Rome

For our honeymoon in 2019, Troy and I were lucky enough to spent 12 days in Italy! The high points of the trip were booked by Harr Travel, which made the whole language barrier thing much easier to handle while we were researching and booking the trip. It also took away a lot of the stress of trying to find for the best prices from reputable places. Harr Travel did all the work!

After months of planning, and a flight from Pittsburgh to Montreal to Italy, we spent the first five glorious days in Rome, soaking up the history and beauty of that magical city.

We stayed at the Ambasciatori Palace, which has, unfortunately, closed since our trip. The location of the hotel was amazing though! We were a short walk away from Piazza Barberini, which has a bus stop for the hop on hop off bus tour, and my favorite fountain in Rome (Triton Fountain). It's also very close to the Spanish Steps.

I definitely recommend doing the hop on hop off bus tour for at least a day or two. Rome is very walkable, if you are up for the exercise. We averaged ten miles per day on foot while we were there. The bus allows you to get on at various stops located throughout the city and get off at whichever stop you like. It's a really easy way to lessen the amount of walking if your feet are sore or if its 90 degrees outside.

A lesser-known (or perhaps just less popular) attraction is located just to the right of the Spanish Steps. The Keats-Shelley House is something I researched before going to Rome, and was on my must-see list (English Major... don't judge me.) This was the house that English Poet John Keats retreated to at the end of his life. He died here, in the bed shown below. The mask you see is his actual death mask. The house is now a museum that holds thousands of works from some of the greatest English writers.

The Pantheon was an awesome experience. Be forewarned though, depending on who is working the entrance, they may not let you enter if you aren't dressed properly. Sleeveless tops are not generally allowed in any churches, so be prepared. Troy is an architecture guy, and he was mesmerized by the construction of the dome (considering no heavy machinery even existed when it was built). I was more interested in the tombs, specifically that of the artist Raphael, who is buried in the Pantheon.

The Villa Borghese Gardens were a great escape on our first night there, when we were battling little bit of jet lag. The park was scattered with statues, local artists, and beautiful landscapes. The Temple of Asclepius on the Lake was a particularly nice photo spot.

The Trevi Fountain is as incredible as you'd imagine it to be (and much more impressive than the one in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas), but let me tell you this: IT IS ALWAYS BUSY. I remember a scene from Dan Brown's novel, Angels and Demons, that took place at the Trevi. In the scene, the fountain was deserted. I'm here to tell you that's NOT POSSIBLE. At least not in July. We walked past the Trevi at 2:00 am and it was just as packed as it was at 2:00 pm.

According to history, the site of Julius Caesar's assassination, by members of the Roman Senate, was on the steps of Pompey's Theatre. The ruins of this location are visible in Rome, but could not be toured when I was there in 2019. The picture of the ruins above was taken from street level. I believe there are plans in the making to open the ruins to the public, but I'm not sure where they stand at this point. I was amazed by the history of the city, so just being able to look at the site was enough for me. (I couldn't help hearing "Et tu, Brute?" in my head!)

You can, however, go into the feral cat colony which is located in the ruins. The Colonia Felina di Torre Argentina is just at the bottom of the steps from street level, at the corner of Via Florida and Via di Torre Argentina. The workers are very friendly and are happy to answer any questions you may have. They have merchandise for sale and accept donations as well. (Please consider donating!) Some of the cats are actually up for adoption! Being a crazy cat lady, this part of the trip was especially enjoyable for me!

The Non-Catholic Cemetery is a less popular tourist site, and was nearly empty when we visited in the high season. (It was a nice break from the crowds.) Located about a mile southwest of the Colosseum, this cemetery is the resting place of several famous non-Catholics who desired to be buried in their favorite city. For me, the biggest draw were the graves of John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The cemetery is free to visit, but does accept donations.

The Ancient Roman Forum and the Colosseum were Troy's absolute favorite parts of Rome. (We'll get to my favorite next.) My first suggestion is to book a small group tour! We had an incredible tour guide who was an archeologist, and we were in a group with only six or seven people. The large group tours make it more difficult to hear and see everything.

