What We Learned on Googley-Elmo Marconi Street...

Hi everyone!

I just returned with my friend Jonah from a wonderful trip to Rome. It was my first time ever even in Italy so I was really pleased and excited that I was able to do this over our spring break from Paris. The city itself had a great, laid-back feeling. It is huge and ancient, but it does not have as much of an ego or an attitude as New York or Paris. I pretty much love every city ever, but this one was very warm, pretty easy to navigate, great food, and helpful people all made it work. I think I ended up creating a pretty packed and busy itinerary, and we basically hit all the major sites and most of the city's neighborhoods. It also happened to be Cultural Week, a week in Rome where all the national museums are free and others offer significant discounts. We definitely saved a lot there (which I am pretty sure I ended up spending on food and my souvenirs anyway). Sit tight and read the whole post. I only felt like writing this up once.

When I arrived from Paris, I took a lovely relaxing cab ride and got to see some of the country side...then I talked to Jonah. Apparently our hostel was under renovation and with no notification we were going to be asked to go to their sister hostel (also known as a hostel we specifically didn't book in the first place because it sounded gross). We decided to cancel that and ended up finding a great hotel south of the city center, located a 5 minute walk from a Metro stop. It ended up working out well, had a free breakfast, and a free computer/internet.

I am now just going to give a day-by-day list of the things we did, and elaborate on the stuff I liked best or found to be most interesting. If I sat and wrote about every little thing, I would definitely lose all patience. If you look at my Facebook photos in order it pretty much follows this. Feel free to take a look and comment on anything. I would be glad to talk about any of this more in person!

THURSDAY (Day 1)
Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli- the church where the chains that bound St. Peter in jail are held; also the home of some fabulous Michelangelo sculpture work, including the Moses with horns and some other great stuff.

Spanish Steps/Piazza Espagna- lots of tourists sitting on Rococo steps that are near the Spanish embassy (hence the name). good to see but not as impressive as I'd imagine.

Keats-Shelley House- the home of Keats, a museum dedicated to his life, the circle of British poets and writers in Rome, Romanticism, and lots of books and history.

Via dei Condotti- a very ritzy shopping street where all the major designers have their boutiques. major window shopping and drooling.

the Trevi Fountain- an amazing Rococo fountain. really breathtaking and so many pretty details.
went back again another day so we could see it lit up at night...even more impressive.

Chiesa della Trinita dei Monti- the big church at the top of the Spanish Steps. It was fine, we just needed something to do.

FRIDAY (Day 2)
St. Peter's Basilica- We got up early to head to Vatican City. Seeing the early morning sun on the Basilica was really beautiful and it was quite peaceful and not so crowded. We went and saw the basilica itself when it opened, and got to walk around while various groups were saying morning mass which was nice. Got to see some great art, including Michelangelo's Pieta and the Baroque bronze canopy over St. Peter's Tomb. Also climbed all the way to the top of it, seeing some wonderful views of Rome in the morning. Looottss of stairs but we made it. Picked up some things for Irene and John then headed back down.

Vatican Museums- Where to even begin? We sat on line for a while and got to go see all the museums inside the complex we wanted. At a certain point you are forced to follow a one-way itinerary to the major sites like the Sistene Chapel...it was kind of annoying, but makes sense since before that there were thousands of people going both ways and probably much much more chaos. I took a bunch of pictures, but I also invested in a book that has all the major masterpieces and highlights because it was hard to get in everything! Anyone who sees me at home is welcome to take a look.
Pinoteca: The gallery of the Vatican devoted to paintings. All the big names.
Gallery of Modern Religious Art: a little bit weird but welcome relief in style after a few hours of the same Renaissance New Testament scenes.
Greek and Roman Sculpture Galleries: Some beautiful pieces, but my favorites were the mosaics...so detailed and impressive.
Raphael Rooms: A series of rooms with various frescoes painted, including that absolutely stunning School of Athens and some others. I never really learned much about Raphael but I have always been a fan and it was impressive to see it in person!
Sistine Chapel: Can't even really put into words. I have never seen so much painting and perfect art in one place in my whole life. If you go there and aren't even a little blown away, there must be something wrong with you. They try to make everyone quiet and not take pictures, but people were pretty bad at following directions. So many great compositions and the famous ceiling was kind of hard to see. Saw all the famous panels and moved along...that's what my book is for.

Chiesa de Santa Maria della Vittoria- Home of Bernini's the Ecstacy of St. Theresa and a little sign with her story. Walked into the church, were awed, walked out.

Palazzo Massimo Museum- A Roman palazzo filled with a great Greco-Roman collection. Not too big but good.

Ostiense- After a well-deserved nap, we went over to a neighborhood near us in Southern Rome that is supposedly the new hot neighborhood and needed to be checked out. Wouldn't want to stay there forever but it was cool. Had a delicious dinner at a trendy restaurant in an even trendier hotel and headed back to the hotel.

