Rome, Italy

Ah, Rome.

The most architecturally magnificent creation I have seen, till date. I spent 3 incredible days in Rome and saw so much! I also strengthened friendships and overall, had amazing fun.  I met the same person I had first met on a bus ride to Bologna and strolled around with him.

I was living in a place called Villa Luzzati which I would say was, less than average. The toilets were not working and the rooms were incredibly hot. Plus, the designated cooking area was a broken microwave and no utensils. I paid 20 Euros Per Night. 

The Colosseum 

Obviously, I will start with this one. Simply because if you go on the walking tour of all the important places in Rome, this one comes first in it. It is an amphitheatre from the Roman Empire and it witnessed gladiator and animal fights. It also witnessed executions! I would recommend buying a ticket to see the interior and listening to a recorded tour guide or actually getting one. Rome's architecture is nothing without it's rich history. Context is important. 

The Pantheon

If I am being very honest, the only thing I thought was impressive about this place was the poles. Pretty cool poles. It was not as attractive in a "come-hither" way as was the colosseum.  As someone who thought that the pantheon was supposed to be all that, it was .. meh. 

Victor Emmanuel II Monument

This version stands out and tall from the road. It is very attractive to look at. Since I was on foot, what struck my eyes from outside was the stuff I found the most compelling and hence, this monument wins my approval, i.e the Aditi Seal. (Not that it was looking)

Trevi Fountain

This fountain is so grand and magnificent. When we went, though, there was a crowd of people. It was somewhat inconvenient to move but the water was laden with thousands of coins. Did you know? Each year 1.5 million euros are recuperated from the fountains and donated to charity. 

Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi

This church is right next to the Trevi fountains and is a really wonderful structure to gaze at. Most of these monuments, you can see while walking!

Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi

This is smaller than the prior fountain but still pretty cool to see. It is in the piazza Navona. The statues on this structure are dope.

Castel Sant'Angelo

We saw this from afar and clicked photos with it so I cannot judge the structure fairly as I don't really know all that much about it. It's obviously a castle and it's definitely old. It is good to look at!

St Peter's Square

Henceforth, we have entered Vatican City. When I used to read my Dan Brown books as a kid, I was always marvelled by the structures of Vatican described in it. It was so unreal to actually visit it. You can also see the St Peter's Basilica's dome from here!

St Peter's Basicila

The biggest in the world. That's right. It is HUGE. The dome is so tall and the insides... I was NOT prepared. I was shaken to the core by the magnitude of human architectural prowess. Taking photos cannot begin to capture the beauty and intricacy of the inside of the dome and the church. You could take 3 days and analyse each element individually and still fall short of time. I also saw a ceremony when I was inside. I got really lucky!

Meeting Roberto Davide

Okay. So my day had a cherry on the top. I joined my new travel buddy to dinner with his couchsurfing host and his friend, as it turns out, was a famous actor. I asked him for a photo together and we got one. He played in the exorcist and a few other movies!

Sistine Chapel

To get here, one has to go through the Vatican Museum. Usually, to get in, it is obligatory to pay the entry fees and then stand in a line which usually comes to 8+5 euros total with something called "skip the line" charges. Although, I got so incredibly lucky because I happened to visit it on the last Sunday where the entrance is free. The entrance starts at 9 am but people start lining up from 6am! We were one of those people. We reached at 6 am and entered a long line. We got our breakfast from a nearby shop while one of us held our place in line. After all that effort, it was totally worth it. This chapel is smaller but incredible. It was painted in by Michelangelo. Photography is prohibited, but luckily my camera accidentally snapped some impromptu shots. 

Judge for yourself.

Rome was stunningly formidable. I am ecstatic with my experience. It did not cost me as much as I thought it would because it was easy to cover on foot. 

One of these 3 days, my phone told me I had walked 43,000 steps. Did not even notice it! Crazy! Did you know?

Rome has 280 fountains and more than 900 churches, more than any other city on the planet and the largest and oldest road network! Remember the saying "all roads lead to roam"? 

I eventually realised that to go to any city, going to Rome first was a super easy and cheap option because of the connectivity. I am a fan of the bus network in Italy. I encourage you to use it too.  

Aditi's recommendations

• Use the public transport or walk
• Use the water fountains for free drinking water. No need to buy. 
• Use Spotify to download an audioguide for Rome and listen to it while visiting the monuments. There are many guides available 

Thank you for reading about my Rome journey!

Until next time!