Roma,Italy Oct 2010

This is my first travel account for Rome. The best time to travel around the city -April to October.
Buongiorno!(bwohn-JOH-noh), 'Hello' in Italian. Always remember, locals appreciate whenever you try to have a conversation in their language. No matter how grammatically incorrect it is. The essence lies in connecting with people. That's what I do, I pick up couple of relevant phrases and remember them while travelling. Read them before I start my day.
Rome is very well connected with the rest of the Europe. I took the cheapest available flight from Brussels, i.e. Ryanair(Budget Airline), as I booked at the last moment so I ended up paying the regular price. If you book well in advance, you get really nice price say around 150 Euros for the round trip.
I noted this long queue in front of the gate before 40 minutes of boarding call. Definitely unusual until i figured out

Strange stuff about this airline:-
a) Mandatory web check in, this includes visa and passport information.
b) No allocation of seat
c) Only one bag max of 10 kgs allowed as cabin luggage (i.e. handbag, briefcase, laptop,camera, pouch,umbrella etc. must be carried within one bag of 55 X 40 X 20 cm). If not then pay HUGE penalty, almost cost of the ticket :P
d) Limited space to put cabin luggage, first come first served basis.

The easiest way to get around the city is hop on/ off sight seeing bus. Metro is very convenient and economical too. Be aware of pickpocketing in Metros and touristic spots. Depending on your stay, you can buy passes accordingly, apply economies of scale ;) 


Metro

 

Sight seeing hop on/off bus

Colosseum

Rome's ancient past can be felt in every monument you visit. I got down at Circo Massimo. My journey began from the ruins of Colosseum. No movie/ photo/ imagination can replace the first sight of it.I reached around 8 a.m. and had panini at the Bangladeshi stall next to Colosseum. My stomach went crazy after that, avoid street food please! I was the first one to get inside the Colosseum that day, it helps if you have a tour guide/ audio guide. I took audio guide, it took me back to 450 A.D. and brutality of Roman emperors. It is recommended to see Roman Forum first then Palatino and in the end Colosseum, perfect chronological order. Infact,it makes sense to take a combined pass for the above sites . 

 

Palatino





Arc di Titus

Outside the Colosseum, you will see innovative ways of catching tourist's attention and money. I was forced to tip 10 Euros for the photograph below but I enjoyed the drama, It's always advised to take their pictures secretly and from a distance ;)

Drama queen with her gladiators!

Bocca della Verita

The city can be best covered on foot, like many other European cities.So after you are done with the above sites, take a stroll through Piazza della bocca della verita (Mouth of truth), major square to connect with bus/ metro/ national museum. According to historical records, if you put your hand in the carved mounth and tell a lie, it will bite your hand off. I found it too touristic but it's okay to visit once and also the church and souvenier shop next to it.





Capitoline Museum (National Museum)

 A recommended place for antique lovers :)



Temple of Castor and Pollux

The temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman Forum was originally built in gratitude for victory at the battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces) were the Dioscuri, the "twins" of Gemini, the twin sons of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leda. Their cult came to Rome from Greece via Magna Graecia and the Greek culture of Southern Italy. Woooh! breath taking history, recent excavation shows inhabitation of humans in 8th century B.C. I get carried away everytime I think of Roman's history.

Let's go to our next stop, Pantheon (Temple of all the gods of ancient Rome) , amazing architecture, I can not express it's beauty and brilliance.



Pantheon





Piazza Navona

 Piazza Navona is next to Pantheon, surrounded by number of eateries. Terrible weather that day, it rained for six hours non stop, everything came to a standstill I stopped there to get some heat and enjoyed my cup of coffee and Pizza .

Fontana di trevi

"Wow! this site is FULLLL of tourists" My first expression when I saw this fountain,Rome's largest and most famous fountain. The famous custom of throwing coin/coins. One coin - You will return to Rome, Two coins- You will fall in love with an Italian, Three coins - You will get married to him/her here.

Gelateria Ice cream

Don't forget to enjoy unique italian ice cream - Gelateria. I don't know how many flavours I tried, simply loved it. It's available mostly at every touristic site :)

Graffiti on metro - A cop being fooled ;)

Indeed the land of artists, I noticed some really funny hand painted graphics in trains, restrooms, eateries, walls etc. Pay attention to the free exhibition of art ;) I enjoyed it.

Spanish Steps!

Spanish Steps (Italian : Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti), The stairway of 138 steps built in 1723-1725 . Climb up and enjoy the spectacular view of the city :)

My next stop is Vatican City , Italy. Refer to my next post :)