Rome - old but gold

Today I would like to take you on a short trip to Rome – the Rome I saw when I visited the city in April 2012 together with my Mum. 

First I have to say that I’m not really into Italy. Don’t know why, it’s just not my favorite country and one of the very few languages I don’t like a lot. But as Rome is a pretty old city with lots of interesting sights, I decided that I want to give the country a chance and explore its capital.
We stayed at the hotel close to the railway station and arrived really late at night. I was exhausted and wasn’t very pleased to cross the whole station passing lots of drunk and stoned people hanging around there. 

But when we finally found our hotel it wasn’t bad at all. The receptionist was a really friendly old Italian men who was very helpful and enjoyed talking to us in well let’s say “Italian-German” ;)
All together we had just 3 full days for visiting this big city and believe me when I returned to Graz I wasn’t able to walk for like 2 days. But it was totally worth it.

On our first day we visited the Vatican. I’m not religious at all but St. Peter’s Basilica is impressive. We saw some people from the Swiss Guard. They look like clowns in their uniforms but were all very nice, some of them even really good looking. ;) 

We skipped the Sistine Chapel because it simply wasn’t possible to get in the museum. We waited for over 45 minutes and then decided that it wasn’t worth it. It is unbelievable how many tourists stay in Rome. They are like ants surrounding all the best known sights! (Guess I was also one of them :D ) 

Then we went on the classic tourist rout through Rome.
We visited the Spanish Steps, a monumental stairway of 138 steps. Although they are called The Spanish Steps, it was actually the French who built them as a way to reach the French Church above. The steps and piazza are named 'Spanish' because the Spanish Embassy used to reside there.

We saw the Trevi Fountain which is the largest of baroque fountains in Rome. A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Haven’t thrown a coin in there because there were too many people and I didn’t want to throw one over their heads, wasn’t sure if it would reach the fountain safely. ;) One curios fact I found out about is that it is estimated that every year there are more than €600.000 fished out of the fountain and the city of Rome donates this money to non-profit organizations.  

Of course we took a look at the Colosseum. It is an elliptical amphitheater and the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It was in use for around 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century, which is well after the traditional date of the fall of Roman Empire in 476.
Today, the Colosseum is in a ruined condition, but is the symbol of Rome worldwide and is a major tourist attraction.

Next to the Colosseum is The Arch of Constantine. After it there is the Forum Roman and the Imperial Forums. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. It was a public square during the Roman Republic. At the side of the Roman is the Imperial Forums. The Imperial forums consist of a series of monumental public squares. Of course you can get an idea of what Ancient Rome was like, but neither my mum nor I are very interested in this archaeological stuff. So we walked around there and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
But I really love the fact that there is an old house called "casa di Livia" :)

My three favorite sights: Plaza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo and the Vittorio Emanuele II monument.
Plaza Navona is a nice little place where you can find lots of small typical Italian restaurants, bars, street performers and several small stalls selling paintings and novelty goods.

Castel Sant’Angelo is simply beautiful and stunning. We didn’t go inside but I was really fascinated by the outside.

The Vittorio Emanuele II monument is a monument to honor Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. It is made out of white marble and it is huge! I was standing right in front of the building and couldn’t take my eyes of it. It’s just so beautiful!

I could go on and on about the breathtaking sights this city offers but I want to encourage you to visit Rome yourself!
All the photos are there to sharpen your appetite! :)