Thursday, 15 September 2011

Rome

DAY 1
Sean had warned us that the hostel has almost no postings and that finding it would be a bit of a challenge. We take pride in the fact that not only did we find it without any problems but we also helped other lost and confused back packers find it. Before we could even drop our bags Sean insisted that we had to get pasta at a nearby restaurant that he and Mike frequented during their visit to Rome. Erika heard the word carbonara spill out of Alex's mouth and couldn't get her shoes on fast enough.



We finished up all of our delicious pasta and jug of wine before making the dark journey to the Trevi fountain. We followed the street signs with our large colorful map glued to our hands. A few side streets later we stumbled upon what obviously had to be the Trevi fountain. We grabbed some gelato before taking a seat on the edge of the fountain to watch the crowds of people tossing in their coins and snapping their pictures. We tossed in a coin each of our own and made our way to the Spanish steps.


We had been forewarned by other travelers not to expect much from the Spanish steps as they were just a large set of steps in a square but when we took our seat on the lower steps there was still something neat about being there and watching the crowds of other tourists take their pictures and be just as excited as we were to be in Rome.




DAY 2
Today we had a lot to tackle: the colleseum, Paletine hill, and the Vatican. We pre ordered tickets and got some tips from other backpackers about how to avoid the ridiculously long line ups for these places. First up was the colleseum. We entered into the centre of the falling walls and were in awe of what little remains are left compared to the original pictures and descriptions of the original structure. We did the loop, read up on the history and before we knew it it was time to head to the Vatican (we didn't have time today anymore for Paletine hill as the Vatican closes early).



We sat down for a quick pizza lunch and walk up the street to Vatican City. The walls surrounding the city made it difficult to get in on time. When we reached the entrance to the Vatican we were both refused entry because we had nothing to cover our shoulders, we had thought out dressing ourselves "appropriately" from the waist down but apparently forgot about our shoulders. Luckily a man selling scarves outside the walls made it hassle free. We followed behind large crowds through the skinny halls of the Vatican. It was a long way through the Vatican before finally reaching the Sistine Chapel. As you entered you were greeted by a groups of guards who gave you approval to enter upon making sure you are " appropriately" dressed, you have put away all cameras and you are silent. The room was overcrowded and busy with chatter. The walls are stunning and we couldn't get our heads around the fact that someone had actually painted all of this. Finally Erika looked up and pointed out the famous piece of Adam and God in the middle of the ceiling. We didn't stay here for long as there was much more to see, too many people and not enough air conditioning.



DAY 3
Another early morning, we headed straight to Paletine Hill where we dragged our feet along the dusty trails of the old city and snapped pictures of the ruins.


We passed crowds of tourists, entertainers and monuments on our way to shopping and the Pantheon.


Hours of roaming the streets later, and not very successful shopping, we were already on our way back to the hostel to get changed and ready for dinner.  We ate at a restaurant we had happened to pass by on our way to the Spanish steps on the first night on a small, dark side street.  We finally had our first bottle of champagne then wandered the Roman streets one last time, or so we thought.

We are both getting sick, boo hoo.  Alex was positive strep throat was coming on and Erika had already stocked up on nasal spray and throat lozenges.  As we were leaving for Santorini the following morning we decided that we better be safe rather than sorry and take Alex to a clinic before it got worse...we would rather have been sorry.  Obviously there are no clinics open to travellers at 10 p.m. so that meant we were headed to the hospital.  Hostel staff wrote us a note in Italian so that we could catch the bus with the help of the driver and getting to the hospital would be very easy.  Locals on the bus told us where to get off and which street to walk down, "it's easy, just walk 10 minutes down this street and the hospital is huge, you won't miss it" they said.  WRONG.  Yes, there was a massive hospital right beside us 10 minutes down the street but it was separated from us by giant stone walls.  We walked for 40 minutes before spotting an old man inside the walls, through a gate, who directed us around the block to the only entrance.  Finally, when we reached the emergency room, or hallway we should say, we were greeted by a nurse who told us that there was no "specialist" present to write a perscription.  Moments later, after a lot of talking with our hands, the nurse wrote a note for the pharmacist and off we went to the pharmacy.  The bus never showed and young strangers at the bus stop were also on their way to the main train station so the adventure following behind them home began.  2 hours later we reached the closed and locked doors of the pharmacy.  

We arrived back at the hostel with 3 hours of sleep left to catch before getting on our flight to Santorini.

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