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| Istanbul, Bulgaria, and Rome (Part 4, Rome) | Page: 1 2 3 4 |
Date: July 2nd to 7th, 2023
Well this is it. The last stop of my grand European adventure of 2023 that started in late May with a visit of my family in Slovakia and ended here with Sandra in Rome after making our way from Istanbul via Bulgaria. Our flight to was Sofia was uneventful, although uncomfortable in the typical Ryanair way. We next made our way to our hotel. We were staying in one of those apartahotel in the area called Prati. This was my first time to Rome but I was very happy with the neighborhood. It's just a short walk across the river Tiber from the touristy Centro Istorico, but this area was so much more quaint and relaxed. Rome in July is no fun when it comes to tourists. They are everywhere! (Of course, this also includes us). But at least here the restaurants were not packed and it just felt much more enjoyable and also authentic. We were staying in a place called River Luxury Suites. It was basically an old apartment converted to a hotel, where each apartment room became its own hotel room. But unlike an AirBnB, there was an actual reception. The place was perfectly fine, although not really "luxury" nor a "suite", but what it had going for it was the really awesome old building elevator, with the mechanical workings in full view. I took bunch of videos of it, that I am hoping to post online at some future date. I really enjoyed this!
The next day we started our sightseeing proper. OMG, there is so much to see here. This city was founded nearly 3000 years ago in 783 B.C. and it really shows. There are monuments everywhere. It's actually quite overwhelming. We spent total 3 days sightseeing and I feel we just scratched the surface as we missed many landmarks, such as actually entering the Coliseum. Makes me wonder how cruise passengers do it on their brief shore excursion, especially given the at least an hour drive from Civitavecchia port to the city. From our hotel we crossed the river to Piazza del Popolo. Here we thus entered the city center that used to protected by the Aurelian Walls, parts of which still remain. The Piazza is a large public square with a massive Egyptian Flaminio Obelisk in its center. The obelisk was brought to Rome in 1 BC, but actually dates back the rule of Pharaoh Menmaatre Seti I between 1290 BC and 1279 BC. That's around 3,300 years ago!
We next ventured to the Pantheon. There was a sizable line to purchase tickets and it took over an hour to get in. The wait was made worse by the oppressive heat so Sandra went to wait in shade in some nearby cafe. I hope to return to Rome one day, but it will definitely not be in the peak of summer. The Pantheon is a former Roman temple dating back to the first or second century AD (the actual construction date is not precisely known). This is a really impressive structure. Inside you will find standing under a massive hemispherical dome with an open "oculus" in the middle. The floor is equipped with drains to channel away any rainwater that falls in through the opening. The wall is adorned with statues of various Roman gods as well as Christina saints added over the centuries of Pantheon's existence.
My favorite sightseeing activity in Europe is popping into random churches. Behind the large wooden doors you usually find a mesmerizing display of Catholic Church's wealth. And best of all, they are typically free to enter, serene, and provide a cool respite from the overwhelming heat outside. Very close to the Pantheon we found ourselves in Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola. This place was really spectacular, just check out the pictures below. But frankly, there are so many amazing churches all around Rome.
The next must see for any Rome visitor is the Trevi Fountain. While we already thought Rome was over-packed with tourists, what we have seen so far was no comparison to the pandemonium near the fountain! This fountain is a relatively recent addition to the eternal city, as it was completed in 1762. It is such a unique masterpiece as I don't really know of any other similar sight that combines water and statues so elegantly. Perhaps some of the statues found in the Versailles gardens come to mind, but those are nowhere as elaborate as this.
Next we headed over to the Coliseum. Bit of a interesting tidbit, my current career as a plasma modeler was launched during grad school by working on a simulation code called Coliseum. So it was nice to finally see its namesake in real life. Here we opted against touring the insides, due to being already tired, and there still being so much more to see. On the way to the Coliseum we passed the remains of Foro Romano, which used to be the center of daily life in ancient Rome. Near it is also the Circus Maximus, which used to be massive sports stadium for horse chariot races. Here we also didn't go in, as only ruins remain, since the surrounding buildings which used to house the spectators got dismantled during the Renaissance due to being used as a source of building material. We instead walked up a hill towards Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino, but (if remembering correctly), it was not open to get in.
