuisine. We wandered around for a little bit before settling on a place called Spaghetteria-Pizzeria L’archetto. We knew we had picked a winner as our waiter walked us inside to our table, way in an old stone basement covered in Enoteca décor. This was the first of what I believe I will continue to say is the “best meal of my life.” We started with Bruschetta Primadoro as well as another Brushetta with Black Olives and Mozzerella. For my entre, I ate traditional Spaghetti Bolognese with some red wine called Dolcetto D'Alba. Both of us had a Roman Cappuccino for dessert before we were stuffed and on our way. We walked from there to the Trevi Fountain, lit up in all its glory at night. The fountain was very crowded with tourists, but it certainly looks spectacular against the black night sky.
After the fountain we decided to go find a bar to enjoy some beverages at towards the Pantheon. There was not much to see at the Pantheon at night, but we checked it out anyways on the way to Campo di Fiori, an area full of outdoor bars that was recommended to us by multiple friends who had visited Rome before. We ended up spending the good portion of the rest of the night drinking Peroni steins (one full liter!) with some other Americans at a bar called Sloppy Sam’s while sharing our stories. At around two in the morning we decided to wander home a full forty-minute walk, including getting lost, before crashing into bed, excited for the sightseeing to come.
The Pantheon at Night:
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