When in Rome...

(Could I really give this post ANY other title?) 

Oy vey, did I have a trek from Avignon to Rome. I took a train in the morning to Ventimiglia, a little Italian town on the border of France and Italy. It was charming enough, but with my backpack slowing me down, I did not do much exploring. I did make it down to the seaside, and help myself to my first Italian gelato.

At the train station in Ventimiglia I met absolutely the most charming woman in Italy. We struck up a conversation, and although her English wasn’t grade A, we covered topics varying from religion to the superiority of big dogs over small dogs. Meeting with such joy and welcome after just crossing the border into Italy was extremely heartening. 

After a 5 hour layover, it was time to get my overnight train to Rome. I was excited, having never taken an overnight train before, and immensely disappointed in the experience.  I chose not to pay extra for a sleeper, and just had a normal chair, a situation in which I had fallen asleep numerous times. The man across from me, being rather portly, decided it was necessary for his comfort that his legs be extended all the way across the aisle until his feet were under my seat. Not wanting to play footsie with the large Pakistani man, I was forced to fidget and wriggle the whole 6 hours, as he dreamily shifted his bulk according to his whims. I have never hated anyone so much.

I disembarked eagerly at 6am. I was determined that even with my mental and physical state what it was, I would continue with my original plan and go to the Vatican first thing after dropping off my pack at the hostel. Well the Vatican went off without a hitch. I saw the beautiful Sistine Chapel, as well as the countless other glories that the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica have to offer. My favorite painting was by an artist I had never heard of before, whose name I do not recall. It was of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by lush plants and colorful animals. The detail was amazing, and all of the animals were in pairs, mimicking the first couple. It was just stunning. Look it up. Although, the real version is about the size of a wall, so I doubt your computer screen will capture it. Wow, how elitist did I sound just then? I studied at Oxford. NBD.

Next up I was going to traipse cheerfully to the Cimitero Acattolico, the cemetery for non-Catholics and non-Romans who have the audacity to die in Rome. Unfortunately, being me, this was rather difficult. By the time I found it, I had managed to walk all the way around the walls bordering it before finding the entrance, and I was absolutely shattered. Lack of sleep, physical decomposition, and the mental exhaustion that comes from trying your hardest to find something for 30 minutes when you know it is mocking you from only 5 minutes away completely overcame me. The only thing that alleviated the situation was the fact that no one could really think me strange for sobbing in a cemetery. Once I had regained a semblance of control, I went and visited the graves of Keats and Shelley. Keats’ tombstone, which reads “Here lies one whose name was writ in water,” was extremely moving. It made me think a lot of thoughts that I will not bore you with here, but you should consider having some of those same thoughts. They are quite beneficial. I also paid a visit to the grave of the father of the man who assassinated Rasputin. His grave was a big elaborate cross with Russian writing on it that I could only assume read “best dad ever.”

I took the metro home.

The next day I woke up feeling refreshed and emotionally balanced. I did a lot of sightseeing that day, I went to the Roman Forum and the Colusseum, both extremely impressive and extremely old. My favorite was the Pantheon though. The way the Roman exterior and the Medieval/Renaissance interior work together is astonishing and fascinating. I thought it was really beautiful. Most of the rest of the day was devoted to wandering and eating. Gelato, mostly.

Silly Jews and their horns

Then my last day in Rome I made a few important stops. I went to St. Pietro in Vincoli, or St. Peter in Chains, to see the statue of Moses by Michelangelo that is somehow both hilarious and extremely offensive: he has horns. Next up was the Capitaline Museum, for the exhibit of the Vatican Secret Archives, which was awesome. There were so many documents of extreme historical significance, documents that it would bore most people to read about another person seeing. Still...it was really cool. Then I wandered over to the Trevi Fountain, gorgeous as advertised, and the Spanish Steps, where my first thought was “like hell I am climbing those.” Since I am on my own, I have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone, and, well, I did not climb them, and I do not regret it. Lastly I went with my book to the Botanical gardens, and wandered around and had a nice read. The Botanical Gardens, while beautiful, are outrageously expensive, and if I hadn’t wandered hopelessly for 45 minutes trying to find the place, I would not have paid. As it was, I was so determined to see these elusive gardens that I paid the 8 euro.  

So that was it for Rome. Overall, I loved it as a tourist for a short stay, but I don’t know if I could bear to live there (sorry Inbar), or even take a long vacation there. It is extremely crowded and very much a big city, despite all of the Roman ruins strewn dramatically around the place. Still, its importance and impressiveness cannot be denied, and I had a really good time. 

I think that is enough emotion for one blog post. I would just like to add that although hostels may not be the peak of luxury, they promote such a wonderfully social culture. I have become so much more open and friendly, just because that is how you have to be when you live in a room with 20 other people. I just had a girl I have never seen before come up to me and ask to plug her phone into my computer so that it could charge. In most situations, I would think that is weird, but here I gave her a big smile and let her plug away. Here in this hostel we are all experiencing the same travel woes, we all have advice and stories, and the small fact that we have never met before and may never meet again will not stop us from sharing them.  

 I continue to lag further and further behind, as Rome was over a week ago I believe, and I am currently in Innsbruck, Vienna, which is absolutely gorgeous. Parts of this post were written in Florence, and parts in Venice. I'm taking my time. I hope you enjoy my adventures!