European Vacation: Day 5

We flew to Rome today. It was interesting retracing our steps now that we knew where we were going back to the Barcelona airport. We were able to reminisce 3 days back when we were afraid and lost and found it pretty hilarious, only to repeat these same feelings in Rome about three hours later.

The flight would have been fine, except there was a 2yr old screaming bloody murder the entire flight. What is worse, is that his parents didn't seem to care and at times were just as bad (kicking the seats, moving around, etc). I'm pretty sure the entire front half of the plane contemplated punching an infant.

My luggage is now starting to fall apart, which is nothing short of frustrating- especially now that the wheels go cockeyed, then start dragging the bottom of the bag unless I hold it up which is a fantastic shoulder workout with a 50 lb. piece of luggage, by the way.

The metro stations here are enormous. We walked the length of a US mall to transfer to the metro line from the train.

While on the way here, I read that starting Aug. 15th (read: today) the majority of Rome is on vacation, also Aug. 15 is a holiday - something like their Thanksgiving. Therefore, pretty much only tourist restaurants, shops and traps were open today. Hopefully, more will be open tomorrow, but it got me thinking that we may have an extra day to travel somewhere close within Italy- either to the beach or Florence. Krysti is in full agreement, and I am even more excited than I was before (which I was not sure was possible).

We finally made it to our hostel, which sports three beds, a window, a large shower and AC- all improvements over our hostel in Barcelona. It even has a type of terrace/foyer, though it's on the main floor.

Our hostel room in Rome

We explored the area, looking for food and found it at a tourist (we think) restaurant near the Vatican. Despite the nature of the place, it was certainly delicious and the staff was very friendly. During dinner, we made our plan for the next few days and started off to Villa Borghese, a large park in Rome known for its sculptures. We rented a rickshaw and bicycled around the park looking like complete nut jobs and laughing maniacally. In other words: standing out as tourists. The park was extremely beautiful, and the rickshaw was fun.

We're here! (photo credit: Krysti)

The entrance to Villa Borghese

The pond in the park, with a temple-type building in the water (photo credit: Krysti)

We then went in search of the Spanish Steps, which we ended up taking a wrong turn into a parking garage, had a little trouble finding our way out, and eventually made it to an amazing rooftop view of the city from which we could see St. Peter's Basilica, a castle, the Colosseum, and (what we thought was) the Pantheon. Walking about two blocks, we eventually came upon the steps. The Spanish Steps were absolutely beautiful.

The Spanish Steps and the throngs of people also exploring and resting

Krysti and me in front of the Spanish Steps

We took the metro to the Trevi Fountain, but since it was not quite dark yet (I wanted to see it when it was lit up), we stopped at a cafe and ordered wine/coffee. Krysti claims that the coffee was better in Barcelona, I claim the wine is better in Italy, but cheaper in Barcelona (5.60 Euro for a glass!).

After it got darker, we saw the fountain, and I dropped a coin in - meaning that one day I will be back here (says folklore). The fountain was magnificent, and so beautiful with the lights against the night. It's still difficult for me to comprehend how many people were there. Afterwards, Krysti and I stopped at a fantastic little gelato shop slightly off the beaten path of the fountain and made our way to the Colosseum.

The Trevi fountain, lit up against the night

Throwing my coin into the fountain

Us in front of the Trevi fountain

We were startled at first at the sheer size of the thing, then the age and historical significance hit us about 1/4 of our way around the perimeter. It is so hard to describe what awe I felt in its presence. The eeriness of the columns in the dark against the floodlights was certainly a thing to see. I'm so happy we went at night, and we may be back to tour the inside when it is open on Wednesday.

The Colosseum eerily lit up at night

The cornerstone of the Colosseum - we couldn't get over the date (in Roman Numerals!): Year 7 AD.