Rome

6th March

We arrived in Rome around midday but it took a while to get through immigration. The guy sitting next to me on the plane seemed clueless and was running to the airport train and nearly got stuck in the doors because he thought his luggage was on that train. We guided him through until immigration and Jay explained to him where his luggage would be. Hopefully he had the right visa and made it through.

Then we caught the train to our accommodation following the guidelines our host had messaged us. We arrived there without a hitch at about 3.30pm.

The apartment was messy but enormous. The room we stayed in was big and warm. After chatting with the host we set out to Basilica di Santa Maria as recommended by our host. We took the metro which featured the most graffitied train I'd ever seen! On the way I saw a pizza place and bought a slice. Delicious!

The church was breathtaking. We'd never seen one like this before.

Then we wandered around taking in the general sights and getting a bit lost. We found a super market and bought some food for the next day. It started to get dark and cold and the rain began. So we decided to head home and find the nearest metro.

From the metro we walked to the local supermarket to pick up a few more items. Then it was a short walk back to our accommodation where we had an unusual dinner of porridge (for me) and vege sandwiches (Jay). We were too tired to make anything else or go back out.

7th March

We awoke at 5am, probably due to jetlag. We made some scrambled eggs on toast and set out to the Vatican with our pre-booked tickets.

We arrived with enough time to see St Peter's Basilica and Square although the dome part was shut till 1pm because of the Pope's address.

Then we went to the Vatican museum. There was a small queue outside (well, small for the Vatican) and we questioned ourselves whether it was worth paying the booking fee and booking our tickets. We had booked for 9am however they let us straight in at 8:40am.

We planned for 4 hours to see the Vatican but we found we'd followed the entire route by 10am. My favourite part of the museum was the long halls with the decorated ceilings. The famous Sistene Chapel didn't really hold my interest because it was far less impressive than the churches we'd already seen. It was nice to sit down and take a break there though. Being off peak the Vatican Museum wasn't that busy so it was pleasant and easy to see everything without crowds in the way.

The weather report had predicted rain all day which is why we went to the museum. However when we exited we could see that it had rained but the sun was now out. Due to the improvement in the weather we decided to take the metro to Spagna to see the Spanish steps.



We wandered up the steps and half way up decided it was the perfect place to have a snack. We ate our fruit taking in the views. Then it was up to the top of the stairs and more admiring the views.

Going down the steps was a lot more fun as it always is. We headed towards the Trevi fountain because that's what good tourists do! After stopping to ask directions a few times we found it and WOW! It was a lot bigger than we'd expected. We were very impressed.

After that we looked at the map and decided Piazza Venezia looked like a good place to visit. We got there and sat on the bottom step to have our lunch (sandwiches we'd made in the morning).

We climbed the steps and went inside the Altare della Patriarchal building. There were more steps (of course) and eventually we were outside on a rooftop enjoying amazing views. From there we could see the colosseum. As the weather was holding up we decided we'd try to do that today too as it was only about 1pm.

On the way to the colosseum we saw many ruins and beautiful buildings. Buskers were playing some lovely music and the sun was shining.

I saw the entrance to the Roman Forum which was also on my list of 'must-dos'. I knew that this ticket would also get us into the colosseum and was good for the next day too. So we purchased a ticket and spent the next two hours wandering the ruins
thoroughly impressed (although Jay wasn't impressed by the useless map). Palatine Hill was also part of the Roman Forum and provided us with wonderful views.

We then headed to the Collosseum. It had been spitting a little bit at the Roman Forum but it was OK so we figured although the sky was getting darker we'd be okay.

The Collosseum wasn't too busy and we quickly cleared security. I have always wanted to see the Collosseum so I was very excited. We looked around and we wanted to go up to the second floor but I wasn't sure if we could or if it was only people on tours. Jay asked a staff member how to get upstairs and he gave us directions. The view from upstairs was even better.

As we exited it started to rain. We put on our rain jackets and headed to the metro. We went back to the Vatican to see if it was busy for the dome. On arrival it was still raining and the queue was long. I decided it wasn't worth the wait. We  decided to go to the Pantheon instead but we weren't sure how to get there. We ended up chatting with two American priests in training who told us we could take a bus but it was walkable. The rain had eased so we set off on foot.

On the way I got distracted by Castel Sant' Angelo, so in we went. It was quite interesting and the views of the city was once again lovely. There were a few showers so we were happy that some of the route was inside. It was a museum that explained the history of the castle (it had originally been built as a mosuleum).

On the way to the Pantheon we saw signs for Piazza Novana which was kind of on the way so we thought we'd look there too. At the Piazza Jay asked someone for directions. He started chatting to us and then proceeded to put African bracelets on us. I thought that it strange as it was clearly something he was selling, so why would he just give them to us? After he had given them to us and he asked for money, which didn't surprise me. We didn't want to buy them (I didn't even want it for free!) so we gave them back. He was not happy with us. The next day we saw other people doing exactly the same thing to tourists. They trick people into buying their goods.

We finally reached the Pantheon and it was beautiful. We sat down for a rest. As we exited it started to pour with rain so we stayed where it was dry while we ate our rolls we'd bought at a supermarket we'd found along the way. Then it was into the rain for the long walk to the metro (stopping at a church along the way).

We arrived home happy but exhausted.

March 8

We decided to go to Ostia Antica today despite my reservations about the train strike. I wasn't sure if they'd be completely stopped or running with less trains.

The journey there was pleasant and there was clear signage at the train station of where to go.

We went to buy the tickets and I was free because it's International Women's Day (the strike was linked to this, promoting the rights of women). We entered and initially weren't that impressed but as we ventured further inside we found it to be really good.

My favourite part was the amphitheatre and the views from up high.

After seeing all the ruins we explored the little town. There was a castle but it wasn't open. Jay bought a latte, then we learnt that latte in Italy was just milk so then he got a cafe latte. I got a gelato and then we headed back to the train station.

When we arrived at the station it was all locked up. Our risk hadn't paid off. All trains weren't running because of the strike. We saw some buses but none were headed to Rome.

We walked back to town and Jay asked around if anyone was headed to Rome while I worked out that it'd take at least 3.5 hours to walk! Luckily after a while Jay found someone willing to help us. She said she would take us for €20. She spoke Spanish so we had a hilarious time of trying to figure out what each other was trying to say. She pointed out the sights along the way and dropped us off near the Collosseum.

From there we decided to walk to the Jewish Ghetto admiring sights along the way. Once again we got a little lost and ended up taking the long way round which meant we saw The Temple of Hercules Victor.

At the Jewish Ghetto was a synagogue and restaurants/cafes. There were also some more ruins which featured The Theatre of Marcellus which looks similar to the Collosseum from the outside.

Then we crossed the bridge to see the Trastevere area. First we went to the Santa Maria Trastevere Church.

Then we wandered the neighbourhood stopping at supermarkets to buy dinner and food for the next day. We followed the tram tracks for about 2km to the train station. Then it was onto the train for home where we enjoyed some delicious soup for dinner.