When in Rome (Day 1)

Last Thursday, October 16th, group of 6 American girls arrived in Milan's central train station at 6:45 PM. Holding a big sign that read "Mary-Kate and Friends" I greeted them, as I was to be their guide for that evening and travel companion in the city of Rome. After escorting them to their hostel, I showed them all of my favorite spots in the city, a manageable tour that can really be accomplished in the span of an evening. I brought them to the Duomo and its adjacent Galleria (a large, 19th century mall filled with ludicrously expensive luxury stores), we ate at a nearby restaurant, headed to a piazza in Porto Ticinese where all the 20-somethings socialize and drink, before ending up at King's Pub, my establishment of choice in Milan, an American-English style bar with big beers and a waterside view. I'm pretty sure I did an OK job as host as we all had a really good time.

The next morning, while the girls left for a day trip to Venice, I got on a 7:00 AM train bound for the heart of the Roman Empire. It was actually one of the more comfortable trains I have been on, and since I brought a blanket (borrowed from Alitalia, my airline to Milan), I had no trouble sleeping for most of the 6 hour ride. 

I think I like sleeping on my European train trips because I always wake up to see something completely new. On our way to Nice, I awoke to a beautiful, blue sea - in Munich, my tired vision focused upon a group of girls in Dirndls - and on the way to Rome, opening my eyes, I saw nothing but soft, rolling hills of grain, something I can only liken to the dream sequences in the movie Gladiator. It was a very calming view from the moving window, but with only one hour to go until arriving in the Termini station, I opened up my guide book and began to plan my route for the day.

I had trouble finding my hostel, Freestyle Hotel. I was positive I was on the right street, but with no signs indicating an oasis for backpackers, I simply walked up and down the street, passing by the same address which appeared to be an apartment building. Finally, after calling my roommate back in Milan to help me find the place via internet, he assured me that 132 Via Principe Amedeo was the address, and I actually looked at the names on the buzzer. Sure enough, Freestyle Hotel was listed as the 4th name, right in between the names of two roman citizens. 

It was actually a pretty neat place, the hostel. It had vibrant walls colored in graffiti (planned graffiti, not thuggish, intimidating tags) and consisted of a simple, small reception room with 3 adjacent bunk areas and a bathroom. I was told I couldn't actually get a key to my room until 4:00 PM, and since I was 3 hours early, I just dropped off my bag and was out on my own, the sights of Rome to see. 

Here was my basic train of thought; with the girls meeting up with me the next day I knew two things; 1) they would want to see all of the main attractions in the city and thus, I shouldn't hit the must see locations that day and 2) they would be much, much slower than me on my own, and this meant I needed to take advantage of my time. I began to walk briskly, free from any obligation to slow to the pace of shorter-legged folk.

My first destination was the Santa Maria Maggiore, a small, but incredible church located in the vicinity of my hostel and on the way to more well known monuments. I feel spoiled by the splendor of the churches I have seen recently (it's almost like if you've seen one you've seen them all), because even though it was an amazing interior, I didn't take up too much time snapping photos and peering at the 100 year old life like paintings coating every inch of the ceiling. At the head of the sanctuary, near the altar, was a gorgeous, golden mosaic. I appreciated this, but I can't pretend like I wasn't thinking, "You guys think this mosaic is cool? Have you been to Venice? Now that's a mosaic." Again, I'm getting spoiled. But if you're in Rome and see the Santa Maria Maggiore, go take a gander - it's free and splendid.

From here I made my way to the Piazza Venezia, which was unlike most Italian piazzas, in that it is dominated by a giant circular drive, busy with the daily traffic of taxis and tour buses and vespas. It is also unlike many Italian piazzas because in its center is an enormous, white structure, the Vittoriano, a monument to Vittoriano Emanuele II, the first king of unified Italy, and on the outskirts of the drive, the Imperial Forums, ruins of buildings dating back to the big man himself, Julius Caesar. It was kind of difficult to fully understand the purpose and original form of the ruins, but I was careful to read the descriptions posted for both Italian and English readers. To me, it looked like worn down, old rubble, but with names like Augustus, Caesar, Nerva and Trajan attached, even crappy looking rubble seems pretty damn impressive. 

I walked completely around the piazza (around Vittoriano), before deciding to head up to the top of the bright, giant building. I  found it impressive, but apparently (and according to MTV Europe) the structure is "a monumental exercise in bad taste... festooned with so much gaudy sculptural detail that it has been nicknamed the 'wedding cake' by disparaging locals". Shows what I know. Still, the view from the top is the best in the city - it cost me 7 euro to take an elevator to the VIP section, but it was definitely worth it. I discovered another thing about me as a traveler. I love views. I think the best way to see a city is from the most famous view of it. The roof of the Vittoriano did not disappoint. Without even using the many sight-seeing binoculars up there, I could see the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica and more. I hung out for a good number of minutes while a strange rain, the kind that falls during a completely blue sky, drizzled upon me.

