I’m happy to report that Rome exceeded my expectations and I look forward to going back! In fact friends and family, please consider booking me as your personal tour guide for any destination of your choosing…as I’ll be happy to delay my return to corporate America. Think about it, I could plan the itinerary that makes sense for you, then accompany you and coordinate all transportation, translations, reservations, tours etc. Sounds great to me. Anyways, Rome was truly amazing. When I wasn’t in awe at the incredible ruins, it felt like I could be in NYC, particularly Brooklyn. What a great mix of past and present the city has. When we were in Florence I felt like we had a bunch of misses with our meals. It was a disappointing introduction to Italian cuisine. The food in Rome did not disappoint. We had classic Roman dishes like cacio e pepe and spaghetti carbonara but also had our fill of eggplant parmigiana, gnocchi, pizza, tiramisu, gelato. It was fun to experience a new place with Mo and then with my Mom and Jim. We also experienced the Amalfi Coast with each of them so now they truly appreciate why we need to bookend our busy city sightseeing experiences with more relaxing destinations. Here are some highlights of what we covered in Rome:
Galleria Borghese
We had read that if you are going to visit an art museum in Rome, this is the one to go to (in addition to the Vatican of course). You have to make a reservation ahead of time and are only given two hours inside. We made the reservation for 5PM on our first day in Rome. We made it just in time and the museum did not disappoint. In fact, as we navigated from the first floor to the second, I stopped and booked a reservation for my Mom and Jim (they also loved it). Paying the extra 5 Euros for the audio guide is a must so that you can understand the sculptures, paintings and micro mosaics that you are looking at. I don’t take as many pictures as I used to as they just don’t do the real thing justice…but here’s one that I thought was really impressive:
David, armed only with a slingshot, faces a giant with weapons, Goliath. It was sculpted between 1623 and 1624 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini who at the time was only 25. This statue is not to be confused with the more famous David that was done by Michelangelo.
Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
I need to watch Gladiator again. Walking around the Colosseum hearing about what it was used for 2,000 years ago was pretty incredible. Humans fighting animals. Gladiators fighting one another until their death. 50,000 humans cheering this on. This was entertainment? What a different world they lived in. Across the street was Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum was equally as impressive as the Colosseum. This was epicenter of Rome during its glory days. After the fall of Rome the Forum was abandoned and basically buried in over the years. Of course now its been excavated for us to appreciate the ruins of ancient Rome and many of them are in excellent condition. To appreciate Palatine Hill, you need a good imagination because the ruins aren’t in very good condition, compared to everything else I’ve listed at least. If you have limited time in Rome, skip Palatine.
Colosseum
Roman Forum
Pantheon
Going to the Pantheon wasn’t really on my radar. If you go to Rome, make sure it’s on yours. The now-Christian church has been in continuous use since A.D. 120. Yes, you read that right, continuous use since A.D. 120! Of course it wasn’t a Christian church back then, it was a Roman temple dedicated to all (pan) of the gods (theos). It’s one massive room with a dome that is as high as it is wide: 142 feet from floor to rooftop and from side to side. At the top of the dome is the “oculus” a.k.a. hole in the roof. It’s 30 feet across and completely open. If it’s raining, its raining in the temple. Pretty wild! How amazing is it that the Roman’s knew how to build a dome of this magnitude?
Pantheon
Basilica San Clemente
If you go to Rome, you have to check this out. We added it to our itinerary after listening to a Rick Steves podcast about Rome. When you enter the Basilica from the current street level, you walk into a church that was built in the 12th century. After you’ve explored the beautiful frescoes and mosaics you can buy a ticket to descend a level. What you descend into are the ruins of an earlier church, from the third century. If you go down yet another level, you enter the remains of a pagan temple and roman house - from the 1st century AD. At this point, you’ve gone so far below the current street level that it’s hard to believe that you are now standing on what used to be street level in A.D. 1. Unreal. Magical.
Jewish Ghetto Walking Food Tour
This was more of food tour than a history lesson on the Jewish Ghetto and Rome. So, it didn’t meet my expectations but it still was a great time. We drank good wine and beer, ate pizza, gelato, cannolis, and a variety of Italian food that we may have not ordered ourselves. The food and/or venues were so good that we even went back to a few of the spots during other days in Rome.
Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel
The Vatican Museum was massive and we had an excellent guide who kept our attention and navigated us through to the must-see statues and paintings. During our first days in Rome we had spoken with many other tourists that reflected on their visit to Vatican City almost with disgust. They said it was so packed you could barely move. Elbow to elbow with other tourists….no AC and super hot. We expected the worst and got the best. It felt empty. It wasn’t hot. Our tour guide kept saying, “I’m telling you, this is a miracle.” Part of the reason was that we randomly picked an 8:30AM tour on a Wednesday….which happens to be the time when people are lining up hoping for a glance at the Pope and not going into the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. Long story short - if you are going to Vatican City, go on a Wednesday morning and hopefully you’ll have the same luck we had. Also, definitely book a tour as I think it would have been difficult to truly appreciate the museum without one. If you are thinking, “Well, I’m not religious, so going to the Vatican Museum isn’t for me” - I’d advise you are wrong - the art is amazing and I truly believe that people of any religious belief, including Atheists would be amazed by the Vatican Museum…and St. Peter’s Basilica for that matter. Oh, and then there’s the fact that you can no longer just go to the Sistine Chapel - the only way to get there is via the Vatican Museum. Speaking of the Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo was an amazing man. It’s hard for me to believe that when he was commissioned to repaint the ceiling of the chapel, he was given the freedom to paint anything he wanted. I would have guessed that the powerful church leadership would have told him exactly what to paint. It’s a myth that he layed on his back and painted it. He stood up and just arched his neck. Every day and night for four years. My neck hurts just thinking about that. He didn’t want to accept the job because he considered painters to be a lower class than sculptors. He was a sculptor. In the end, he said yes for the large paycheck and it was completed in 1481. This man designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica (at age 71!), sculpted the David that we saw in Florence, painted the Sistine Chapel, and plenty of other amazing things. He lived to 89 which is extremely old for the 15th and 16th centuries. What a guy! I wish I could have met him…I guess instead I’ll just have to find a good biography.
St. Peter’s Basilica
This church was larger than life. The inside is just under 6 acres and it is the length of two football fields. More marble than I’ve ever seen in one place. Ceilings higher than anything I’ve ever seen in a church. It can fit 60,000 worshipers INSIDE. A must-see while in Rome. However, I have to comment that having visited many a Roman Catholic church in my lifetime, I was very surprised to see the lack of Jesus and Mary and the overabundance of ginormous statues of Popes. Isn’t the church supposed to be a place to worship Jesus? Not a shrine to deceased Popes?
St. Peter's Basilica as the sun was coming up just before 7:00.
If you are wondering why the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps aren’t making the blog - well - we saw them - but they were under renovation! I look forward to seeing what they are really like next time we’re in Rome!
Back to the Amalfi Coast...
Ok so I don’t watch Glee but the other night I was a little bit starstruck. We were on the streets of Positano at about 10PM and I was like, “oooh…who is that good looking man”…I never really have this thought because I am constantly star struck with my husband. However, on that particular night, yes I took another look at this other man and then realized, “hmm, he must be a celebrity”. I pointed him out to Jake, my Mom and Jim, and they agreed that he looked like a guy from a show that none of us watched. IMDB confirmed that this was definitely Mr. Matthew Morrison. Fun!
~Jesslyn