Travelogue: Thoughts on Rome

It just so happened that sitting across from me were two students from Pepperdine University in California that were studying abroad for the year in Germany. Unlike me, they have traveled extensively, and had decided just the night before to travel the many hours (somewhere around 13) to Rome on the train.

They, too, had no where to stay in Rome, and immediately upon entering Rome’s giant “Termini” (train station), someone with a nametag that said “Tourist Information” came up to us and asked if we were looking for a room. He then walked us several blocks to a hostel (or, as he called it, a “bed and breakfast”) that was only €23 for one night. (And for the record, the “breakfast” aspect of the hostel consisted of orange juice and a stale croissant.)

This was actually my first time in a hostel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. We were placed in a room with six beds (including two bunk beds). Everything seemed okay to me (they even had maps for me!), so we paid our money, showed them our passports, and went to explore Rome.

I just followed the seasoned travelers, and we saw dozens of sites, one after another. I had little knowledge of what Rome had to offer, and some of the coolest things I saw were things I didn’t even know existed!

Unfortunately, I didn’t keep track of where we went, so using my map, I’ve tried to piece together photos, memories, and names.

A few highlights, thoughts, etc:

The Vatican

I’m actually going to be spending a lot more time here when I go back to Rome this weekend for a class field trip. Somehow, our professor has gained special access to a normally restricted portion of the Vatican Museum. Regardless, I spent Saturday morning in the area near the Vatican. The plaza near St. Peter's Basilica was beautiful. The lines for the Sistine Chapel and other major tourist destinations were much too long for me to wait in, especially since I'd be going back the following week. I was surprised by the large amount of advertising in the plaza.

I tried to enter the Vatican proper, but was denied entrance by the clown-like Swiss Guards. As I approached, he made some gesture resembling a salute. I obviously didn't know the correct response, and he told me I couldn't come in. It's also possible I wasn't let in because of the bag I was carrying. I'm going to try and figure out what I need to do to get in next week.

Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

This was one of the most incredible structures I've ever seen in my life. We first saw it while looking at the ruins of the Roman Forum, and it was one of the few buildings where we could go anywhere. It is difficult to communicate its size through words or photographs. It was apparently constructed between 1895 and 1911, in honor of King Victor Emmanuel II. It was heavily secured with Roman police, and every so often one would start blowing their whistle at someone doing something you weren't supposed to.

Fontana di Trevi

They say that you're supposed to supposed to throw a coin over your right shoulder, but I'm not sure how I could have pulled that off without hitting anyone! We were walking down a street, turned a corner, and all of the sudden, there it was.

One of the most shocking things was that as soon as you turned around, you saw a giant advertisement for a cell phone. I guess that's capitalism for you.

Changing of the Guard at the President's House

I saw a surprising amount of heavily armed authority figures throughout Rome. While standing outside of what later I learned was the President's house, I witnessed a changing of the guard. Like something out of a movie, a guy comes out and starts chanting instructions. I managed to capture some of it on video.

I go back to Rome next week, so I'll have lots more to say then!

· Rome Photoset [Flickr]