Welcome to Italy!

 

We had a late morning start our first day in Rome. The objective was to learn the neighborhood we would be staying in for the week and figure out the metro. We went on a mission to grocery shop and find lunch. Afterwards we headed to the metro on Baldo degli Ubaldi to find the stop for the Trevi Fountain. The cool thing about our location was that all the “famous sites” were a few stops apart on the Orange line. The Trevi Fountain was at stop Barberini...the Vatican/Sistine Chapel was at stop Ottaviano S.Pietro and Spanish Steps were at Spagna. In order to get to the Colosseum you had to go to the Termini Station and hop onto the blue line and get off at Colosseo. Most of the landmarks are labeled on the map in the station at the stop.

 

Once we exited the metro station at our destination- we instantly got caught up in the crowd and started wandering around. It is a tourist trap at every corner- there were a ton of restaurants to choose from based on your preference- even McDonalds, Burger King and Subway made its way over to Rome. There was also a lot of gelato- every corner had a shop (all the prices were pretty much the same). We stumbled upon a spot that had Gluten Free options for my sister and it became our main location the entire visit (called The Gelatist). On the same street was a money exchange (non-commission) that were transferred over some currency (avoid the airport at all cost)- the commission there is 30% roughly- something ridiculous. 

 

On the same corner was a street vender selling “Italian” belts for 2Euros in an assortment of colors as well as glass blown pieces and wine stoppers. Most of the venders had the same belts for 5euros- he also custom fit the belt and cut it down on the spot to fit. We had lunch at a restaurant on the same corner (name escapes me)- it was not the best spot. The sandwiches in general were something left to be desired. At any rate, the day was spent exploring and making our way to the Trevi Fountain.

 

The Trevi Fountain was actually located not to far from the Metro stop we initially got off at prior to wandering around. There was a crowd of people there- it was a pick pocketing dream. Everyone squeezed close together trying to get the perfect shot or make their way down to the fountain to capture pictures in front of it. The site was something to behold- I read earlier that the site sees thousands of visitors daily and easily makes $3,000 a day from people tossing in coins and making wishes. We were able to get a few shots in before the pushing and shoving became a bit much. Mission accomplished for the day!

 

After spending 10 hours the day before out and about on very little sleep- we began the next day a little later. We set out to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum. Since we figured out the rail system the day before it made it so much easier to get around. The system is pretty simple and most of the tourist spots are easily marked on the metro map. We jumped on the metro and headed on our quest to see this glorious site. I read prior to the trip that the best time to visit was mid afternoon around 3PM. The lines would be shorter and possibly less people to worry about while viewing and taking pictures. Upon arrival we noticed there was a food spot inside the metro station prior to exiting and there were a ton of people just hanging out creating traffic. When you leave the station you are immediately approached by the tour guides trying to sell you "Skip the line" tickets. There is a sea of them as you try to make your way to the standard line. Personally, the more aggressive they were the more I would jokingly comment back about my love of "standing in line for hours on end". We quickly learned that they try to get you to buy before you get to the standard line because sometimes there will be no line at all. When we got to the location there was a very short line. We probably waited a total of 20 mins maximum, and you will have to go through a metal detector and have your things inspected. I strongly suggest you check out their website for the list of restricted items to avoid having things disposed or taken away. The entrance fee was 12 or 15 euros and it included the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (which are near the exit point when departing the Colosseum). I suggest you set aside about 2-3 hours to see everything especially if you are someone that really likes to take your time and see every nook and cranny. You can pay to go on a formal tour (I think it's included as part of skip the line) and it will list what you will see and the amount of time to set aside for the tour. I have included a separate gallery below that highlights video and photos from our visit: (All Video Credit Dan Adkins)

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