I was lucky enough recently to take a trip to Rome in Italy, I haven't been abroad very much but travelling is definitely something I am interested in doing more of. At 19 this was actually one of my first holiday's taken without the aid of family. My boyfriend and I arranged the whole thing from start to finish with a degree of organization that might have warranted a medal! We left for Heathrow at 4am exhausted and still dreaming. Luckily my mothers boyfriends job (that was a mouthful) means that he gets air miles and so our flights were half price!
Anyway, we had a wonderful flight. I myself am not scared of heights but I am somewhat of a nervous flyer but after the loveliest air hostess brought me a cup of tea and sat and chatted with me I felt more relaxed. We flew with British Airways there and back and I had the best experience, all the Air Hostess were lovely and the woman at the BA desk was wonderful, I would recommend them in a heartbeat!
During the journey we flew over the Alps and were able to see the beautiful snow capped mountains from our window. The pictures above of are what we saw and were just too breath taking to even begin to describe! It was an experience in its self and so I can't imagine what the view from atop one of them must have been.
We arrived in Italy 12pm local time, so still had the rest of the day to potter around doing what ever we pleased. The taxi driver picked us up and took us straight to the B&B where we were staying, we ended up staying in a little place just round the corner from the Colosseum. We were welcomed by Lorenzo the owner who drew out a map to show us all the places to visit and where to eat! He then showed us to our room and promptly brought us a large bottle of ice cold water, which if you'd ever been to Italy seemed like the best thing in the world given how hot it was! The place was called Downtown Accommodation and if you are ever planning a weekend trip to Italy I would suggest it as the perfect base for a trip based on exploring the city's best attractions! It meant we were able to go out after dinner, when the sun was just setting and eat ice cream right by the Colosseum without having to go on a lengthy walk! So definitely 9/10 there!
The next day we headed off to the Colosseum once again and got inside with fast passes (honestly the queues are so long its worth the extra £40 or so that it cost for us both! it was worth going inside with a guide as well as we learnt all sort of interesting facts.
Did you know? The Colosseum was never actually known as the 'Colosseum' by those who build and used it? It was actually named The Flavian Amphitheater, and was built around what used to be Emperor Nero's lake before it was drained and reshaped to form the oval shape of the Colosseum. It was named this in the medieval era after the huge statue that was erected there which they had named the Colossus.
Did you know? The word fornication owes its origins to the Colosseum. After the fall of the Roman empire such places went into disuse as they were considered to be on the outskirts of the city. The Colosseum became a breeding ground for all sort of criminal activity - including prostitution. It's huge arches made for the perfect hiding place for such activities. Fornix is Latin for Arch and so 'Fornication' was born.
Next our tour took us to the Roman Forums, by this point my feet were killing me and the sun was beating down hard. I'd say DON'T WEAR FLIPFLOPS. Honestly don't know what I was thinking by the end of the holiday and by the end of that day even my feet were so painful I could barely walk! Luckily we had lots of water as there are nearly 2,000 clean water fountains all over Rome. Overall I'd have to say loved the Roman Forums best out of all of the places we visited. It was beautiful and wonderful. Our tour guide informed us that not long ago people used to use the site as a place for their sheep to graze. They would have little fluffy cloud goats grazing among huge protruding columns which I found quite entertaining. We weren't allowed to go into the building in the top right picture but apparently it was a church at one point, and when we later visited the Pantheon which is the worlds oldest church we were told that the best preserved buildings were all churches originally or had been converted into churches.
My boyfriend, Dan, was particularity in love with the Pantheon. I couldn't blame him, it's huge towering dome (apparently the biggest of its kind) and huge entrance was unreal. Though like with a lot of things I had the pleasure of seeing in Rome I kind of felt as thought I was in a hall built for giants!
Earlier that day we headed to one of the many Plazas in Rome, but the one we went to was called Piazza Navona. It was announced to us by the tour guide as one of Romes most beautiful Plazas - though we didn't eat there as the prices were insane! Our tour guide told us a story about the fountain in the center which he called 'the Four Rivers Fountain' Apparently the statue you see around the other side of the fountain is supposed to represent Europe.
When the Fountain and the building you can see with the dome the other side where built, they were commissioned by two architects who hated each other. So one architect built his fountain with the statue opposite the building raising his arm and turning his head away from the other architects building as if in disgusted. Upon seeing this the buildings architect erected a statue on top of his building of a woman who's body faces the fountain but who's face is turned away in a similar fashion.
 |
| Later that day we met Elnora. |
The next day we visited Vatican City, which was beautiful. It took us a while to find the tour we were supposed to be on, and we had to get on the 64 bus to get there. Which was an awful experience, we got on and there was no air conditioning working at the time, we were cramped into a really tight space surrounded by lots of people who spoke Italian and no English. Not to mention I had to cling to my bag for fear of pickpockets! When ever anyone got off you had to cling to your position else you might get pushed off or over!
Other than that the experience was a pleasant one! I had to wear a jumpsuit we were visiting the Sistine Chapel which you aren't allowed in unless you have your knees and shoulders covered! It was wonderful, though I came mostly for Michelangelo's Last Judgment. Which was utterly breathtaking even in the cramped space! I would have provided a picture, but you were also not allowed to taking photographs.
On our very last day in Rome we visited the Vittoriano which for the most part was free to get into - if you can stomach striding past the mean looking Italian guards at the gate to the steps. We wondered in and out of two different museums before we found this treasure! We even had lunch on the balcony at a little cafe, although the winds send the sun umbrellas crashing down nearly on top of us! I had a lovely mozzarella and tomato panini and a much needed cold glass of coke!
After we finished eating we rounded the corner to find a ticket booth for an elevator. We paid 7 euros to go up to the very top of the second tallest building in Rome and look out over 360 degree views of the city. It was well worth the money! The views were breath taking, it is impossible to comprehend in photographs.
Unfortunately we were delayed on the way home by French Air Traffic Control. Although looking on the bright side we got in the news, BBC reported that "British passengers" were being disrupted and not the various other nationalities waiting to board the plane! Eventually we headed home, on a new route avoiding France all together. Landing at 12am to an empty airport and a pair of welcoming arms ready to drive us home (thank god because I had only had two cups of tea that day god forbid I should get behind the wheel of a car).
Over all we had a wonderful time in Rome and I would definitely say it's one off the bucket list. Thank you to my wonderful boyfriend for taking me with him and his lovely parents for taking us home!
Recommendations!
Apps/guides:
Flights:
Tours:
I'd really like to hear about all your holidays and adventures! Have you got any stories or places you'd like to recommend?
No comments:
Post a Comment