Having soaked in the landscape to the point of saturation, I descended back to the center of Piazza Venezia and decided to head to a monument that was nearby and that I was dying to see. The Pantheon is one of the world's most incredible testaments to ancient engineering. I'd classify it with the pyramids and stonehedge as something eerily well-done, almost unbelievable. It is an old place of worship, dating back to the 2nd century in the time of emperor Hadrian. It is a flawlessly constructed dome, remarkably well preserved (seriously, the inside looks like it could be brand new) and with its identical dimensions (141 ft. across by 141 ft. high) could be turned upside down to form a perfect sphere. Whoa - cosmic. There were a ton of tourists inside, shooting pictures of the ceiling above and the hole at its center. There were also a number of famous graves within the building, including that of the aforementioned Vittoriano Emanuele II and his bride Queen Margherita, who the famous pizza is named after (Pizza Margherita is the cheapest, most delicious pizza in Italy... buy some). The Pantheon pretty much knocked my socks off, but I quickly threw them and my shoes back on, and continued with my speed tourist itinerary. 

I should mention quickly that being a solo tourist can be a rewarding experience, but it makes for an awkward picture. With no one to take a picture of you, I've found that an outstretched arm with camera in hand works (sort of). There is the other option of asking a stranger to kindly step into the role of temporary photographer, but then you are forced to admit that you are alone, and then you just appear uncomfortable standing solitary in the frame. It is for these reasons that I appear in only a limited number of pictures on Friday.

But I digress. From the Pantheon I worked my way through the streets to the Fontana di Trevi, the famous Roman fountain into which countless coins are thrown daily from tourists wishing to either swiftly return to Rome (1 coin), enjoy a new romance (2 coins), or get married (3 coins). I threw one. Also, the fountain was fantastic. It's located in a small nook, an unexpected opening surrounded by 4 buildings. It is also enormous and filled with rich, mythological sculptures - fishes spitting water, men with tridents and conch shells. I liked it a lot. So much so that I returned with new friends later in the evening to witness it at night and of course drink wine casually. Check it out on wikipedia. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/trevi_fountain

Next stop, Spanish Steps. A straight shot north from the fountain, I found this immense outdoor staircase covered in tourists, leading up to an important looking building of sorts. I really don't know what makes these stairs so famous, but they are located in a posh area of the city, complete with high-end fashion shops and the fashionistas that fill them. I walked my way up the 12 curving flights and enjoyed the view from the top (not nearly as good as that from the roof of the Vittoriano). Various artists were soliciting their work on the street which ran along the peak of the steps, so I sat, resting my feet, and enjoyed looking at the free gallery.

The final stop on my (now undesirably long) itinerary, was the Villa Borghese, a massive park at the north end of the city (right by the steps). I walked along the paths, enjoyed the view of green landscapes and floral arrangements, but my stride was beginning to slow, and the hostel was calling my name (free dinner at 7!). After snapping a great picture of a fountain and St. Peter's church, soaked in the light of a descending sun, I hopped on a metro bound for my Roman room. 

At the hostel, I quickly made friends with the two girls who shared my quarters. Avery and Bracey, two Nashville women, were like me, studying abroad in Europe. They were there for the weekend, but unlike me, would be changing hostels the next day. We headed out together for an unplanned night in town. 

At first, we stopped for a casual meal of pizza (I know it sounds lame to eat pizza in Italy, but seriously, it's really good, and really cheap) and white wine. I had already eaten the generic pasta and salad prepared for me at the hostel (filling without flavor) so I just stuck to wine. We talked and got to know each other - which is by far my favorite thing about staying in crappy European hostels - the number of people you meet is incredible, especially if you were voted most outgoing in high school. 

After this, I guided the 3 of us to the Trevi Fountain, which they hadn't seen yet. On the steps in front of the watery masterpiece, we drank some more wine and did our best to ignore the countless street vendors, attempting to sell us camera stands, toys and flowers every 5 minutes. 

Our next adventure was finding a good bar to go to, but with a recommendation from Avery's friend, we at least had a name - The Drunken Ship. After asking a handful of strangers if they had heard of the place, we finally found someone who had, and he kindly marked it on the map which I had very wisely brought (another thing about me as a traveler, I stick to my map at all costs). We eventually found it, a small bar in Campo di Fiori, filled with Americans and Italians, some of which were even playing Beer Pong (for my older readers, this is probably the best known college drinking game, at least in the midwest). We had found our niche. I made friends with New York bartender, we bought panini outside of the pub, and before you'd know it, we were safe in our squeeky hostel beds. Rome sweet Rome.