ROME

IN JUNE, Bruno and I took a long weekend to Rome, Italy, where my heart exploded about thirty times a day. How can I even... describe..???

But I will try.

Rome, in the opinion of a small-town New York-native girl like me, is just below walking on the moon in terms of head-blown-ness (that's a thing, I swear). I have said this every time I've described it to people (so apologies to all of my friends and family): If a dinosaur had walked by while Bruno and I were standing in the middle of the street looking at the Colosseum, I would not have been any more in awe than I already was.

I spent the 2 hour flight from Amsterdam to Fiumicino Airport reading the Lonely Planet guide for Rome and preparing my mind for the craziness. Bruno had visited before because he's fancy. I had never been to Italy in my life, and after years of learning Italian for all my classical music needs, and attempting to convince an audience that I was Italian in 4-hour long renditions of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, I felt like it was about damn time.

When we started our descent, Bruno whispered to me "Ready to spend three days walking around in one big museum?" and I absolutely was.

I cannot think of a single group of humans who would not find something to enjoy in Rome. You have the night life in Trastevere, the shopping - just about everywhere, sights so famous that even if you've never cracked open a History text you would recognize them (the aforementioned Colosseum. The Pantheon. The Vatican. Spanish Steps. Trevi Fountain. Sistine Chapel. The Roman Forum. Pretty much all of Rome.) Then there is the food. The language. You get to go way back in time and walk around the Roman Forum, where Julius Caesar once walked with his own two sandals. Look around everywhere at the ruins sticking up beside you, even if you are sitting on a bench next to a store - it's trippy, and amazing. 

For some help breaking down what you should see (if you decide you'd like to visit this holy land):

FOR THE HISTORY NERDS:

The Colosseum

There is not a single thing you'd see in Rome that wouldn't tickle some part of your history-loving noggin.

My sneaky shot of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, because... history.

But, here is what I recommend: Spend a full day at and around Vatican City. See the Basilica, gawk at Michelangelo's ridiculousness with Pieta and the Sistine Chapel, wander around and take hundreds of pictures and bask in the 'DaVinci Code' of it all. But, if you are a female, do not forget to cover your shoulders and your legs or they will not let you in. Rules are rules! (I was no exception on a 90 degree day, after trekking about 4 miles to get there.) From there, it is not a long walk to Trevi Fountain, where there are many legends about coin-tossing that you need to abide by (if you can even get close enough, and we had to pretty much elbow our way to the fountain. It was crowded.)

You can also walk to the Spanish Steps nearby, which were sadly closed when we were visiting.

Trevi Fountain - as close as I could get.

The Pantheon is also not a far walk (let me clarify: "not a far walk" meant, at some points, at least 10 km a day, but you can also use a metro and tour buses), and this was one of my favorite places to see in terms of general ease. There was no entrance fee, and lines moved quickly, which was not the case for any of the other attractions. As with most of the historical buildings mentioned so far, the Pantheon is still in use and considered a place of worship, so we were "shushed" and expected to respect the reverence of the building just like the Sistine Chapel. This is something I adored about Rome in general - nothing felt like a tourist trap; it all was a huge part of the culture and moved me nearly to  tears to see with my own eyes. The authenticity of the city was everywhere, from the groups  of nuns walking nearby, to the sounds of church choirs singing in the distance. 

Bruno, wishing for a plaque to tell us what we were seeing...

We spent a separate day exploring the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Our B&B owner, who was Dutch and also spoke English and Italian, was kind enough to give us some helpful tips before we struck out to conquer the city, and instructed us to walk to the side entrance to the Roman Forum, get tickets there to see both the Forum and the Colosseum, and start there (the Forum). So, we did that. Or, we tried to, missed the entrance, and wound up wandering another three miles until we looped back to the Colosseum and started over again, crying over our blistered feet.

When we found the entrance, we  purchased our tickets, were instructed that we could see both the Forum and the Colosseum in one day, or see the Forum and then come back the next day to see the Colosseum, and we decided to be extra ambitious and do both that day. 
...Then, we plopped down on a bench and panted for about 30 minutes.