SATURDAY (Day 3)
Decided to follow my guidebook's walking tour of Ancient Rome

Il Vittorio- a massive white marble monument to a united Italy and has the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Romans hate it...we weren't sure why.

The Capitoline Museums- an endless collection of Greek and Roman sculpture, artifacts, frescoes, etc. This one took way longer than we thought it would (it needs two whole palaces to hold it), but we both thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very extensive and the terrace of the museum cafe had a great view of the city.

the Forum- for two really bright people, it took us way too long to find the real entrance to this place. Got to see all the arches, temples, and everything in between. Lots of pretty cool stuff, but really badly explained...I didn't know what I was looking at half the time. The guidebook warned us it would take some imagination to see it as the center of the world, but I did just fine. It was cool to see and it felt very historical and important to me!

Palantino- the hill that was once home to many of ancient Rome's elite with villas galore. We went and saw them but it was up a hill and we were tired and I couldn't figure out how you actually get to go in and see them. We lived.

Colosseum- We had seen it from the outside, but going inside was pretty cool. I was really engrossed in the history read almost all the signs. All of the history of the site and the explinations of the events that took place there made it more interesting to me, including all the different gladiator events and the structure of the games. It was pretty massive and I was glad we got to walk around and see it.

Had a super late lunch, took a nap, then headed out again.

San Lorenzo- this was a neighborhood in the east of Rome, know for its bohemian, student vibe and used to be a hotspot for political activity. It is definitely a university area and had a fun feel (once we crossed through Sketchy-ville and the train tracks). Had some good dinner and drinks at bar that is also a vintage shop and bookstore. Good times were had.

SUNDAY (Day 4)
Our plan was messed up for the day when it started to rain and didn't stop. We managed and saw some good things that let us stay inside.

Jewish Museum of Rome- Located in the Jewish Ghetto area under the major synagogue of Rome, the museum did a nice job telling the history of the Jewish people in Italy and Rome. Some of the explanations were kind of silly and told us stuff about Judaism we already knew, but there were some interesting stories and beautiful Judaic items like torah crowns and handmade wedding contracts. Saw the big synagogue which I really liked but wanted more time. I was being shooed by an Italian AND Jewish woman, so I thought it was best not to mess around with her. Afterwards we went to lunch and had traditional Jewish Roman kosher food.

Pantheon- a humongous site full of history, it was built on the site where according to Roman legend Romulus (the city's founder) was taken up to the gods. Used to be a temple to all the gods and goddesses, it was then turned into a church for the Virgin Mary and the Christian Martyrs. It is such an impressive space and an architectural gem. I sort of wish it wasn't turned into a church, but I got over it. It is also the resting place of the unified Italy's first king and queen. (If you didn't know Italy was divided in the first place, we can talk about that another time haha)

Piazza Navono- a great square with Bernini's famous fountain of the 4 Rivers (the Nile, the Ganges, the Plata, and the Danube). Really cool and some very fun details.

Palazzo Altemps- Another small palace/museum with great sculpture and Greco-Roman artifacts. It was inside and not too big, and we were happy.

MONDAY (Day 5)
Trastevere- went over to explore this very charming and postcard-ish neighborhood. Lots of cute alleys, shops, and old houses. Used to be a worker's neighborhood, now very elegant and wealthier...also the home of an American university in Rome so we saw lots of students. Wandered around. Found things to do and had lunch.
Villa Farnesina- a prime example of a Renaissance villa. Fantastic building and lots of frescoes. Had a good time wandering staring at the ceilings.
Palazzo Corsini- A great museum with Greco-Roman sculpture and some good paintings. We thought it was closed, wandered in anyway, and had a good time. The lady who worked their told us the museum we thought we had to miss was in fact open and even called and got us a reservation.
Villa Borghese- Oh my god. Loved it. The gallery there has a great collection of Renaissance, Roman, and Baroque art, including some of Bernini's best sculptures. Saw that and walked around the grounds. Was so impressed I bought another book-guide.

TUESDAY- LAST DAY
We just went to the train station and went home....no time.

I was a little sad to go. I have always wanted to go to Rome and it worked out perfectly. It was so pleasant and I think the only other place where I have seen such a range of history was probably Israel. I would say it was also a place where I would take kids as like a first time of Europe trip because there is so much they can do...just had a general good feeling about it.

Things we learned:
1) Gelato is best eaten when of high quality and sitting somewhere
2) I can't pronounce Italian at all.
3) We don't know how to actually pronounce Guglielmo Marconi.
4) When climbing ancient hills, proper footwear is a good idea.
5) Rome is cheaper than Paris and they aren't mean about it.
6) Between our combined knowledge of the Bible and Christianity and a strong grasp of the Greek and Roman mythology, we pretty much figured out what everything was and didn't need a guide...except the saints or when a room was blatantly mislabled. That was harder.
7) Bernini is one of my new favorite people. I don't care for the Baroque gold-leaf-just-threw-up-on-you look, but he and I can be friends.

Now I am relaxing in Paris and heading down to the south of France to visit my friends Sophie and Philippe. Phew, ok. Bye.