Raluca Teodorescu

It all started with me coming earlier from work, for not feeling well. My boyfriend’s first reaction was “Why are you home so early?”. Now, you don’t want to see me upset… I look like a child whose candy just got stolen, and I do the ‘puppy eyes’! Who can resist the ‘puppy face’? No one! The next thing I heard was ‘Oh!! you’re ruining the surprise!!!’ and he told me, that he was actually looking for tickets to go to Rome. My heart just melted 🙂 I was so happy and anxious to go.

After a two hour flight, there we were, Ciampino airport. From there we took the bus to the train station, and after, the train to Rome Termini.One tiny detail, we bought in advance some tickets called Rome Pass, that allowed us to use any kind of transport in Rome. We got off at Vittorio Emanuele station, and from there walked like two minutes to our accommodation, a place called Dandi Domus. No need to say that the check in part lasted like 10 minutes, and another 10 to throw our stuff in and get changed.

When in Rome, what to do?

Our first visit was to Galleria Borghese. To get there we took the train from Vt Emanuele to a station named Spagna. There we stopped at a restaurant to eat our first Italian pizza. I don’t know if it’s because I was to hungry, but that pizza seemed so good, even though it didn’t looked like much.

The road to the Gallery took my mind back to the times of Roman’s Empire, I would really like to describe my emotions in words, but trust me, you need to be there to feel it.

As for The Borghese Gallery, it is all so impressive and breathtaking, we ended up staring at the paintings and sculptures, thinking that Rome really has a history to tell.

Our first night ended in Trastevere, a part of Rome known for its lively life night, and were I ate the best burrito ever. In case you wonder why I have no food pictures from Rome, is because I was always so hungry from all that walking around, that I didn’t even thought of taking pictures anymore, I just wanted to eat.

Day two started early morning, our target being the Colosseum.If you want to avoid massive queues, you’ll have to get up early. Not a fan of it, as I love my sleep, but you do what you have to do. To get there we just walked, it wasn’t that far from where we stayed, maybe like 25 minutes?! By the time we got there, people were already queuing, waiting to go in. Another best thing in having a Rome Pass is that you get free entry to the first 2 visited museums and / or archaeological sites of your choice, so we used it here, and that got us in quicker.

You can see from the pictures above part of the Arena and the hypogeum, where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. The thought of gladiators being there, and thinking what they had to endure, just gave me shivers.

Lunch time got us walking around the area and enjoying the beauty of the so called ‘Eternal City’.

Breathtaking Rome 

The third day we decided to visit Vatican City, and as you all know that it’s an independent state, Rome Pass won’t apply here.  Within Vatican City are cultural sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. If you ever decide to visit the Vatican, leave at early hours. The opening time is at 9 a.m. , but people queue there from 7 a.m. and believe me it is a long, long line. Or for those who want to skip the queue, you can reserve in advance the admission ticket, or you can go with guided tours. Never ever go with the guys who lurk outside the Vatican Museums, trying to give you ‘better deals’. The only ticket we paid for was for the Vatican Museums, as for St. Peter’s Basilica or the Sistine Chapel, you don’t have to pay a penny

Girls, a note if you want to visit St Peter’s Basilica, wear something to cover your shoulders and knees. If it’s to hot outside just put a long scarf with you, and make sure it is long enough to cover you up, otherwise you’ll end up waiting outside for your friends. If you want to have a better view of St. Peter’s Square, you can either pay 5 euros for the entrance, and climb 551 steps , or pay a fee of 7 euros, take the elevator and climb 320 steps. We took the last deal, cause we’re to lazy to walk that much, and when it’s 30 degrees outside, you really don’t want to give your last breath by climbing up some steps.

Rome is such an amazing city, filled with history and culture, a city that still has the fingerprints of an ancient civilization, and a city that you’ll instantly fell in love with. Hope you enjoyed it!

Photos taken by Todea Andrei