We then crossed the river and found ourselves in Trastevere, which Google describes as a "funky, bohemian area that clings to its centuries-old, working-class roots". This area had various cafes and seemed like a nice place to stroll through. Here we also had our main encounter with the Instagram culture. We passed by an Italian restaurant that had a line stretching well around the block. I don't know what the fuss was about, but people, this is Rome, there are amazing Italian restaurants on every corner, no need to stand in such a long line! Speaking of food, below are a few pictures of various snacks we had throughout the day, including a typical breakfast, and then cakes and wines in some pastry shop. And speaking of Italian restaurants, we had amazing past in a very no fuss restaurant called La Francescana near our hotel in Prati. This was honestly my favorite meal from this city.
Finally, few more pictures from this day: an assortment of really cute super tiny cars, and the Castel Sant'Angelo located near our hotel.
The next day was devoted to visiting the Vatican City (which is also located close to Prati). The challenge of being a first time visitor is that you don't really know how things work, and what needs pre-booking tickets well ahead of time. Without tickets, we first headed to St. Peter's Basilica. The line here was not all that bad, especially the section named "by foot". See, the way the visit works is that you first go to the roof from where you get a great view of the city and can also access the balcony located right below the basilica's dome, which was designed by Michelangelo. There is an elevator going up, or you can go by foot. Most people were opting for the former. But, and perhaps they did not know this, actually reaching the top observation deck is possible only on foot, by ascending through a really narrow winding staircase. You eventually find yourself back at the ground floor inside the spectacular church (which I learned is not a cathedral, since it does not seat a bishop). Saint Peter, one of Jesus' 12 apostles, is supposedly buried here. Many catholic popes are also buried here as you get to see by passing through the crypt.
The other major tourist destination in the Vatican is the Vatican Museum. Despite the museum itself located within the walls of the Vatican City, the entrance is actually outside the wall. Turning a corner, we found ourselves at the end of a massive line stretching for some two city blocks. This would perhaps not be an issue if the line was moving, but whatever movement there was at a snail's pace. We noticed various hawkers offering museum tickets. I didn't really want to engage with them, but Sandra eventually gave up on the line and went to talk to one of them. Few minutes later, we found ourselves being a part of a group that got whiskered to the entrance, and we were inside. Apparently that's how the system works here. You can prebook tickets ahead of time but they get bought out quickly by these essentially scalpers, who then make money by reselling them to the tourists. Without the ticket, to the back of the line you go. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if things are more straightforward outside the peak tourist season. The crowds were not limited to the outside, as inside the museum was also jam-packed.
The museum is really spectacular. I would say it is similar to the Louvre in Paris in the range of collected artifacts. It is in fact the second most visited museum in the world, after the Louvre. Here you will find various Etruscan and Cartagean vases, Egyptian mummies, and various Greek and Roman statues. Here you will also find the original Book of the Dead, sarcophagi adorned with hieroglyphics, and tablets written in cuneiform, which is the earliest known writing system. It was invented in Mesopotamia, which is basically where the human civilization had its origins, around the year 3000 BC. Cuneiform began as a pictorial language but eventually morphed into the system of triangles and lines, shown below. This version is from around 2000 BC. Other highlights include the lavishly decorated Borgia Apartments used by the 14th century Pope Alexander VI, the Raphael Rooms painted by the famous Italian artist Raphael, as well as the Octagonal Courtyard adorned with various statues. There is also the large Vatican Garden, but we did not make it there. Another really neat part is the Vatican Gallery of Maps, or the Map Room. It was commissioned in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII. Various maps of Italy adorn its walls but the highlight is the spectacular ceiling.
But probably what most tourists want to see the most is the Sistine Chapel, with its famous Creation of Man (or Adam) fresco by Michelangelo. So, I got to say that I found this particular painting a bit underwhelming, given its popularity. I have seen its reproduction in many places, including a restaurant in Paris and a store in Buenos Aires, where it is typically the size of an entire wall. In reality, it is really tiny. The paining is really just one out of many panels highlighting various stories from the Book of Genesis, kind of a like a Renaissance-era comic book. Also frankly I wish we had more time here to observe, but crowd control required everyone to rush through without much opportunity to wonder around. Photography was also prohibited but I did manage to sneak a candid picture on the GoPro.
