All Roads Lead To Rome

 

They call Rome the 'Eternal' city, it is one of the best places to visit if you're a history buff, I had been there once before when I was 6 and sadly on my last day there, I was feeling sick from something I had eaten. It just so happened that on my bus journey over to Rome, I was feeling extremely hungover and sleep deprived from a great night out in Naples. When I arrived at the bus station, my half an hour walk over to my hostel felt like climbing Ben Nevis. However, when I dumped my bag at the hostel, it was time to go for a walk around Rome. 

When I walked to the area around the Colosseum and I ended up learning about the bracelet scammers the hard way, to explain, there are men who congregate around some of the touristy spots who make a living by giving bracelets to tourists and then guilt tripping tourists into giving them money. They approach you in a friendly manner by asking where you are from and then they'll play the race card. To paraphrase one of them "Oh you are from Scotland, very nice country no racism there" 

They act as if they represent Africa and this isn't true and as I was hungover, sleep deprived and lacking patience and I thought it would be wise to give one a piece of my mind. He was following me and I politely asked him to stop, then with some assertiveness I asked him "are you deaf" This didn't repel him and he started swearing at me aggressively and even violently grabbed my back. I decided to de-escalate the situation by apologising and then getting the hell out of dodge. 

My best advice to avoid these scammers is to simply pretend they don't exist, don't look at them or even utter a word and if you have to, just pretend to explain you don't speak English, these methods work every time. If you feel threatened and the police are nearby, get their attention and they will sort out the situation as the police and military are prevalent around Italian cities. 

Being hungover and needing my bed, I decided to try to find some pasta nearby for dinner, I thought that 8 euros for some ragú and a diet coke was a good deal, however it wasn't the best pasta I had eaten in my life, it was literally heated up in the microwave.

Though it sounds like my time in Rome had been negative so far I can assure you that I had a blast in Rome, I started off my Sunday as every Italian would, having a coffee sitting outside. The coffee from a café sitting in the sun was certainly better than the coffee in my kitchen during lockdown and as they say when in Rome. 

 

Feeling well rested and rearing to go after a coffee, it was time to see the many sites in Rome, first off was the Trevi Fountain, an iconic spot in Rome and it is one of the biggest and most famous fountains in the world. It is very immaculate and a great place to sit down and nearby there are places to get some fresh gelato. 

   A few minutes walk away from the Trevi Fountain is the Roman Pantheon, what was a temple to the Roman gods is now a catholic church and it is crazy to think that it has stood there for well over a thousand years and hasn't crumbled apart yet. You can even go inside, but as you can in the picture it looked too long a wait for what it was.

Another good 20 minutes walking took me to the Castel Sant'Angelo another incredible structure still standing from the time period of ancient Rome. It is one of the places you can't miss out on seeing if you make the trip. Just before the castle, there stands the St. Angelo bridge which is a great place to get picture with the castle in view. However, the bridge is full of obnoxious looky looky men trying to sell tat I would need no use for and due to COVID19 restrictions, I had to wait half an hour to enter the castle. That meant half an hour in the blistering Roman heat. However, that painful wait was absolutely worth it, the intricate corridors through the castle were really cool and it was interesting to see how over time it was used for different purposes. It was initially used as a mausoleum for emperor Hadrian. 

After grabbing a Maccies for lunch, it was time to get over to the Coliseum, however I noticed that nearby there was the Altar Of The Fatherland, a huge imposing monument dedicated to the Italian people's efforts in WWI. The admission is free so I'd say it's worth a visit and it is absolutely massive for a monument. 

 

Then, of course it could not be a visit to Rome without going inside of one of the seven wonders of the world, as a young boy I was absolutely gutted about missing the chance, however, I wouldn't miss my chance this time. It was a 30 minute wait to buy a ticket, but it was at the super cheap price of two euros to be able to go to both The Coliseum and The Roman Forum. It wasn't a huge queue to get in and once I got to see it in all its glory I was mesmerised. These ancient ruins show how in Roman society men who were criminals were made to fight to the death in bloody battles in such a grandiose auditorium. If you are going to Rome, you have to see it, It really was something to see the ruins in person.

The Roman Forum is almost as amazing, it is an archeological sight of multiple Ancient Roman buildings, I have to say that once you go in, it can be difficult to find the exit like it's a maze, however make sure you make it to Palatine Hill, which I thought was the most incredible part of the site. It's also the best place for a picture opportunity and the views of the ruins all around are simply wonderful.

After a good walk around the city, I eventually found a decent place to eat some authentic pasta, I had a carbonara and this time it was perfect, even more, there was a couple from Sao Paulo sitting next to me and I had a decent chat with them about Brazil and Italy. That day was super intensive as I had seen pretty much all the big sites in Rome without even using public transport, so I finished the day with a beer on the rooftop of my hostel.

The next day, I walked around Rome a little bit more, I went over to the Spanish steps, in my opinion, there isn't anything too special about them, especially when you're frying in the summer heat. Feeling parched atop the steps, I needed something to drink, there wasn't a convenience store for another 5 minutes and from this I must tell you it's important to carry your own water bottle around in such warm weather. Rome isn't Tokyo, there won't be a Family Mart every three meters to buy a drink and there are street sellers who will sell bottles of Powerade for four euros when you can buy them at a supermarket for not even a euro.

Anyway, nearby the Spanish Steps is a place which is less talked about, atop some flights of stairs you can find Terrazza del Pincio, even though it is absolutely boiling there, the views must be talked about. You can get a good view of both The Vatican and Piazza del Popolo. On my way down, I encountered some guys dressed as Roman soldiers who gave me a great photo op, however they were of course doing it for money. They were at least honest about it and happily accepted my three euro tip and were just some honest guys trying to make a bit of cash. Sometimes you just have to embrace being a tourist. 

The Vatican City is a good walk away from here and to be honest, I didn't properly go inside to have a look, however it is definitely worth seeing. I got to see it on my first visit to Rome and the artworks in the Sistine Chapel.

Then I had some incredibly pasta for lunch, what we think we know is pasta in Italy is nothing like the Italian experience. I feel like in Italy there are hundreds or possibly thousands of different recipes to choose from and if you choose correctly it tastes legit. Go with your gut and choose a random pasta dish you like the sound of and you will be pleasantly surprised.

My dad reminded me of the time he scared me half to death when he put his hand in the mouth of truth, I knew I had to go see it once again, but sadly due to the pandemic, it's only open on certain days and I was unlucky to miss out on seeing it. To be honest it is a big tourist attraction, but what can I say Rome is a massively touristy city and you will most likely end up doing touristy things. I then walked all the way back to my hostel, however it wouldn't be travelling to Italy without some gelato. If you love ice cream then this is something you'll truly love about Italy, there are ice cream places on almost every street. 

Exhausted from all the walking and sightseeing, I called it a day at my hostel as I needed to prepare for my train the next morning which was at 8:20AM to get to Florence.

So, in general, Rome is a great touristy city, however I have to give it some constructive criticism. One of the most noticeable problems for tourists is the bracelet scammers and from my point of view, there were some areas of the city where I was worried about getting pick-pocketed such as around most of the tourist sites and the train stations. The public transport is a bit of a shambles for a city like Rome, I did not make use of the metro as it wouldn't take me to any of the places I wanted to get to. If you're a history buff, you have to see Rome at least once in your life, the trip is definitely worth it. If you're not a fan of the heat, I insist to not come here in the summer months, even my friend who lives in Rome talks about how insufferable the heat is, however it would be much cooler in February or October. What truly made my trip was the Coliseum, Rome is worth visiting just to simply see it.