Rome
Rome is very busy and crowded, very different from Florence. Once I arrived at the Termini train station, it was swarming with people.
I had originally planned on staying in Florence for three nights, but I decided to leave for Rome after the second night (so i'd have more time to explore Rome, three days instead of two). Last minute, I booked a night at the Colors Hostel, which is close to Vatican City. It's not as conveniently located as someplace near Termini but it was a decent hostel and quite clean. It's also located in a very nice, residential area. If I lived in Rome, I'd want to live in this neighborhood. There was a great cafe nearby, on the Via Cola di Rienza. The cafe was like a gourmet shop-deli-cafe-bar. Their coffee was excellent.
On the first day, I visited the ruins (Colosseum, Pallatine Hill, Forum area). The colosseum was very impressive - amazing engineering if it lasted 2000 years! the Pallatine Hill area was nice but I had a hard time appreciating all the ruins because they were all small remnants of the huge buildings that used to be there. I couldn't imagine what the rest (the missing bits) looked like, neither did I know how it should've looked like. I also visited the Pantheon. The area surrounding it was nice - good gelato at Cremeria Monteforte, also Tazzo d'Oro nearby (well known for their coffee). It was filled with tourists though. But I must say, their coffee granita con panna is as good as advertised, especially on a hot day. I also stumbed across the Cafe Sant Eustacchio, which had mostly Italian customers. They advertised a blurb written about them in the NY Times as well. I later found out that their espressos and coffees are considered one of the best in Rome by the Italians. Cool that I found this place - I wouldn't have learned about them in a guide book. Their coffee was indeed very good. In Italy, I've tried a large assortment of coffee drinks: cafe (espresso), cafe freddo (iced, sweetened coffee), capuccino freddo (iced capuccino), cafe americano (espresso w hot water, but much better than the americanos from back home), and coffee granita. They also have cafe shakerato (like a cafe frappe) and a espresso con panna which look really good but i haven't had a chance to try yet. As long as you order them and drink them at the counter (not seated), the prices are still cheaper than prices back home (compared to Starbucks or something). So they're a deal!
Yesterday I visited the Vatican. The lines to get in were very long (1.5 hrs to get in, past security). The Vatican was very impressive and has a great collection of art. Reminds you that back in the day, the church was very rich and powerful. The Sistine Chapel was impressive, as was St. Peter's basilica. I had to rush to the Borghese Gallery for my 5pm reservation. They limit visitors to about 350 per two hours and you have to make reservations in advance. The art was beautiful - Bernini sculptures were stunning. The pieces of art collected there are some of the greatest and the gallery rooms were designed to display and house these pieces to advantage. The building and galleries were stunning in and of themselves. I bought the audioguide which was so worth it because they did a beautiful job explaining the artists', how the piece was acquired in the collection, the significance and meaning of the piece, etc. Most audioguides are worthless but it was very well done at the Borghese Gallery. It is my favorite of all the museums I've visited, even the Louvre. Since it's limited to so few people, you can really walk around and enjoy the art upclose, withoutthe annoyance of large noisy crowds. I was very sad that the museum store was closed after my tour. I really liked the art there and wanted to purchase some books or postcards of the gallery. This is rare as I'm not usually so into getting the touristy museum stuff. I actually returned today and got two books about the art and the gallery.
This morning I had to check out of the Beehive (hostel last night) and into another hostel. The Beehive is run by an American couple and it's a really nice place to stay. They mostly have apartments and only one or two dorm rooms so you have to book months in advance. That is why I only manged to book one night there. It's very clean and cater mostly to couples and families (they mostly have apartments). They have free internet and their own cafe downstairs, as well as some outdoor seating and comfy couches for lounging. It's also super close to the Termini train station. Unfortunately, the place I'm at tonight isn't nearly as nice. It's also close to the Termini station but on the other side (Via Giolitti) and the area is a little sketchy. Oh well, just one night and tomorrow morning, I've got to hop on my 6:40am shuttle to the Ciampino airport to Brussels. Can't wait to see my friends A and T tomorrow!
