Days 0-1 Traveling to Rome |
I went to stay in Chicago with my sister and her family the day before I left from O’Hare Int’l Airport. I felt very nervous and she helped distract me. The day of my flight I had a relaxing morning followed by brunch then heading to the airport.
Once my first flight landed in Toronto and I made my way to my new gate, I became very excited as I waited for my flight to Rome. The line to board was very crowded and I was chatting with a few people who were also traveling to Italy. This one lady kept making jokes about how lucky the rich people in first class must be . . . only to find out one of the women she was talking to quietly went in the first class line once called. We had a laugh about it and my nerves calmed a bit. |
I arrived in Rome at 10:30 am and unfortunately, due to turbulence, they did not serve coffee on the plane. Once I deplaned I had to find the train to the center of Rome. I was tired, hungry, and desperately in need of coffee, but I was too nervous to order some. I was afraid I wouldn't know how!
I found the train and a short while later, I entered Rome. From the station I had an easy walk to the hotel. I arrived just in time . . . right before our orientation was to start (30 minutes- yikes). I’d highly recommend getting there a day or two before the planned tour to have time to adjust to jet lag. Many of my fellow travelers had been in Rome for up to a week before the start of the tour. They seemed well adjusted and had opportunities to explore Rome on their own. I met my roommate for the week and I immediately knew we’d get along! After we had group introductions and squared away all of our tour details we were off to have a walking tour of Rome. We walked by the Spanish steps and the Pantheon . . . I was simply in awe! We were given instructions on how to get on and off the metro and practiced how. Which was good, because the metro was crowded and chaotic. I suddenly got a migraine from lack of caffeine and not eating much. Once we got to dinner at Taverna Capranica it became a very painful migraine and I was unable to eat the delicious food . . . much to the disappointment of my waiter. The pasta looked so amazing and I could smell it, but it just made me feel more sick. The waiter was so troubled that I wasn’t eating the food. (Later, I found out that it is very disrespectful to not eat what is in front of you.) When I asked for bread he said, “just bread? Don’t you want chicken with it?” Finally I admitted to my fellow table mates, whom I had just met, that I had a bad migraine. I was quickly given ibuprofen and then decided to have some espresso. Boy was that magical espresso because after two cups my migraine was gone! Thankfully, I was able to enjoy our after dinner walk around the Trevi Fountain and, of course, I made a wish! I was thankful for a nice and comfortable bed that night for sure! |
Day 2- The Vatican Museums
We left for the Vatican at 7:45am sharp. We took the metro and I was glad we had practiced it the night before. The doors opened and every car was jam packed, but we were told to get in. I have never been so physically close to strangers in my life, we were packed in like sardines. I was thankful for the whispers because even though I was separated from most of my group on the metro, I was able to hear Anna and listen for when we were to get off. I felt overwhelmed, but listening to her directions and funny jokes calmed me. We took a bus for the last leg of the trip to the Vatican. I remember driving by lines of people wrapped around the building while we were dropped off at the short group lines. It made me thankful I was with a group! Once the gates opened, we quickly entered security and met our tour guide, Ilaria. She took us through all of the museums, hallways, and seemingly endless statues. The amazing sites were breathtaking. She made sure we, “conquered our space,” as we walked through the crowds! Our group continued to use that phrase throughout our trip. To be honest, I’m not even sure I remember everything I saw. Everywhere I looked there was beauty . . . even the terracotta planters were decorated with flowers. What stood out the most to me was when Ilaria spoke to us about the sculptures. She told us they wouldn’t have originally been white, but colorful and painted. We looked closer and saw remnants of paint in the groves of the hair or near the eye where it may have escaped being washed off after centuries of exposure. Toward the end of our tour we were guided into the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo famously painted the ceiling. Ilaria told us that the modern entrance to the chapel is where the exit would have been originally. She told us to go to the other end of the room first before we look up. From there the images are much larger and toward the end of the room, the images are smaller. I was painted in perspective! You can’t see that in an art book. We had about 30 minutes to look around the room and were shuffled to the center and told, “no talking, and no pictures.” I was standing next to a couple and overheard the guy tearing up because after studying it for so long in books and prints . . . he finally saw it in person. That made me appreciate