April 29th, our last day in Rome was a busy one, but we saw so much! Knowing that it was our last full day, we had booked tours for both the Colosseum/Roman Forum as well as the Vatican City. I don't think we realized how ambitious we were being, but you know what? We did it!
First things first! Our tour guide was amazing! He was a wealth of information, spoke multiple languages and seemed to be loved and respected by everyone who worked in or around the area. We had even overheard someone mention (in English) that he was the best tour guide to get.
What's interesting is that before the attacks on Brussels, the tours themselves would be able to skip the line entirely, but now we had to line up for security. This was something the guide thought was a bit silly, because instead of free flowing in and out of the Colosseum, there was now a gigantic static line of people, at least 300 to 400. The guide had a point. Definitely something we are keeping vigilant about, but it's not going to change how we approach the trip.
So, imagine, massive lines and lots of people are trying to skip or cut into the line, because they are obviously much more important than anyone else. Our tour guide however, appeared to take this quite seriously as he got into several large yelling matches with line cutters, making sure they were removed from the line. It was amazing to watch, I really wish I had video - the guide joked it was part of the entertainment!
We navigated through the Colosseum and learned where the gladiators trained and lived, how they entered the arena, and the differences between professional gladiators and just criminals fighting to live another day. The guide estimated there was approximately half a million people who died in the games, whether gladiators or criminals. The Romans would bring trees from across the world and setup elaborate sets with wildlife that Romans would never see (ie, Lions), so the shows were always, always in demand.
Our guide also made sure to point out all the inaccuracies in popular movies, especially Gladiator. Did you know the Colosseum is not actually called the Colosseum? Did you know they took 3 years to drain a lake so they could build it on bedrock? Did you know each gate was numbered, and citizens had to have tickets to get in? Lastly, did you know that it only took 3 minutes for 50000 to get into the Colosseum when the games were on? Shit. It takes me at least 20 min to get into a Jets game…
From the Colosseum we were taken to the Roman Forum / Palatine Hill area to complete the tour, which is basically a massive area filed with ruins, as well as the rebuild Roman Senate (which was sacked so many times, so of course it's not original). We were able to walk down to the lowest excavated area, and could look up 10 to 20 metres to the door of several remaining buildings - as the soil had grown over the hundreds of years this area was in use. Old shops, tombs, brothels, and Roman bathes were all around us. I'm going to have to dive into some Wikipedia holes or documentaries to learn more!
After our tour finished, it was about 130pm local, and we had to get to the Vatican City before 330pm, which is located about a 20min metro ride away. This created a bit of a scramble, but we made it with about 10 minutes to spare.
We strolled through the halls and buildings, including the Sistine Chapel. Most of the buildings featured beautiful ceilings, artwork and busts from all over the world, all related to the Catholic faith in some manner. The details of some of the ceilings were breathtaking, but after a few minutes of walking, they all started to blend together (for me anyway).
Even the Sistine Chapel ended up being a bit underwhelming, as it was exactly as I thought it would look, but this could be because it's such a well documented site. No photography was allowed, and since it was considered a holy place (what part of the Vatican isn't?), the guards spent most of their time Shh'ing people and children. I'm not sure if it was effective at all, but some babies seemed to get it. Still glad we ventured through, it was a beautiful place. After grabbing a metro and heading back to our hotel to clean up and drop off our stuff, we really wanted to find a very chill place to eat and relax. Using FourSquare, we found a trendy little bar/restaurant called Coronte, filled with deep leather couches, amazing cocktails and a very cool vibe. The mixologists were amazing, the drinks were so tasty, it was a perfect way to unwind. We ordered a salmon and tuna dish that was on special, and it was another blast of amazing food. And I'm not even a fan of fish!
The next day (Apr 30), we rushed down to the train station to catch our train to Bologna, which is the music and food capital of Italy, and was recommended as a very authentic place to visit. Taking the train was a cool experience, flying around some beautiful countryside at 250km/h while relaxing and catching up on the news. I would love to take the train more, but I know it's not the same in North America.
The first thing I saw walking out of the Bologna train station was a McDonald's, which was funny because they serve pizza!! I used to absolutely love McDonald's pizza, so forgive me but I'm going to have to try one before I leave. It ended up being perfect, as we met the man we were renting an apartment from, who was nice enough to come and pick us up when we arrived. As he drove us, he helped us by showing some of the local sites, and recommended staying away from Milan, as it would be stressful to do a day trip. So, we are considering not going to see the football (soccer) game, if it saves us a huge headache.
We weaved through narrow streets, as most of Bologna is closed to traffic (even more so on the weekend), it is all extremely walkable. He told us this was due to the fact the first University in Europe was founded here, and the core of the city is built to be very easy to get around. The history of Bologna is rich, it's really cool to be immersed in it. We arrived at a small plaza and we were shown our amazing little apartment, in a building built in the 1400's - it is so amazing, small bathroom with laundry, stairs leading to an awesome bedroom just above the main room. I couldn't have imagined a cuter apartment for us to stay in.
We went out for a walk and explored the streets and were blown away by the small fresh grocers, butchers, wine shops and restaurants everywhere! Streets filled with people, but the pace is very relaxed. I think it's the difference between a city filled with tourists, to a city that is mostly filled with locals. Authentic! I can't say it enough.
One of the important things to note about Bologna, is that it is the home of Bolonase sauce, as well as many pastas which are essential to Italian cuisine. Using FourSquare, we found a great spot and ordered two of the local dishes they are known for, one of which was a Lasagna Bolonase. Unfortunately I can't find words to describe how good this dish was, but I can assure you it was actually pretty overwhelming, I could feel a bit teary after I had my first bite. Call me crazy, but it's that good! Of course, we also got a bottle of wine, another great bottle of Lambrusco, which we seem to be ordering more and more.
We strolled around in the rain a bit more, and ended up watching a couple of documentaries before bed. We finished “Iverson” and “Going Clear”, and I think we would recommend both of them if they are available on Netflix.
This morning (May 1st) we went out to stroll the streets again, and quickly realized that most businesses are closed on Sundays, which makes sense. However, the streets were filled with vendors selling candy, sweets, nuts, meats, cheeses and wines, so we ended up grabbing a good amount of snacks to try as we relaxed today. The cured meats are to die for. So here we are, in our apartment in Bologna, about to watch Gladiator and relax. Tomorrow we head out to Venice for the day, and I will be sure to snap as many photos as I can.
TLDR; toured Rome, traveled to Bologna, heading to Venice tomorrow.