Armed with a map of Rome that Marcel gave me (I think that’s his name), an umbrella and an empty stomach, I headed for the Colosseum with much excitement to watch the sun rise behind the ancient gladiators’ arena. Did you sense something amiss with the statement? It didn’t occur to me that I wasn’t gonna catch any sunrise because it was raining that morning. I also didn’t know how far it was to walk from Yes Hotel to the Colosseum. Nonetheless, the Colosseum looked beautiful from the outside when lit up. A common consensus though, would be that it’s a lot smaller than imagined, just like Mona Lisa.

The Colosseum

Cobbled pavement

Famished, I took the Metropolitana from Colosseo to Termini to return to Yes Hotel for breakfast. The Rome metro system is straightforward and convenient. What’s interesting is that you could also buy tickets from newsstands and tabacchis (places that sell cigarettes) other than from the vending machines.

Bigletto

Lots of graffiti at the stations and even on the trains but I felt they were more art than vandalism and gave lots of character.

Colosseo

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re1kUWeubLE]

Something I learnt: breakfast is usually cheaper and better outside than in hotels unless it comes free with your stay, which in that case, stuff yourself silly so you can last longer and spend less money on food. I also nicked some crackers just in case I get stuck on a train again.

Breakfast at Yes Hotel

Next stop, Vatican City!

Musei Vaticani

Forget about the audio guide unless you’re an Art major or gonna stay the entire day there because that place is HUUUGE and you’re not gonna cover much if you take your time to smell the roses. Shortcut: do some homework on the art before going so you know what to look for and what you’re looking at. I walked into this room full of people staring up, my eyes swept across the ceiling and found the infamous Creation of Adam by Michelangelo.

Sistine Chapel

I recorded a bunch of short video clips (which I’m not going to upload) on my way up the St. Peter’s Basilica. I never really watched them until now and it’s funny to hear what I said:

“Hello, I’m at the St. Peter’s Basilica and there’s no one else except me climbing the stairs up [sic] 124meters. See you up there!”

“I’m still climbing!”

“Are we there yet?”

“Looks like different steps. [sic] Guess I must be reaching…” Nope.

“Here we go again…”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnoyJZxddQs]

Tiny, winding steps

It gets narrower and narrower as you climb and it starts to curve at the dome. It was tiring and you could probably hear me breathing heavily in the background but the view at the top was priceless. I always prefer stairs to lifts when visiting places.

Mr. Sun knocks off early in winter and it was dark by the time I walked to and arrived at the Spanish Steps.

Atop the Spanish Steps

I remember reading in Frommer’s or somewhere: “Legend says that if you toss a coin into the fountain over your shoulder, you will one day return to the eternal city,” and felt really disappointed when I realised I’d forgotten to do so. I know it’s really from the 1954 film, Three Coins in the Fountain, but it’s still a nice thought and I like to indulge in a bit of fantasy and make-believe stuff every now and again, like visiting the Juliet’s balcony in Verona.

I really wanted to visit the Pantheon after watching a documentary on the history and architectural finesse but ended up walking in the wrong direction to the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II instead. By then, my legs could barely carry me and my poor rain-soaked feet were crying. Took a bus back to the hotel and ended my adventures in Rome with wrinkled toes.

Useful links:

http://www.rome.info/

http://www.vatican.va/