Skip to main content

Adventures in Tourism: Rome, Day I


Hello, friends!

Two weeks ago today, one of my friends and I had our first full day of travel in Rome. After spending the night at the outskirts of the city, our first task of the day was riding a bus, and then the metro, into the city center of Rome. Upon our arrival, we ate lunch on the terrace of an Indian restaurant near the metro station. We were seated next to a very friendly man from South Africa. Although his initial greeting of "Hey, ladies" gave me some cause for concern, we had a good conversation. I was surprised by the number of people selling chargers and selfies sticks who walked up over and over again as we ate.

After checking into our AirBNB, we visited the magnificent and expansive Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. I was not expecting to visit this cathedral, and I was overwhelmed by the beauty and ornate detail of everything inside it.

This beautiful stained glass window set the tone for an absolutely breathtaking church.

I feel like this angle makes it look as though I caught this statue in a moment of prayer.

The tomb of Pope Saint Pius V. You can see an image of Pope Francis praying in front of this very tomb here.

I really liked these angel candle holders.

Afterwards, we set off for Trevi Fountain. On the way, we rested by the column of Marcus Aurelius, ate gelato, and saw a very cool shopping mall in the style of an ancient Roman building.

Lydia's First Italian Gelato Experience, Part 1/2

Lydia's First Italian Gelato Experience, Part 2/2

Once we got to Trevi Fountain, we discovered that it was hugely crowded with people. The only thing to do was to take pictures of it, but it was nearly impossible to get a good picture with such bright sunlight and such huge crowds.

Is this the best photo ever? No. Will I share it anyway? Yes.

Next, we visited (and climbed!) the Spanish Steps, which were likewise crowded with people. If you like crowds and photographing yourself, I recommend visiting these two places on a Saturday afternoon. Personally, I found them underwhelming and stressful, but I probably would have enjoyed them more under less-crowded circumstances.

Here I am in front of the Spanish Steps.
...and here I am again, smiling victoriously after climbing the Spanish Steps.

We headed off to the Pantheon only to find a long line outside. We resolved to return the next day to visit the Pantheon. After a nice dinner at a restaurant called Al Duello (where I disobeyed many universal rules for dining conduct by playing Pokemon Go while waiting for our food), we returned to our AirBNB and went to bed.

Best wishes,
Lydia
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reviewing My August 2019 Goals

This is an image of my desk during Fall Semester 2018. On the right side of the photo, there is a vintage Singer sewing machine which, unfortunately, does not work. To the left of the sewing machine, there is a crate books inside. On top of the crate, there is a stack of Rookie Yearbooks with a crocheted jellyfish (wearing glasses) on top of it, and a picture frame containing a print that reads "all the time". To the left of the crate, there are a few more books. In lieu of a proper bookend, I have placed a tarot deck (stored in a black makeup bag) and a book-themed Halloween decoration (featuring book spines with the words "Potions", "Hexes", and "Spells") to keep my books from toppling over. I chose this photograph because, unlike my current desk, this desk looks like it belongs to someone who creates monthly goals. Hello! At the start of this month, I made a list of goals. As September 1 draws near, I am l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Media Round-Up: August 8, 2019

Image of pink, green, and light purple umbrellas suspended in the air between two buildings. Hello! Even with posting on my blog every day this month, I still spend significantly more time consuming content than I do creating it. With that in mind, here is a little roundup of some of the content I have been enjoying in this post-camp-pre-semester portion of my life. TV Show Superstore is a character-driven series about the employees of Cloud 9 (a thinly-concealed stand-in for Walmart). After watching America Ferrera in Ugly Betty and Ben Feldman in Drop Dead Diva , it is interesting to watch them in entirely different roles. Watching this show makes going to Walmart feel like a visit to a fully-immersive Superstore theme park. The between-scene cuts to bizarre antics happening at the store are one of my favorite little touches. Music I have been almost exclusively listening to Heathers . Somehow, I have become thoroughly desensitized to the fact that I am listening to a m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Remembrances and Retail Anxiety

A truly ominous stairwell in one of my school's buildings Bonjour! I got my study abroad card! Thank you to all of the people who signed my card. You are all so amazing and thoughtful! I am having a great time on study abroad, but sometimes I wish that I could be back at Soka with all of you. I feel much more adapted to my life in Paris. This experience has been peppered with worries that I am not taking full advantage of this opportunity. I feel like I should be doing more, seeing more, and spending more. I have had to remind myself that all of the experiences that feel normal now--from taking the metro to climbing up a spiral staircase--were entirely new to me less than two months ago. I am growing and changing, all while gaining a better sense of myself. With that being said, living here has really taken a toll on both me and my physical possessions. The first casualty was a shirt that my mom tie-dyed for me when I was in ninth grade, which tore while I was adjustin...
1 comment
Read more