I will advise that if you decide to see all of the Forum and ruins, you should find a map of what you are seeing ahead of time. Although Rome IS very much like walking around in a museum, there are, sadly, zero plaques explaining what the staircase leading to nowhere is. I frequently wished for more of a description of what I was seeing, and when Bruno and I eventually made it to the Colosseum that day, I was glad we decided to get the audio guide.

And, by the way, there is nothing that makes you feel more teeny and ant-like than hearing what the "games" were like in the Colosseum, and seeing the arena with your own two eyes. I am very glad I was never a gladiator. More on that another day.

FOR THE ROMANTICS:

You already know that Rome is for you - or, I suppose, all of Italy is for you. So enjoy it!

The city streets are lined with flowers, the buildings, even if modernized on the inside, all look like they date back to any era you can think of, and wherever you go there is music playing and (less-romantic) street peddlers trying to sell your boyfriend roses to give you. If you find a secluded corner near Trastevere, you can dance to the nearby guitar playing, and people will leave you in peace rather than glaring at your PDA. The restaurants have outdoor seating (I'm assuming this changes in the colder months), and the wine is flowing, laughter ringing out all around you, and plenty of pasta to carry out your 'Lady and the Tramp' kissing scene.

I have heard many romantic legends about the Trevi Fountain, and the bridges overlooking the night life make for some of the most beautiful moments you can think of - coupled up or on your own. Happy as I was to dance with Bruno in the cobbled streets, I could easily have imagined taking that journey on my own, and I highly recommend you do it no matter what your relationship status.

Trevi Fountain Legends: As I heard them, you must throw one coin into the fountain if you want to return to Rome, two coins in if you want a romance, and three if you want a marriage. I have heard of many people therefore getting engaged at the fountain after tossing three coins in.


FOR THE FOOD LOVERS:

Helloo, my people. You too will adore Rome. Unless you don't like Italian food, in which case... why are you traveling to Italy? 

Weeks before we even started thinking about packing for our trip, Bruno talked about the food. "I can't wait to show you Trastevere. You will love the pizza in Rome; you're going to be so happy." He didn't have to do a lot of convincing. I DO love pizza - It's my favorite food on the planet.

Fooooooooooood.

So here we were in Rome, and while I knew I should tackle the history laid out in this city like the travel nerd I am, really... all I wanted to do was find the food and wine. Luckily, this was something you could find very easily. On day 1, after walking everywhere, we went straight for the gelato next to the epic line into the Vatican Museums, and then promptly stumbled onto the nearest lunch spot - a pizzeria where we were able to get a whole pizza and two drinks for 5 euros. Mmmm. It's hard to mess up pizza, but this was goooooooooood.

We made sure to plan out an evening (or every evening, whatever) in Trastevere, a neighborhood well known for being a foodie centre in Rome, and we had a blast sitting outside in the summery breeze and drinking wine while we ate our perfect pasta.

My favorite night, however, was when we went out looking for one restaurant, and wound up wooed into a totally different one because we heard the singing and laughter floating towards us from within its patio area. We wandered in, were seated family-style at a long wooden table surrounded by candles and flowers, and sung to, by a small group of musicians standing nearby. We drank prosecco, ate more pasta, danced together and floated home on a romantic high wishing every night could be like that one.

On our last day, we visited the market - rows and rows of produce and cheeses and meats - were rained on in torrential downpours and found shelter at a cafe nearby that offered a mozzarella tasting platter. I got this, devoured the different styles of mozzarella, the pesto, the tomatoes, the bread and the ham, and let the rain pour down around me without a care in the world.

Be prepared to fall in love with Rome with every meal. That's what happened to me, and if everything else had been a bust, I would still return in a heartbeat just for that.

In all, I learned a lot from this city: I learned that you can get lost wandering around with one mission, and wind up having a better night than you planned. I learned to embrace the fact that, as far as the history of man is concerned, I am quite literally a speck - a blink of time - on the whole scale. And I realized that something as simple as walking down the street in a place this amazing, can be enough to change your life.

Go to Rome. You won't regret it!

That's Amore.