how special it was to see this amazing piece of art. A short time later it was time to leave but before we did, one of my fellow travelers let me use her theater glasses. When I saw the painting up close, I was taken aback by the level of gorgeous detail. The rest of the day was ours to explore St. Peter’s Basilica and the rest of Rome. I stayed with the other two solo travelers as we listened to Rick Steves’ audio guide through the Basilica. I loved all the historical information I was learning about Rome. We went to visit inside the Pantheon which was truly a remarkable site. Afterward, we wandered the city looking at many of the churches. Every church was just as exciting and beautiful as the next. I don’t remember all of them, but you really can’t go wrong wandering the city and just going to any church you see. Later, it was just my roommate, Ashley, and myself roaming around the city. Ashley had seen a church she wanted to visit. We stopped at the entry and saw people putting their hand in a stone mouth. I thought it was really weird and talked about bypassing it and heading inside. The man standing by the money box asked me if I was going to take a picture. I said we weren’t and he said, “Are you crazy? People wait 30 minutes and you've had no wait!” Ashley and I had no idea what we were doing, but we decided to put our hand in the mouth and take our picture. Later, we were asking ourselves why we did it and hoped we didn’t get sick from germs from all the people putting their hands inside. I googled the stone mouth and found out we had stumbled upon the Mouth of Truth which is a large marble mask said to bite the hand of those who have lied. Thankfully Ashley and I are both very truthful people. We laughed about it for a while, and didn’t get sick! We continued wandering and walked up this very steep hill. Unsure where it would lead, we got to the top and saw a group of people standing by this stone wall looking over the city. I stood there for a minute and realized we were looking down upon ancient Rome! Right before our eyes was the forum and we could see the Colosseum. What was even more amazing was that it was the golden hour. We couldn’t have planned a better moment to arrive. It struck me that the best moments are not always planned. The spontaneous can be even more surprising and wonderful than expected. Later, I found out we were at the Capitoline Hill. It was simply magical. |
Day 3- Ancient Rome and Volterra
On our final day in Rome, we left very early in the morning and met with Ilaria to tour the Colosseum and the Forum. She was astonished by how “empty” it was, especially when we arrived on the floor of the Colosseum. She said it is usually jam packed, but we were lucky to have almost the whole area to ourselves. As I stood on the floor of the Colosseum and I was filled with many emotions. Not only were people and animals brutally killed here for entertainment, but it also took the lives of 40,000 enslaved people just to build the Colosseum. I appreciated Ilaria’s perspective and her stories. I was thankful to be learning so much history during our tour.
While we walked around the Forum, Ilaria was poetically talking to us about how old this space was and how the Apostle Peter was killed over in that spot. She reminded us how history teaches us to appreciate our days. It was such a powerful and important reminder. We were sent off to have lunch before our bus trip to Volterra. We three solo travelers took off again to find a place to eat. We found the Coming Out Bar and I had some amazing pizza. We sat outside and I could see the Colosseum as I ate. A helpful tip we were told was to find places to eat that did not show pictures of the food on the windows, which the Coming Out Bar didn’t have. We finished our lunch with a tasty gelato because…when in Rome! The bus was ready for us after lunch and we were on our way to Tuscany! In Italy bus drivers are allowed a certain amount of driving time before having to rest. I began to have a feeling breaks are important in Italy. We had the pleasure of visiting our first Italian rest stop. It was miles above the nicest rest stop in the states. As I entered, fresh juice and espresso were being made and the aroma of fresh pastries enticed me to buy one. I had my espresso and talked with my fellow travelers. It was a relaxing and refreshing travel experience. We entered Volterra as the sun was setting. It was a gorgeous view of rolling hills. Upon arriving in Volterra we saw about 20 locals watching to see who was coming into their town. We took our luggage and walked down cobblestone roads to our hotel. That night we ate at a local mother/daughter owned restaurant called La Carabaccia. It was a beautiful night of wine, salads, pasta, a main entree, and a fabulous dessert of panna cotta. I got to know my fellow travelers much better since I wasn’t sick that time thankfully! I started to learn where everyone was from and why they were traveling on the tour. I was also happily surprised when my fellow travelers were aghast to find out I was 40 when they thought I was in my late 20’s. What a confidence booster! After dinner, several of us took a walk around town to enjoy the cool, fresh air of the country. |