Sunset over the Vatican and Tiber River
There were many points during the three days we stayed in Rome that I thought we might just die here. There must not be many rules of the road when driving in Italy because first, our bus driver to Rome was an absolute maniac. He drove in the left lane for most of the journey and honked the horn at cars to get out of his way multiple times. We made it to Rome a decent amount of time before scheduled, even with a 15 minute stop at a gas station. Walking through the city is terrifying. There are crosswalks across major roads, but hardly any traffic lights. Cars and mopeds are just expected to stop when they see someone crossing the street, no matter how fast they are going, and yes they drive terrifyingly fast. Mopeds add a whole other aspect to the traffic as they swerve in between cars and most of the time drive faster than the cars themselves. The traffic patterns are also very nerve wracking especially because there is hardly any indication of lanes for cars to stay in while making large turns. Stop signs also didn’t seem to be present. Anyways, I’m just glad we were able to make it out of Rome alive.
Our first full day in Rome I wanted to get most of our sightseeing out of the way so we went to the Colosseum, the Forums and Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain.
All were absolutely beautiful in their own ways and of course I loved them because of their history and architecture. As I have mentioned before I always dreamed of seeing the Colosseum after learning about it in grade school. As we were walking I was able to see it in the distance and my heart fluttered. I was finally going to see this beautiful monument in person and witness where gladiators stood looking up at the crowd of Romans. As we stood in line waiting to buy our tickets I kept getting peaks of the interior. When we finally walked through the doors all I could do was smile. The old stone and the remnants of the hallways that were under the now collapsed floor made me think of everything that took place here many years ago. The only thing that ruined my experience were the insane amount of tourists and tour groups.
I did it to myself, really, going to all of the tourist areas of Rome, but I had no idea there would be that many tourists. With everyone yelling and talking to each other and crowding around shoulder to shoulder it was difficult for me to appreciate the beauty of what I was seeing. I have also formed and even more intense hatred of selfie sticks. The large outdoor sights weren’t too overwhelming for me, but when we went to the Vatican I was getting frustrated. It was difficult to move when looking through the museums and heading down to the Sistine Chapel was another adventure.
Hundreds of people walked down many steps into the crowded chapel. I had heard so much about this chapel and the paintings by Michelangelo, but I didn’t expect the paintings to cover the chapel from floor to ceiling. It was absolutely beautiful. You could really spend hours tilting your head to the ceiling examining every scene this wonderful artist painted. Though this is considered a Holy place, some of the tourists were being very disrespectful speaking to each other, wearing inappropriate attire, and not taking in the beauty of this masterpiece. (I probably feel so strongly about respecting places like this due to my Catholic upbringing.) The only escape I had from the tourists was to look up and immerse myself into the painting.
We weren’t supposed to take this picture (Sistine Chapel)
Our host where we stayed suggested that we climb to Gianicolo Hill and watch the sun set over Rome. It was definitely a hike up there, but it was absolutely worth it. On this hill we were able to see both sides of Rome, the old city and the newer parts. We were able to pick out where we had been earlier that day and saw the Vatican from afar. In the background there were large mountains adding even more beauty.
It seems that Italians eat and drink from the minute they wake up until late into the night. There are many courses of food throughout the day. One of the courses we tried is called aperetivo, which consists of a glass of wine and some food to eat before dinner. 
We stumbled upon a small place with outdoor seating with a small buffet (with many food options) and a free drink for a small price. I definitely don’t have the stomach of an Italian because after a great glass of wine and some food I was good for the night. We didn’t end up getting any official dinner. There are also tons of gelato places everywhere, next to each other and across the street from each other. I must say, that might be the thing I will miss the most about Italy.
From Europe With Love
xoxo
From Peru With Love 