We used the hop on hop off bus tour to get there in the morning because it was a pretty good distance away from our hotel, and the tours start on the early side. Be aware that a lot of the stairs and walkways in the Colosseum are original and could be difficult to navigate if you or someone in your group has a difficult time getting around.

I believe there is a project in the works to rebuild the arena floor of the Colosseum, which would cover up the hypogeum that you can see in the picture below. When we were there, you needed to book a special tour to tour the hypogeum, which is were the gladiators and animals waited before entering the arena.

Unlike what Ridley Scott would have you believe, it turns out Gladiators rarely died in the Colosseum. You'd be more likely to see them killing animals, rather than each other. The gladiators themselves were too expensive to have their lives wasted in a battle to the death.

Along with your tour of the Colosseum, you'll likely tour the ancient Roman ruins as well. This part was absolutely fascinating, but VERY hot. If you are travelling in the summer, be prepared with light clothing, sunblock, and probably a hat.

I could go on forever about the interesting information we learned during this tour, but I'll stick to my favorite bit. In the top left picture below, you can see three white columns standing in the middle of the ruins. These columns are all that is left of the Temple of Vesta, which was the temple which housed the sacred fire always to be kept burning by the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins were girls who took an oath of celibacy and, in return, attainted almost-celebrity status. They had special protection at all times to keep them from any assault or harassment. They were permitted to observe special state meetings that even the male priests did not see. They followed strict rules, however, and were punished harshly for breaking them. The punishment for breaking their celibacy was to be buried alive.

The Vatican was my favorite part of our time in Rome! We did another small group tour and actually ended up with the same tour guide that we had for our Colosseum tour. Again, I strongly recommend the small group tour! I'll give a quick run-down of some of my favorite works of art on display in the Vatican Museum.

The Gallery of Maps was a favorite simply because of how stunningly magnificent it was. The maps themselves depict various regions of Italy, before Italy was even its own country. The ceiling is made up of hundreds of paintings, many from famous Italian Renaissance artists. You'll walk through this corridor before you see the Sistine Chapel, and it is an excellent warm up for the beauty that lies ahead in your tour.

The Belvedere Torso was a piece that I had seen in pictures before, but never really understood its significance. Renaissance artists believed this torso to be the most perfect depiction of the male body. Michelangelo was highly influenced by this piece, and (it is believed) he used it as the model for both Christ and St. Bartholomew in his painting The Last Judgement, which is directly above the altar in the Sistine Chapel.

The Raphael Tapestries were absolutely incredible. Raphael was commissioned by the Pope to make these. The tapestries on one side of the hall depict events from the life of Jesus. The opposite side of the hall depicts the life of Moses. Your tour guide will explain the significance of how they were woven with threads of gold and silver!

Raphael's "School of Athens" was my most favorite fresco in the Vatican Museum. This piece is located in one of the four Raphael Rooms, and represents philosophy. (The other 3 frescos are also amazing and represent theology, poetic arts, and justice.) This painting depicts many important philosophers, with Plato and Da Vinci as the central figures in the painting. What I loved most, was that Raphael used important figures of the Italian Renaissance to depict many of these ancient philosophers. For example, the figure of Plato is actually a depiction of Leonardo Da Vinci! Raphael himself can be seen peeking in from behind the column on the right side.

The Sistine Chapel isn't shown in any of my pictures because there is no photography allowed inside. Tourists are also told not to speak inside the chapel (though some, annoyingly, will speak anyway). All I'll say about it is that it is absolutely everything you expect it to be! There are benches along the walls of the chapel, and I highly suggest you take a seat (if you can find an open one) to pray, meditate, or just soak it all in.

After touring the Vatican Museum, you'll end the tour at St. Peter's Basilica. Our tour guide gave us a few bits of info about the church, then said goodbye. We were free to walk around the church on our own, which I loved. As you can see from the picture below, it's very crowded inside, and the middle of the church is roped off to the public.

