Rome: Day One

Rome, Italy
Rome Itinerary/Tips and Tricks
9:00: Breakfast
11:00 Colisseum
12:00 Lunch
2:30 Vatican/Sistine Chapel Group Tour
7:00 Dinner
9:00 Explore Your Area
 
I decided to go on a last minute trip to Rome with one of my friends.  As I've explained before, I have a love/hate relationship with Italy and after my last trip to Milan two months ago, I was more on the hate side.  I guess hate is a strong word.  I didn't hate Milan by any means but I also didn't love it. I decided to go to Rome if anything for the food and to maybe get back some of that love I needed to feel for Italy. 
Here is a basic itinerary of what I did in Rome on day one. Keeping in mind that I only really spent two days there because the other two days were spent traveling back home to Germany.
Roma Pass
The first thing we did was go to the train station (though you can find Roma passes everywhere) and purchase a Roma Pass. This is the first city pass I'd ever bought but I figured Rome was a good time to try it because we had a lot of ground to cover and I knew I'd be using a lot of public transportation.  The Roma Pass can either be for 48 hours or 3 days.  If you pick the 48 hour pass you get entrance into one free museum with discounts on tons of sights.  The three day pass entitles you to 2 free museums and both offer free transit on buses, trams, and trains.  Our method of transit was bus.  We used the bus to get everywhere and this seemed to work fine, except for the fact that they can be extremely crowded to the point where people are packed like sardines and sweating even in the middle of October.  That aside, the bus was an alright method of transportation. What we didn't factor in was that we bought the passes on a Saturday and the buses were free on Sunday, then we left the next day so we probably could have done without the full 3 day pass.  If you'd like to book the Roma Pass, you can do so on site or here.
 
The Walk to the Colisseum 
Our room was located on Via Merulan which was great because it was located near the Termini (main train station) and the Colisseum.  We headed towards the Colosseum by foot, along the way snapping all the pictures below.  What's amazing about Rome is that you feel like you have stepped into another world.  There are so many ruins, castles, churches, and historical monuments that you could visit attractions in Rome for months.  There was a ton to do and see.  All of the architecture, though Roman, is built during different time periods using different styles. It's a sight to be seen.  And if you notice all of the naked statues everywhere, they have little fig leaves covering their parts.  But if you actually look from a different angle you can see that many of these leaves were added later.
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy

The Colosseum
We got to the Colosseum around 11:00.  The city even in mid October was packed.  There were tourists everywhere, I mean everywhere.  And then people trying to sell you these weird selfie devices to use with your iPhone and honestly I cringed at the people using them. 

Though the line to get in the Colosseum was packed, we had our Roma Pass and not only did it entitle us free entrance, but also we got to skip right ahead of the line.  That right there made the whole pass worth it.  We opted not to do a guided tour or hear and audio guide and just walk around the Colosseum instead.  It's mind boggling to be there and imagine all of the bloody battles between men and even animals that went on. Now, the floor has been destroyed but you can see the underground area where men and animals were held before a fight.  Only an hour is needed to see this sight and afterwards we stopped at a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Colosseum
Colosseum
Colosseum
Colosseum
Colosseum
Colosseum

The Vatican and Sistine Chapel
The Vatican and Sistine Chapel was luckily something we had booked in advance.  We booked a guided tour that included both the Vatican and Sistine Chapel.  The cheapest tickets I could find for that tour were here. I'm so glad we booked in advance because the line to buy a ticket was wrapped around the corner and hundreds of people were waiting in line.

We still had to wait in a small line to turn our vouchers in for tickets and wait for the tour to start, but if we would have had to wait in that line then forget about it.  I feel like the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel are must-sees in Rome, but if I am being honest, I did not enjoy my tour.  I don't know what it was about mid October, but the place was packed.  I'm talking shoulder to shoulder packed, even though we reserved a tour.  You had earpieces to hear the speaker and and she held up a scarf, but honestly there was no room to see anything because swarms of people were just pushing by.  The tour guide was way ahead at times and the audio would cut out.  I started feeling hot and claustrophic.  I couldn't believe how many tours they were letting in at once, it was a nightmare.

Then you get to the Sistine Chapel and it's nothing like I expected in a bad way.  There were tons of people in the church, you couldn't take pictures and the image everyone has in their heads of Michaelangelo's The Creation of Adam or touching hands scene is so hard to see.  Nothing like the amazing experience I had seeing Da Vinci's "Last Supper."  But to its credit, maybe I would have liked it if it wasn't packed like a high school gymnasium.  The tour can potentially take 3 hours, depending on how long you want to spend at the end looking at the contemporary art.  At that point, I had already had enough and wanted out.

The Vatican
The Vatican
The Vatican
The Vatican
The Vatican
The Vatican
The Vatican
The Vatican
The VaticanThe Vatican


Dinner in Rome
Around 7 we decided to have a nice dinner.  Italy knows how to do pasta and pizza and wine, so that was all on the menu.  At the end of the day, I can't deny how good the food is in Italy and Rome was no exception. Then we decided to walk around a bit to explore things at night before resting for the next day.
Food in Rome

I'm curious, have you been to the Vatican?  What was your experience?

And stay tuned for Rome: Day Two where I explore Castel Angelo, The Catacombs, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and eat more deliscious Italian food!




