When in Rome…

When we first arrived in Rome, we talked to each other about how it was “just a bigger version of Bologna, basically.” We were very wrong about that. Rome is a much bigger, much more crowded city with a very different feel and energy. For one thing, it’s a major tourist destination and another hub for international students. This means that there’s a lot more English spoken at all the bars and restaurants (🙏). Also, the emphasis on ancient Rome is such a large part of the city’s culture and atmosphere. Alongside the major attractions, there are ancient ruins sprinkled throughout the city that you can stumble upon at any time which is really fun! (There was a cat sanctuary located in a set of ruins in the middle of the city that had over 75 cats and you could interact with them in a section that was partitioned off….what the heck is this city?!)

We tried to fit in as much as we could in a 3 and a half day trip and I think we accomplished quite a lot. As we’ve probably made clear, doing the typical “touristy” things in each city is not something we’re ashamed of or want to avoid – the big sites are so popular because they’re so amazing! So we spent a lot of time seeing the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Vatican Museum. Other than that, we tried to eat our way through the city as much as possible and the food scene in Rome is incredible.

Colosseum

We got the early morning tickets to see the Colosseum right when it opens at 8:30AM which, in hindsight, was a good decision – we had no idea how crazy the crowds were going to get as the day carried on.

Watching the sun rise over the Colosseum was an amazing experience as we waited for the gates to open. Once inside, we followed a free audio tour we found online through a very popular travel blogger named Rick Steves. We loved his tours; they balance brevity with intrigue really well. They’re engaging, funny, informative, and don’t last longer than an hour. And they’re free! So we followed his guide as he walked us through the different levels of the Colosseum touching on the highlights along the way.

Being able to see the real thing up close and imagine what it must have been like to be there in the crowd was very special. The movies tend to glorify the violence and “prestige” that gladiators experienced but for some reason, being there in person had a different effect. The largest stadium in the known world at the time was filled with people screaming for the bloodshed of the poor and slaves. Criminals sentenced to death were forced to re-enact their crimes but in a way that ended with them being executed. The ruler of the largest empire would sometimes give the crowd the choice of whether or not someone should live or die.

It gave me chills to walk through and consider all of the roles that were at play to orchestrate such an elaborate way to kill people. To be fair, that’s not the only type of event that happened in the Colosseum. They also used it for more typical style theater shows as well. It’s a remarkable feat in terms of engineering and an incredible signifier of the culture of the time. We learned through the Rick Steves tour that Christianity had a major influence on the more violent types of games coming to an end – slaughtering the oppressed for fun didn’t seem to mesh well with Christian dogma.

The Roman Forum

These two attractions are right next to each other and are typically grouped together when you buy tickets to see them. I didn’t know much about the Forum and so I didn’t have high expectations but it ended up being just as impressive as the Colosseum, if not more. Thanks again to Rick Steves and his team for making such a great audio tour that walks you through the rather large landscape!

The Forum was a giant meeting place used for lots of different purposes in the late BC era. It’s about a mile long and served as spot for markets, temples, altars, and palaces. It’s the area that was used for large public speaking events and where the ideas for a republic were born and brought into fruition. It’s also the location of Julius Caesar’s funeral pyre and a very large Senate House.

Even moreso than at the Colosseum, you can envision what it would have been like. You can almost see folks walking along the main road, hear the chatter of street vendors and the songs of praise to different gods, smell the incense from the temples mixed with the sweat of the working class. We literally walked on the same stones that ancient Romans walked on! Such a cool experience.

The Vatican Museum

Word to the wise – Rome is big and while the bus system is intricate in theory, it’s unreliable (a strike happened midday while we were there………….) and incredibly crowded. So walking is the main mode of transportation and cramming in the Vatican Museum on the same day as the Colosseum and Forum meant a LOT of walking (my FitBit tracked over 13 miles that day). Thankfully there are free water fountains conveniently located throughout the whole city so we were able to stay hydrated albeit exhausted.