The giant bronze canopy was created by Bernini, and is located directly under the dome, and over the papal altar. The canopy lies atop St. Peter's tomb.

The dome itself, created by Michelangelo, is incredible. Pictures just don't do it justice. The entire Statue of Liberty could fit inside this dome. It is the tallest dome in the world and the tallest building in Rome. (No buildings in Rome are allowed to be taller than St. Peter's.) The latin inscription around the inside of the dome is from Matthew 16: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and to you I will give the keys to the kingdom of heaven." The letters in the inscription seem tiny from down below, but they are each 9 ft. tall in reality.

When you first enter St. Peter's, directly to your right is a very famous statue by Michelangelo called La Pieta. The statue depicts Mary holding Jesus after the crucifixion. What made this piece so interesting to me was that it was the only work Michelangelo ever signed. According to history, after La Pieta was brought to St. Peter's, the artist overheard people attributing his statue to a different artist. To show everyone who really created La Pieta, Michelangelo carved his name into the sash across Mary's chest.

Two of my favorite parts of St. Peter's are pictured below. I took that picture of St. Peter's Square from the top of the dome of the Basilica. Yes, you can climb to the top! To do so, you can either climb 320 steps, or pay to take the elevator. From there, you'll be able to explore the walkway around the inside of the dome (just above the inscription) or go out onto the roof behind the statues of Jesus and the Apostles. Afterwards, you have the option to continue climbing another 551 steps to the top of the cupola. These stairs become very narrow as you climb, and end in a somewhat dizzying spiral staircase, but the view is SO worth it!

My other favorite part was touring the papal tombs underneath the basilica. You can tour these for free just by taking the stairs located near the statue of St. Andrew. Once below, you can see the tombs of many of the Popes. Some of them date back to the 1200's! You can also see into St. Peter's tomb (from behind glass.) His actual bones are located a floor below the papal tombs. There is a sign for no photography in the tombs, so I don't have any images of them (just an image of the hallway).

Travel Tips and Warnings:

There are lots of people waiting to take advantage of ignorant tourists in major cities. The Spanish Steps was the first site we went to see after checking in at the hotel. There was a man there, selling roses. I'd seen these people before in NYC or San Diego, and I definitely wasn't buying. This guy literally forced a rose into my hand after I had said no several times. He was then overly enthusiastic about taking a picture for Troy and I. So enthusiastic that he took my phone out of my hands. (I was starting to fear he would run off with it.) After he took a picture, Troy grabbed my phone back and we tried to walk away. He became very upset and demanded payment for the rose and the pictures. I gave the rose right back to him, but he still wanted money. Troy (being Troy) told him absolutely not and walked away. You will run into people like this in all the major cities.

If you are traveling from the airport into Rome, make sure you get in the actual taxi line at the airport. There is a set rate for transportation from the airport into the city center for cabs, but there are drivers who try to take advantage of the system. When we walked out to the cab line, a man approached us asking if we needed a taxi. When we told him yes, he tried to take our luggage from us to usher us to his car. We didn't like that at all, so Troy took the luggage back from him. When we realized this man was bypassing the taxi line completely, and taking us toward a parking structure, we knew what was happening. These drivers grab groups of people (instead of just 1 group like a regular cab) and charge them EACH the set rate. The rate is supposed to be one flat fee regardless of how many are in the cab.

Water is a must-have, especially if you visit during the summer months. There are water fountains (nasoni) all over the city that are completely free!! They supply you with cold, clean water that is constantly tested. You'll see people selling water bottles. Don't be fooled! Carry your own bottle and just refill it at one of several thousand fountains in Rome!

The train stations can be a little overwhelming if you've never traveled by train before. When you enter the station, sometimes you'll run into a very helpful person who is more than willing to give you the low down on how to get your tickets and where to go from there. These people expect you to pay them! We didn't realize that at first, until she asked for €5. She really was helpful, so we paid her, but it would have been nice to have known that ahead of time.