There are so many breathtaking churches in Rome that you sit back and revel at the beautiful things the human mind and hands can create. But by far, this church was my favorite. This church was built in the 1600s and was used by the Jesuits.
Roma
After a taxing flight across the Atlantic Ocean, I arrived into Fuimicino Airport in Rome around 6 AM. I was thrilled to finally be in Europe and explore every nook and cranny I could in 3 months. My cousin Salony was visiting Malaga, Spain for the next couple months and we decided to meet in Rome so we could roam the city together.
I had to wait a couple hours before checking into our Airbnb so I hunkered down into a corner spot in an airport cafe, ordered a latte and some biscotti and filled the hours with a beloved pastime, people watching. The Italian cafes, I soon found, were structured differently than our standard Starbucks. For one, there was standing room across the counter where the barista stood, for people to savor their espresso shot before beginning their mornings. After a couple hours of drinking coffee and munching on snacks, I boarded the local metro and began making my way to our Airbnb. Salony was arriving later in that evening, so I decided to catch up on my sleep and take a refreshing shower while waiting for her.
Our Airbnb was in a fantastic location, about a 15 minute walk to Vatican City. It was in a charming Italian neighborhood, surrounded by rustic cafes and restaurants. Many of the nearby apartments had beautiful flowers overflowing atop windowsills. It was absolutely picturesque. This stuff wasn't made to look vintage as many hotspots in America are, these were the real deal. Some of these buildings were hundreds of years old, with soul and rich history embedded within the walls and creaky wooden tables.
I got some shuteye and got ready while Salony made her way over. After welcoming her, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Confident we'd stumble across a fantastic hole-in-the-wall pizzeria, we started to walk the lightly lighted streets of Rome. Within a block, we got our wish. We had simple dishes, but the fresh Italian ingredients make every bite delectable, which pretty much sums up all of my eating experiences in Italy.
As Salony arrived in Malaga only a few days before and it was my first night in Europe, we overslept a tad and ended up getting up at 2 PM the next day. Realizing that we probably couldn't get sightseeing done that day, we wandered over towards the Vatican to check out the scene and plan out the next couple days.
TRAVEL TIPS: ROME
DAY 1: BELLA ROMA
Not really a square per se, but after standing in the middle of St Peters Square and turning around in wonderment, you start to appreciate art in a completely new way.
This place was spilling in unbelievable sculptures, engravings and timeless architecture.
DAY 2: LAY OF THE LAND
As Salony arrived in Malaga only a few days before and it was my first night in Europe, we overslept and ended up getting up at 2 PM the next day. Realizing that we probably couldn't get sightseeing done that day, we wandered over towards the Vatican to check out the scene and plan out the next couple days. There were throngs of people of every nationality scattered across St. Peter's Square. It was at that moment I realized I was in Rome: the city that boasted one of the most formidable empires the world has ever seen.
We spent the rest of the day eating gelato, of course, and exploring the many shops surrounding the Vatican. We only had another 2 days together so we planned to utilize every moment of the rest of the weekend.
DAY 3: VATICAN CITY
We woke up the following morning determined to finally see some sites. Our first stop: Vatican City.
It's hard to just walk into Vatican City and figure out what you're looking at. The city is steeped in historical significance and we knew our best bet would be to go by tour. So we did what any two scrambled females would do: found a sweet-talking scalper on the street and took him up on his offer (don't judge, we didn't plan in advance and all the tours online were booked solid). After purchasing our ticket, we followed our mystery man to the entrance of the Vatican Museum, which is one of the principle ways to get into Vatican City. The place was packed. Once we entered, we met our tour guide, Evie, an entertaining and superbly sassy Sicilian . Once our entire group congregated, she explained the mechanics of the tour and handed out our headphones. Since there are hundreds of tours running through the Vatican each day, many of the tours are operated through microphones and headphones. Unfortunately, these were of terrible quality and I tried to stay at the front of the tour so I could hear her real voice instead of an intermittent barrage of comments from my headphones. It was still very loud and crowded in the Vatican so I only caught bits and pieces. But even without the descriptions to go along with it, it was an extremely impressive place.
Wish I could find these two gentlemen and send them these shots.
This was more impressive to me than Sistine chapel. Crafted to look 3 dimensional, this ceiling is actually completely flat. I spent minutes on end trying to locate an actual raised surface and I came up short.
One of the spectacular ceilings in the Vatican Museum.
Wanting to cover a bit more ground that day, we grabbed dinner near the Palace of Justice and went to the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna) to catch the sunset over the sprawling city of Rome. It was a fantastic end to our day.
DAY 4-6: ALL THE REST OF 'EM
Sunday was our last day together and Salony was leaving on a flight later that evening. We barely covered much ground in the past couple days so we decided to hit it hard that day (or as hard as our still jet-lagged bottoms could manage). We purchased a hop-on hop-off bus pass and were eager to get a feel of some of the other sites in Rome. I had another 2 days in Rome after she left so we quickly covered whatever she wanted.
That of course included the Colosseum. Unfortunately we didn't have time to actually go inside the Colosseum, but that didn't stop us from getting a solid feel of the ambiance. Allow me to conjure up a vision for you. Thousands of tourists were smarming around the area, snapping selfies, waiting in a (massive) line to get inside and clusters of guided tours circling the whole parameter. For every 10 tourists there were the usual obnoxious proprietor trying to sell you a Colosseum keychain, selfie stick or some other useless trinket, hopelessly badgering every person within a 5 ft radius. Finally to top it all off, there were 50 or so men dressed as gladiators, charming the tourists into some other money trap. Though the site was beautiful, the hustle of it all was way too much for me.
After exploring the grounds a bit, we realized we were already running short on time. We decided to take a longer route back to our Airbnb so we could sit on the bus and look at the sites at a distance while listening to their commentary. They gave a decent amount of information and it gave me time to figure out what I wanted to see in the next 2 days. We got to our stop about an hour later and rushed to pack our belongings. Soon after, Salony left for the airport and I left for my Airbnb, which was on a different side of town. Even though we didn't see as much as we wanted, it was so much fun being with Salony and it was an amazing welcome to Europe!
The next couple days were spent trying to cover as much of Rome as I could. I went to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain (which was under construction), Church of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia and a couple other spectacular sites I stumbled upon. I also bought a whole new European wardrobe. My South American hiking gear wasn't going to cut it in the brisk spring European weather and I needed to upgrade my t-shirts for some sweaters.
I'm pretty sure palm trees are NOT native to Rome. Pretty building though.
This is just a random door but I was taken aback by the architecture of this place. They don't make 'em like this at home.
The Spanish Steps overlook Piazza di Spagna. This place was packed with tourists. There were also tons of shops and restaurants in the vicinity.
After 5 jet-lagged and semi-action packed days, I was ready to head off to Tuscany and Florence for the next few days. Overall, I enjoyed Rome. Though it is packed with many historical treasures it can be a bit overwhelming at times. I was excited to start exploring other parts of Italy.