Nanda & Nathan The Travellers: Rome, Italy (Day 1)

October 10, 2014 ---- Italy is a dream destination for many people, but not everyone has the chance to visit it. Nathan and I are so lucky to have relocated in Europe this year, so we can explore this part of the globe more. Rome is my first choice of all the cities in Italy. Nathan went there over ten years ago with his aunt and uncle, and his talking about it always made me want to visit the eternal city.

I found a cheap flight to Rome, so I grabbed the opportunity and booked the flight right away. We landed at Fiumicio or Leonardo da Vinci Airport at night and took an airport shuttle bus to Termini Station where our hostel is located. There are many bus companies leaving the airport regularly, and the one-way ticket generally costs €4-5.

We stayed at When in Rome Accommodation and were very pleased with the clean, spacious room with balcony and the friendly staff. The location of the hostel is a plus: right in the middle of the city and close to the subway. We also bought the Roma Pass (€36 each) for all transportation with the first 2 sites free and a 20-50% discount on other sites afterward. It's a good deal and very convenient to go around the city.

On the first day I made a point to visit the Vatican first. The line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was extremely long, but it moved pretty quickly. The interior was stunning. Nathan pointed out many interesting pieces of arts in the Basilica and I took lots of photos. Then we climbed many flights of stairs up to the dome and got a stunning view of the Vatican. The ticket to go up to the dome was €5 if you take stairs and €7 if you take an elevator. However, the elevator actually goes only about half-way, and you then have to walk up the stair steps. The view of the Vatican is breath-taking. It was worth the effort to climb up there.

Then we had lunch and went to Castel Sant'Angelo and explored all the exhibits inside. If I remember correctly, it used to be a place where the pope lived, a fort, and a palace. We used our Roma Pass here as our first free site. I didn't want to use my pass here because I had planned to use it at a more expensive museum and the long-waiting-line Colosseum, but the ticket officer said I wouldn't get a discount till after I already visited two free sites. Oh well... From Castel Sant'Angelo we saw Passetto di Borgo, which connects to the Vatican.

After that we walked through the city center of Rome, passing many piazzas and churches. Navona Square, Church of St. Louis of the French, and Basilica of Sant'Agostino are all places worth visiting. We stopped at Giolitti Ice Cream, Rome's oldest ice-cream shop, and had a small cup of gelato, and it was so good that I wanted to go back and have another one. Then we walked through Via dei Condotti, the famous shopping street, to go to Spanish Steps. There were a lot of people sitting on the steps and enjoying the view of the beautiful city. We didn't hang out too long there and took the metro to People's Square and visit Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo.

In the evening we had pizza for dinner and went to The Vatican Museums. It's open at night only on Friday (Mar.-Oct.), so Nathan and I took advantage of this and visited other sites during the daytime. The Sistine Chapel is mind-blowing. I had downloaded Rick Steves's free audio guides on my cell phone before going to Rome, so we had a lot of fun listening to Rick and looking at Michelangelo's gorgeous paintings on the ceiling. The first day went really well, but my feet were really sore after all the walking. Some people recommended that we should bring more than one pair of shoes, but I think I needed another pair of feet!