I had originally planned on staying in Florence for three nights, but I decided to leave for Rome after the second night (so i'd have more time to explore Rome, three days instead of two). Last minute, I booked a night at the Colors Hostel, which is close to Vatican City. It's not as conveniently located as someplace near Termini but it was a decent hostel and quite clean. It's also located in a very nice, residential area. If I lived in Rome, I'd want to live in this neighborhood. There was a great cafe nearby, on the Via Cola di Rienza. The cafe was like a gourmet shop-deli-cafe-bar. Their coffee was excellent.
On the first day, I visited the ruins (Colosseum, Pallatine Hill, Forum area). The colosseum was very impressive - amazing engineering if it lasted 2000 years! the Pallatine Hill area was nice but I had a hard time appreciating all the ruins because they were all small remnants of the huge buildings that used to be there. I couldn't imagine what the rest (the missing bits) looked like, neither did I know how it should've looked like. I also visited the Pantheon. The area surrounding it was nice - good gelato at Cremeria Monteforte, also Tazzo d'Oro nearby (well known for their coffee). It was filled with tourists though. But I must say, their coffee granita con panna is as good as advertised, especially on a hot day. I also stumbed across the Cafe Sant Eustacchio, which had mostly Italian customers. They advertised a blurb written about them in the NY Times as well. I later found out that their espressos and coffees are considered one of the best in Rome by the Italians. Cool that I found this place - I wouldn't have learned about them in a guide book. Their coffee was indeed very good. In Italy, I've tried a large assortment of coffee drinks: cafe (espresso), cafe freddo (iced, sweetened coffee), capuccino freddo (iced capuccino), cafe americano (espresso w hot water, but much better than the americanos from back home), and coffee granita. They also have cafe shakerato (like a cafe frappe) and a espresso con panna which look really good but i haven't had a chance to try yet. As long as you order them and drink them at the counter (not seated), the prices are still cheaper than prices back home (compared to Starbucks or something). So they're a deal!
Yesterday I visited the Vatican. The lines to get in were very long (1.5 hrs to get in, past security). The Vatican was very impressive and has a great collection of art. Reminds you that back in the day, the church was very rich and powerful. The Sistine Chapel was impressive, as was St. Peter's basilica. I had to rush to the Borghese Gallery for my 5pm reservation. They limit visitors to about 350 per two hours and you have to make reservations in advance. The art was beautiful - Bernini sculptures were stunning. The pieces of art collected there are some of the greatest and the gallery rooms were designed to display and house these pieces to advantage. The building and galleries were stunning in and of themselves. I bought the audioguide which was so worth it because they did a beautiful job explaining the artists', how the piece was acquired in the collection, the significance and meaning of the piece, etc. Most audioguides are worthless but it was very well done at the Borghese Gallery. It is my favorite of all the museums I've visited, even the Louvre. Since it's limited to so few people, you can really walk around and enjoy the art upclose, withoutthe annoyance of large noisy crowds. I was very sad that the museum store was closed after my tour. I really liked the art there and wanted to purchase some books or postcards of the gallery. This is rare as I'm not usually so into getting the touristy museum stuff. I actually returned today and got two books about the art and the gallery.
This morning I had to check out of the Beehive (hostel last night) and into another hostel. The Beehive is run by an American couple and it's a really nice place to stay. They mostly have apartments and only one or two dorm rooms so you have to book months in advance. That is why I only manged to book one night there. It's very clean and cater mostly to couples and families (they mostly have apartments). They have free internet and their own cafe downstairs, as well as some outdoor seating and comfy couches for lounging. It's also super close to the Termini train station. Unfortunately, the place I'm at tonight isn't nearly as nice. It's also close to the Termini station but on the other side (Via Giolitti) and the area is a little sketchy. Oh well, just one night and tomorrow morning, I've got to hop on my 6:40am shuttle to the Ciampino airport to Brussels. Can't wait to see my friends A and T tomorrow!
