Rome was not on the Europe bucket list for me, but when my friend Averee told me about some cheap flights about a month ago to Rome, we quickly purchased them before the prices rose. We have never planned an entire trip before just for ourselves, so looking back there are definitely some things I would have done differently. Thankfully, you live and you learn.
We flew into Rome Thursday night and got picked up my Michele (Me Kael lay), our Italian AirBnB host who thankfully spoke Spanish well. Averee and I found a super cheap AirBnB close to the Fiumicino Airport. However, we didn’t account for the transportation costs of getting to and from Rome, which was about an hour away driving from where we were staying. Michele was so kind and offered to take us to and from the airport when we needed it for a small price. He even invited us to go hang with him and his friends in Rome Saturday night to dance which I thought was kind, but we were so dead by that point that we declined.
Friday morning he drove us to the airport, and from there we got on a bus and rode into Rome. The first thing I bought was a mini cannoli and it was seriously so delicious - best cannoli I’ve ever eaten for sure. From there we walked to a beautiful little chapel called the Santa María della Vittoria.
Within the church, I was especially captivated by a piece of art called The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and the story that accompanied it. Here is a snippet from Saint Theresa's own writings:
"... Beside me, on the left hand, appeared an angel in bodily form... He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest rank of angels, who seem to be all on fire... In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times ... and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul then content with anything but God. This is not a physical, but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it-even a considerable share ..."
I also liked this piece depicting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What was cool is that alongside these paintings were suggested prayers. I loved catching the English translation mistakes - for example, this was the first half of the English prayer that corresponded with this painting: "Oh god of love, for love you created the universe, let triumph this love in my heart and in those i will meat!" I'm still pondering what it would mean to meat someone...
Then we went to the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain. Both places were crawling with tourists. We both thought the Spanish steps were overrated, but the Trevi Fountain was neat - legend has it that if you throw a coin into the fountain with your right hand across your left shoulder, you will come back to Rome one day. We also read that it means you will fall in love with a Roman man. Averee decided to partake in the coin-throwing :) Apparently the fountain collects nearly 3,000 euros daily. The money is collected and donated to charity.
We then went to get pasta at a cute restaurant away from the crowds. A guy started playing the accordion and the atmosphere was just perfect.
After casually stumbling upon a huge moment dedicated to Victor Emmanel II, we bought bus tickets and hopped on to go see the Catacombs of Saint Collixtus. We weren’t allowed to take pictures in the catacombs, so none are included in this blog. We purchased a tour for 5 euros and got to see the official cemetery of the church in Rome in 3rd century AD. Many popes, martyrs, and Christians were buried there. We didn’t see bones of anything because those were in the 3rd and 4th floor deep, but we did see many indentations of various sizes in the walls depending on the size of the body that was laid there, and some ancient artwork depicting Jonah and a sea monster (surprisingly not a whale) and the last supper.
After this we took a beautiful walk trying to find the Appian Way that Paul traveled on and also were Spartacus and his rebellion were crucified. I wanted to be able to say “I am Spartacus” on this road. Looking back, I think we were walking on it but didn’t realize it. Sadly, no Spartacus video was taken.
Our bus ride back was so wild. We waited for forever at a bus stop due to many delays and ended up meeting and talking with a Peruvian woman named Delicia for roughly 20 minutes. I got to talk with her about my favorite foods from Peru when I was there this last January. She was so kind, and added me on Facebook! I got on Facebook later that night to see 20 notifications - basically all from her liking pictures from the past 2 years on my profile. I was pretty amused.
Anyway, when a bus finally showed up it was packed to the brim. Delicia decided to wait for the next bus, but Averee and I weren't going to wait any longer. We squeezed ourselves in and I was leaning on the door due to the lack of room (feeling like a squashed bug on a windshield). I told Averee “If this door opens, I’m gonna die!" That made a man who also spoke English start laughing at me. Thankfully we made it to our stop safe and sound.
We stopped to get pizza at a place that my sister Rose, after looking at a photo, said “looks like all the fake Italian restaurants, but this time it’s real.” It had red and white checkered tablecloths and cute wine glasses. Averee and I split a Margarita pizza. I was trying to be an amateur pizza connoisseur this weekend, so my review on Italian pizza kids that the dough is definitely finer/thinner, the tomato sauce is a better quality than I’m used to, and the blend of cheese has a unique and fresh taste. The couple next to us were German, and the woman ordered a whole pizza for herself. She told me I could eat some of her pizza. It looked like this (see above). I figured - eh, why not. Not what I would personally have ordered, but hey, when in Rome...