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22 comments :

  1. Hi! Found you through the Google travel bloggers group. I'm also an American expat, living in Finland :) We went to Rome last summer, I got around to writing about it a couple of months ago. http://www.chroniclesofacoldtexan.com/13-tips-for-traveling-in-rome/.
    And yes the selfie sticks make me cringe as well. We were in Germany last week in Heidelberg and saw this one lone guy having a blast taking a million selfies of himself all over the castle, lol! It was funny, but creepy all at the same time

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    1. How do you like Finland as an American? Yea, the selfie thing is so disturbing. It's crazy how American culture is leaking out to the point where self sticks are popular. But I don't think I've see one American using them.

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  2. Good to know that the Vatican is so busy. Are their different tour options or just the one you took?

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    1. Yes, you can decide not to do a guided tour or your can do a private tour without a group which is more expensive. Honestly though when it's crowded like it was when I went, it doesn't matter because everyone is being squished though doors at the same pace.

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  3. Went to Rome over Christmas four years ago and everywhere...it was crowded. After a couple of days in Rome we were very happy to travel south touring along the way before stopping to spend a quiet stretch of days inPositano. It was heavenly. Looks like you are having perfect weather. Enjoy!

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    1. Yea the weather was nice, I was surprised how warm it was in October. I would have loved to go to Positano!

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  4. We were so lucky to find out a week before we left that the Vatican opens on Friday nights in the spring/summer. You have to buy your tickets in advance online and you don't get access to St Peters, but the experience without the huge crowds is amazing. It was still a bit busy, but nowhere near what you or others have described! Anyone planning for next year should keep this in mind!:)

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    1. I would have loved to see it at night with less crowds. I kind of hated my experience with the Vatican because of the crowds.

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  5. I enjoyed the Vatican very much and was on a tour with a great guide. I was not disappointed with the Sistine Chapel but it was crowded and no one was respectful of the request for no talking. It was such an awesome place and a silent atmosphere would have been an amazing experience. I was disappointed in people being so rude.

    I wonder when Rome isn't crowded! We were there in September last year and it was crowded also. Large tours like our Insight Tour there was no waiting in line. You go in a side door and it is all prearranged so no waiting in line.

    We had good food there also. Click on the Italy button on my sidebar to view my Rome pics.

    Your pics are very good. I enjoyed your post.

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    1. I experienced the same thing. You aren't suppose to talk in the Sistine Chapel and there were hundreds of people in there talking. And there were some girls with the audacity of wearing belly shirts with their boobs out. They only made some of them cover up because of how crowded it was. I was thinking, why the hell would you come to the Vactican dressed liked that?

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  6. You were lucky to have such beautiful weather. Your photos look great. We'll be there in April 2015, the last time we were there was 35 years ago! I hate lines so we will get the pass for the Colosseum. We were not that impressed with the Vatican and won't be going back this time.

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  7. You covered a lot in a day - and it does look like you enjoyed yourself in Rome. Fabulous photos. Canada's Globe and Mail just had a great article you might enjoy. It's called So You've Seen Rome - But Have You Been Under it? (Link here - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/mix-it-up-in-rome-go-underground/article21167468/)

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  8. Rome has been on my list - I've been to Italy several times now but still haven't seen it. This needs to happen ASAP. Saving your to-do list. Grazie!

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  9. I was at the Vatican back in the 1990's. Restoration of the Sistine Chapel had just been completed. Great photos. Thanks for linking up this week. #TPThursday

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  10. So cool to see pictures from Rome again! I have been there a couple of years ago, but lost all my pictures :(
    Thanks for sharing :)

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  11. Went to Rome over EASTER a few years back and it was INSANELY busy! And very rainy. Still, I'd recommend it any day. Hope you got some of that Italian love back!

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  12. We visited Rome at the end of June this last summer, and I couldn't believe how unbelievably hot the Vatican museum was. I just assumed that all those precious works of art would be in a climate-controlled environment -- in other words, air-conditioned rooms. We went first thing in the morning and even then it was already crowded although not quite shoulder-to-shoulder. I hired a ridiculously expensive private guide which allowed us to skip the line and to also pause and ask questions as we wished. There was actually a tour to see the Sistine Chapel privately but I don't happen to possess the type of money required to purchase that ticket.

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  13. I love how we can live through your photos. Amazing! :)

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

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  14. I agree with your assessment with the Vatican. I was there in November and while the line wasn't as long as your description, inside was terrible! So many people and in the Sistine Chapel everyone was shoulder to shoulder. Definitely not a nice way of taking in this historical place! Did you find the halls of the Vatican museum had a funky smell? That was really all I could think of the whole time I was there. I enjoyed my time in Rome, but was frustrated by the Vatican.

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    1. I didn't think the vatican halls actually smelled but maybe it was all the people in the room not wearing deodorant lol!

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  15. your post takes me back! the first time we went to Rome, we stayed near the Vatican, so that was cool. We didn't go inside the Vatican but did get to visit the sistine chapel.

    (catching up with past posts)

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I love to hear from readers! Questions and comments welcome. I try to respond to everyone (I respond back to your comments on the comments page so check back for a response). Thanks for reading!

-Brittany Ruth