Regardless, we were excited to see the Vatican Museum even though we were already pretty whooped by the time we were allowed to enter at 4:30PM. Leaning on our main man Rick Steves to give us the highlights once again with his 1 hour audio guide, the tour still took about 2 hours because the crowds and big tour groups really gum up the works. Needless to say though, there are some really interesting artifacts and things to see and you could spend way more than 2 hours in there. One of the most interesting rooms for me was the map room which was an elaborately gilded hallway lined with maps of all the different areas of Italy. These used to be the official maps that were used in the Vatican City and it was fun to point out spots we’ve been or want to go! It was also just an enormous and gorgeous hallway to be in.

And then there’s the Sistine Chapel. What can you say – it’s more magnificent than can be described (no pictures allowed inside). Unlike the rest of the museum, it’s dim and hushed. I think the staff want to maintain an air of solemnity but that’s a tough feat given that the small, dark space is crammed with hundreds of people from all over the world. Even so, it was inspiring to see such a masterpiece and we could have just stayed in that room for hours. But alas, our feet felt bruised and our stomachs were screeching.

The Food 🍝

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was the food. The Roman specials for pasta are Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, and Amatriciana. Our favorite was the Cacio e Pepe but they’re all delicious and the quality is great no matter where you go. There are so many different places to choose from so we relied on the interwebs to help us figure it out. Alyssa found a very trustworthy food blogger who lives in Rome named Katie Parla and she didn’t steer us wrong once. Such great options to choose from that were all budget-friendly.

The first place we went to was a small wine and cheese spot that was definitely a local joint. We were the only Americans there which, in Rome, is pretty abnormal. The wine was delicious (we have no palate for such things but are trying to learn 😅) and the meat and cheese selection was both pleasing to the taste buds and heaping in portion size. I’ve never eaten so much meat before.

We got the special that they had that night which was a piece of toast with melted Comte (I know, I know, that’s a French cheese) and ham. Comte is one of Alyssa’s favorite cheeses so we were excited. But unfortunately we found out that apparently the way the cheese is processed here, certain ones give her an allergic reaction where her mouth goes numb 😭 I literally don’t know anyone who loves cheese as much as Alyssa so that’s been quite a bummer of a revelation.

But we also found some really, really good pizza which (insanely) was the first time we’d had pizza since we got here. The one place we went to – Piccolo Buco – had a huge line, didn’t take reservations, and you couldn’t get pizza to go. So…we waited. Open container laws aren’t really a thing in Italy so we just grabbed a couple bottles of beer and hung out in line for a little under an hour. The wait was worth it. The staff were super friendly and understood that we had just been waiting for what felt like forever so they got us seated and put drinks in our hands as soon as possible. The pizza came quick and was gone almost as quickly.

We also went to a place called Roscioli which was very popular (locals, food tours, tourists like us – everyone knows and loves this spot). We got pizza rossa which is a red sauce pizza with no cheese and pizza bianca which was basically like focaccia but with a delicious garlic and herb oil sauce drizzled on top. The pizza bianca here was probably my favorite thing that we ate. We also found a place that had pizza bianca stuffed with Mortadella…maybe that was my favorite actually.

There is a chain of quick to-go food restaurants that make a food called Trapizzino which are these delicious meat, cheese, and sauce filled bread pockets. They were amazing and only $5 a piece. Super yummy, can find them all over the city, and crazy affordable. And we found a wine bar called Latteria that had a great selection for under $5 per glass, was quiet and tucked away, and had a really friendly vibe.

Familiar Faces

As a bonus treat, we got to meet up with one of our friends from Pittsburgh! Allie was doing a tour of Italy and Greece and so we made sure to find time to meet up with her in Rome while she was there 🙂 It was really nice to get to spend time with her, it was a soothing balm to some of the homesickness we’ve experienced. Plus Allie is just a blast to be around!

We also discovered a Steeler’s bar in Rome!! It was truly a bizarre experience to go from the crowded streets of Rome to this pub that was also really crowded but with all Pittsburgh locals. It felt like we walked into a bar in Pittsburgh. There was a game the day we went so we watched the first quarter before with all the fans. It was so refreshing to have a little taste of home while we were there.

The food here was some of the best we’ve had since we’ve arrived which is saying something considering Bologna is supposed to be the food capital of Italy! Our legs and feet are still recovering but we enjoyed all the sights, sounds, and smells of this ancient city. We were glad to get home to our little apartment on Via Frassinago though – we want to make sure we give Bologna some ❤️ so we’ll make sure to highlight some of the things we’ve experienced here in our “home town” next!