The final stop of the visit was the The Carriage Museum of the Vatican, where one can see the evolution of the popemobiles.
For some reason I don't have too many pictures from this day, so it's possible we took it kind of easy. However, we did go inside the Castel Sant'Angelo. This place began as the burial site of the 2nd century Roman emperor Hadrian. Starting in the 14th century, it was converted to a papal fortress. Here we also met up with my master's degree advisor (and fellow faculty at USC and also my new book co-author) Prof. Joe Wang. He has been staying in Rome with family for several months on his sabbatical. They took us to an excellent Chinese restaurants where we had various traditional dishes that I was not familiar with. We ended up walking back to the hotel.
We spent this day visiting the massive Villa Borghese park located on the northern end of the city. I really enjoyed this visit. The highlight by far was renting a paddle boat and drifting around the lake. A lady playing the harp added to the magical ambiance. The park contains various statues and the souther end offers a sweeping view of the city.
After the park we visited the DaVinci Museum located off Piazza del Popolo. This museum had recreations of various Leonardo DaVinci inventions, and also had (replicas?) of his notebooks. It was quite informative and also offered the opportunity to cool off. These images don't capture this, but was really hot during our visit. We then headed back to the hotel to take a siesta. That evening, I ended up finding tickets for some performance at Baths of Caracalla. This site used to house the second larger public baths. This seemed like a nice backdrop for a performance. However, the show was not quite what we had in mind! I thought it may be some opera or classical music concert, but it was more of a lecture on the life of the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Given it was in Italian, we did not get much out of it.
And the time has come for our final day in Rome - or better said in Italy. But this ended up being the most fun day of all! Sandra found and booked a tour organized by City Wonders called Tuscany Day Trip with Lunch & Wine Tasting. This trip vastly exceeded my expectations! I have been on several excursion trips before, but this one was was definitely the best value of them all. Apparantly this City Wonders company runs a massive operation since in the morning of our departure, Piazza del Popolo, the staging grounds, was packed with hundreds of tourists. They were sorted into different queues depending on the trip they were doing (some people were heading to the Amalfi coast, for instance), and were then led by individual tour guides to the buses located just outside what used to be the northern gate of the Aurelian Walls. We were then off to tour Tuscany. Our first stop was the historical hilltop town of Montepulciano. The origins of this town date to the 3rd or 4th century B.C., and it is believed that it was founded by the Etruscan King Lars Porsena of Clusium. We were given around 90 minutes to wonder around, to visit various churches, and to sample cheeses and gelatos offered by the expected shops. Being on a hilltop, this town also offers a great vantage point for enjoying the Tuscan country side.
The next stop was San Biagio Church. Here we had about 30 minutes to visit the church and walk around. Reviewing the itinerary that is posted online, it seems this trip was also supposed to include a stop at Pienza, but I don't remember this happening (this is why it's not good to wait over a year to write these reports as I forget the details). I vaguely remember the bus running late due to a bad traffic jam getting out of Rome so this was probably skipped for time management reasons.
But by far, the best part of this trip was a visit to a winery called Fattoria Pulcino. It's really interesting reading the TripAdvisor reviews of this tour in which many people state that this visit was their least favorite part of the trip, while I absolutely loved it. From wine tasting in the USA, I am used to showing up at a winery, and proceeding to a building containing a bar, where the host will offer you small pours of around 6 different varietals. That's it. If any information is offered, it is usually more on the food pairing side. Not here! First, this place is run by two Italian sisters, and they first take you on a tour of their property including the massive cellar. This was really fun and informative. You are then taken to a massive restaurant, with seating for several hundred people. Here the drinking begins. We went through at least 6 different wines, but unlike in the US, these were full-glass pours. In between the drinking, we were served tasty, although homely pasta lunch, along with some appetizers I don't remember anymore and probably some desert. This visit made me feel like I was at one of those large Italian family gatherings that one sees on film, and weren't for this tour, I would never be able to partake in otherwise. This experience by itself made this whole excursion worth it, since I can't even imagine how, as individual travelers, we could have had this authentic dining experience.
Well, and that's it. The next day it was time to pack up and head to the airport for our flight back. My cat was quite confused to see me again after nearly 6 weeks away! Hoping you enjoyed reading this whole narrative (which started here), and if so, please email me and also take a look at the other trip reports.
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