Rome feels like a city stuck in time. It feels like no matter where you walk in the city, you’re always going to bump into something that was built like 2000 years ago. Yep, that’s pretty amazing.
We took an overnight train from Verona to Rome and got to Rome super early at 6am. We were so ambitious that after our “Italian” style breakfast of croissants and a cappuccino we went and saw all the big attractions before most people woke up. Coliseum, check. Spanish Steps, check. Roman Forums, check. Pantheon, Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, check, check, check.
Ok it definitley took a while, and there was a lot of walking involved since the subway in Rome is even worse then the one in Toronto (who knew that was possible). It was fun though especially since it gave us the rest of our trip to explore the non-touristy parts of Rome. Plus, the lines were a lot shorter in the morning! By the time it was around 4pm though, we were dreaming of our nice comfortable bed back at the hostel.
Here’s some pics!
Unfortunately the Trevi fountain was closed and under construction which was pretty disappointed since I was looking forward to seeing it in movies like When in Rome and To Rome With Love (ok i admit when I’m not travelling I like to binge watch travel related movies).
But despite that one setback, here are some of my favourites from Rome:
The Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
In the ancient ruins of what used to be one of the oldest Roman temples (from 400-300 BCE) and where Caesar was murdered, the city has turned it into a shelter for cats. There are supposedly 250 cats living there, but I didn’t see that many. One of the fun parts about the sanctuary though was trying to spot all the cats since they blend in quite well with the surroundings.
As a big cat lover, I especially liked the small room at the bottom of the stairs where you can play with the cats since you’re not allowed to walk into the sanctuary itself. They also have a gift shop to buy cat related souvenirs, which doubles as a fun way of donating to the sanctuary since it’s all run by volunteers.
Pincian Hill
For a nice view of Rome in a horribly romantic spot, it doesn’t get more romantic than Pincian Hill, where the garden itself is heart-shaped. How cool is that?!
It’s not as popular as some of the other hills (it’s not part of the Seven Roman Hills), but the view is just as nice. It was originally commissioned by Napoleon and created by the architect Giuseppe Valadier in 1816. The view of the Piazza del Popolo is perfect!
Rome style pizza
Since this is Italy after all, no post is complete without talking about food. I never knew that pizza styles are different all over Italy, and I have to say, I love the Roman style pizza more than the ever so popular Naples style.
We accidentally stumbled across a shop as we were exploring the city and the pizzas in the display window were too irresistible to pass on. Unfortunately we also discovered that Rome style pizza (and particularly that one place we went to) was pretty expensive since the cost of our pizza is per gram…and pizza is pretty heavy. Despite the cost however, it was definitley one of the best pizzas I’ve had!
What are some of your favourite things about the Eternal City?