Buongiorno! from my top bunk in a bright yellow and pink room at the (handily wi-fi enabled) Freestyle Hostel in Rome. Danny, Julie and I arrived in the city early in the afternoon on Thursday, and have been indulging in wonderful vistas, food, and wine since.
After a day in New Jersey and a day in New York (see Olympus Fashion Week pictures below), we were treated to great Irish accents aboard Aer Lingus on our flight Wednesday evening from New York’s JFK airport. Mildly sleep deprived upon our arrival in Rome, we spent the first day mostly wandering around, getting a feel for our surroundings and enjoying pizza and pasta. The day was kind of dreary and occasionally rainy, which was a little disappointing, but who can complain about Rome?
We spent our first two nights in Hostel Roma 2000 just blocks away from Termini, the main train station in Rome. The room housed us and four others, and because of the rain, an older (too-old-for-a-hostel older) Australian closed the window and turned off the fan. The room was roasting, which made it difficult enough to sleep, and combined with the noise of seven people getting up for frequent bathroom trips, none of us got more than an hour of solid rest.
We decided at about 7:00 the next morning to get up and start our day. We stopped off at a café on our walk to the Colloseum, and it started to rain again. We had a really cheap breakfast complete with great Italian espresso at the Mary Love Café, and after about half an hour the weather cleared up and we headed out. We got to the Colloseum shortly thereafter (only about a 20 minute walk from our hostel total), and were still early enough to beat the crowds. Despite being a little smaller than I envisioned, it was still one of the most magnificent things I’ve seen. To think something of that scale was constructed in 80CE is stunning to me, and I can’t imagine what it might have looked like before its decline. There is no way for me to adequately describe it here, and even the pictures won’t do it justice. In the words of Leah Olm, “What was the Colloseum like?? What wasn’t the Colloseum like?”
After a little over an hour of meandering about the arena, we spent some time wandering around Palatine Hill, which offered some really stunning views of the city. Now hungry again, we stopped at a small grocery store and gathered some picnic supplies: bread, a couple cheeses, prosciutto, wine, and some peaches from a farmer’s market. We returned to a park we had walked through the day before, and had a very nice relaxing lunch. Now nearing two and exhausted from our morning, we returned to the hostel with the hope (granted) that our room would be empty. We flung the windows open, put the fan on high, and got around four hours of sleep.
Partially rejuvenated, we followed our nap with a search for internet. The first place we found was a bar with a single computer, so we split a bottle of wine and appetizers while we took turns attending to various business (including looking for some nightclubs). And, true to form, we decided afterwards that it was nearing time to eat. We traipsed buzzed through the city looking for something romantic and with available outdoor seating. We eventually (maybe an hour later?) found something promising, and had some more great cheese, wine, and pasta over a long dinner. We then returned to the hostel; Julie decided to stay behind while Danny and I went out to find some clubs. The first was decidedly older, so we left after a single drink. The second, perhaps a half-hour walk away, no longer existed, but in the process of getting there we found a very lively square full of young Romans. We got a beer, relaxed for a while just people- and dog-watching, and found our way back to the hostel at about 1.
This morning, we were up at around 7 again and moved our stuff to our new hostel. After a quick breakfast at Termini, we took the (superawesome, fast, clean) Metro to the Vatican. And, lo and behold, the rain picked back up. We waited in line for the museums and Sistine Chapel for a full hour and a half, snaking around the international border/wall outside. We finally got inside and paid the €12 admission fee, only to get back in a line that slowly swept us through the museums full of stuff. The constant forward momentum of the line prevented much enjoyment of any of the exhibits, and I found myself wanting to just get to the Sistine Chapel. Finally we did, and the ceiling truly is awe-inspiring. The chapel itself, though, is smaller and plainer than I expected. It’s basically just a box with lots of paintings on it; no support columns, no seating (just a room completely full of people still pressing onward), just a room surrounded by beauty.
We emerged from the museum and got a snack, then followed the Tiber River to Trastevere, a neighborhood suggested to us by one of Julie’s friends for its food. We had some house wine and pasta there, but it was only mediocre next to the food we’d had so far. That being said, it was far better than most Italian food I’ve had in the US.
After the late lunch, we caught a bus back to Termini and returned to the hostel. Here we are, anxiously waiting for the most recent episode of Project Runway to download from iTunes. We have our priorities straight, obviously. Afterwards, perhaps a nap, then off for more food and nightlife! Ciao!