Rome Wasn’t Build in a Day but, That is All We Had

On Sunday, we had tried to catch a train to Venice. It would have meant a long train ride and only a few hours in the city but, we figured it was worth it. When we arrived at the train station, the only train that would have given us any time in Venice was sold out so, we had to make another choice. I really wanted to dip my toes in the ocean but it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. We tried to find a train that went to the coast but the earliest one didn’t leave for over an hour and we didn’t want to hang around the train station for that long. So, long story short, a train to Rome was leaving in about ten minutes and we hopped on board. Thinking it was only a two hour train ride, we could easily enjoy Rome and come back in time for dinner, perfect.

This is where we learn that there are two rail systems in Italy: Eurostar Italy and well the other one, which isn’t so fun. What was supposed to be a two hour trip to Rome ended up at three and a half hours though we did get to see some wonderful countryside and every small hamlet between here and the end of creation. As we passed the second Cortona train station we realized that we should have listened to Britta and gone there. But no, we were going to Rome and in another two hours, we would be there.

The train station in Rome is the biggest and oddest one we have been to. The whole thing is a shopping mall and felt more like a strange combination of Cherry Creek and an Airport. The station is fairly centrally located so that was nice and after buying a map we were off to see the sights. On our way we stopped in for some great Chinese food (you know when in Rome, oh wait I guess that doesn’t really apply here does it).

The Coliseum, The Forum and most of the ancient ruins are close together which was nice. We didn’t get to go into the Coliseum, mostly due to the fact that the line to get in was really long, so we could only see the outside. However, the Forum was free to get into and packed wall to freaking wall with tourists. There were probably more tourists in the area than the original Roman population. There were so many tourists that we just kind of walked through and around the top of the hill that led us to the tomb of the unknown soldier and the main art museum.

From there we made the trip down the hill to the Vatican. I had mixed feelings about heading into Vatican City. Of all the things we saw in Rome, the Vatican was the one that lived up to it’s reputation. As it was Sunday, most of the museums and such were closed and all we really got to see was St. Peter’s but it was enough. From there we headed back to across the river and caught a bus back to the train station.

We didn’t get to see much and what we did see kind of went by in a blur but overall it was a good day in Rome. We definitely want to return and get a chance to fully explore the city. I know that it is a huge city and we only got to see a very small part but it was nice. We wished we had more time or would have come on a Saturday when more of the Vatican was open to the public so we could explore at least one area in depth but alas, it wasn’t possible.

Ciao,

Shaych