Then we headed to a hostel we decided to stay in so we didn’t have to take a bus back to Fiumicino. It was on a second floor of a building that had a restaurant on the bottom floor. We followed the signs that had the name of our hostel on them, which led us to a shallow corridor with an elevator. We stood there for a while, trying to figure out how to open the elevator, but it didn’t have an up arrow button. We left to try to see if we were at the wrong place, but the signs definitely pointed us to this elevator. When we walked up the second time, we stood there for about 5 seconds and then the elevator just opened without us touching anything. No one was inside. It was kinda like a scary movie, but we decided to enter. Thankfully, it took us to our hostel and we signed in without problem.
The hostel was honestly probably one of my favorite memories from this trip. It was an all female hostel, and we stayed in a room with 4 others females. There was a common room to cook and charge your devices. Here Averee and I met a lady from Sweden who spoke many languages including English and Spanish, as well as a lady from Russia. They exchanged a bowl of soup for half a bottle of wine, which I thought was sweet. It kinda felt like a makeshift family. Averee was feeling sick so the woman from Sweden gave her a pill and told her to put on socks (seriously the most motherly thing I have ever heard). I didn’t sleep well at this hostel (someone in my room was a loud snorer) but am very thankful I went just for the experience.
The next morning we got up and walked half an hour to get to the Colosseum. We did an Angel Tour, suggested to me by Mrs. Van Weelden (thank you!!), that was great value. The group was only four people, and our guide informed us about the history of the Colosseum and gave us stories about gladiators. The other two people in our group were from England, and the woman was the PA (personal assistant, not physicians assistant - I asked) for the owner of Gucci! She also was the PA for Mick Jagger and traveled around 3 years with him! Needless to say, Averee and I were pretty impressed. We also went to the Roman Forum on this tour and Palatine Hill, where many rulers once lived. In the Forum we got to see the grave of Julius Caesar and the pile of coins on top, because, as he once said, “money follows me wherever I go”.
We then took the metro to head to the Vatican. After a quick lunch of more pasta and pizza (why eat anything else in Italy?), we did another Angel Tour of the Vatican. Honestly, Averee and I were so dead tired by this point that we didn’t enjoy the Vatican as much as we would have with proper energy and legs that didn’t feel like they were about to fall off. My favorite piece of art might have been this painting - 'The School of Athens' by Raphael. The Sistine chapel was seriously so crowded and there was a voice on a loud speaker coming out over the people from time to time “quiet please.” It was not a very peaceful place and I was honestly ready to get out of there. St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world, was indeed quite large and quite beautiful. Averee and I sat down there for quite a long time before getting enough energy to stand up. We passed through the catacombs beneath the church on our way out, seeing the grave of Saint Peter and many popes.
We then went to get gelato at Old Bridge Gelateria, which was AMAZING - 10/10 would recommend if you go to Rome. It’s within walking distance from the Vatican. We got three different flavors each and they were all so good - I got dark chocolate, Nutella (thanks for the suggestion Aunt Mary Ellen!), and sweet cheese pistachio (why not, you know?)
Finally, we took a metro to hit our last stop - the Pantheon. On our walk there from the metro we happened to cross by a Lindt store and I was seriously so so excited. I love Lindt and they had so many varieties of their chocolate balls that I never knew existed. Averee got some candid “kid in a candy store” pics of me as she calls them - I've included one for your enjoyment. No I was not posing for this picture :) I bought dark chocolate, cappuccino, pistachio, mango, and salted caramel chocolates. I've since eaten them all and they were all absolutely amazing. This unexpected stop was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.
Our free tour of the Pantheon was cancelled, and we were pretty tired, so we took a typical pic in the Pantheon, looked around, listened for a few minutes to someone else’s tour, then headed back to the bus stop. We weren’t sure what bus to get onto, but after a failed conversation with a bus driver who didn’t speak English or Spanish, we got on his bus and went back to Fiumicino. We tried watching TV at the AirBnB to relax, but it was all in Italian, so we settled with some Jordan’s Messyges on YouTube and Blimey Cow.
Our last day we didn’t feel like doing much, so we slept in then hit up a croissant place. Most of the croissants were gone by the time we got there, so I ordered one with pistachio creme - it was actually pretty good. After doing some homework in a laundromat for an hour, we ordered a panini (me) and pasta (Averee) for lunch at a restaurant where the chef spoke Italian and we spoke Spanish. I’m surprised how much Italian I understand - it’s been super cool to realize that over this trip. Yay Romance languages!
I’m definitely thankful for a safe trip and for the many cool people we met. Even though Rome was cool, I think what’s even cooler were the awesome people we met - the woman from Peru at the bus station, the people from London on our tour, our tour guide from Whales, the woman from Sweden in the hostel, and the couple from Germany. God has created so many beautifully diverse people, languages, and cultures, and it’s a beautiful thing to be able to communicate, help out, share food, and spend time together.
I’m also seriously so proud of Averee and I for how successful this trip was. I was kind of worried going into this trip, but I definitely feel more confident traveling now and feel like I can better plan my upcoming trips. Thanks everyone for your suggestions, your prayers, and your time to read this post!
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