Day Two (Part II): Walking, Shopping, and Dancing My Way Around Rome

After St. Peter's Square, I took a meandering route back towards my B&B.  I started walking back towards the Vatican, stopping when I found a panini place.  I picked something sort of randomly off the menu. (Chicken wurstel = chicken hot dog. Blech.) So I at the bread and veggies off of it then set off toward Castel Sant'Angelo.

Questionable sandwich and old school Coca-Cola.

The line at Castel Sant'Angelo was a little long, with a tour group waiting to get in, so I decided to try and find the gelateria I went to last night.  So from Castel Sant'Angelo, I followed the Tevere around to Via Triboniano, which took me up to Piazza Cavour.  I stopped there for  a quick rest (my feet are hating me!) before resuming my walk.

Gelato life: all day err day.

I found it! It must be popular, because the line was out the door.  I got the same flavors as last time, plus chocolate - which was much too rich! (Something I never thought I'd say!)

After finishing my gelato, I strolled down Via Cola di Rienzo and did a little shopping.  (The zipper on the vintage skirt I was wearing finally gave up the ghost, so I had to buy some new pants, if nothing else!)

I also stopped at a supermarket to pick up a few snacks for when I got back to my B&B.  (Pro tip: bring your own bag when you go shopping in Rome, because most stores either charge you for one or don't give you one at all.)



What a relief to be off my feet! I took a 30 minute catnap once I got back to my room - it's amazing what a nap and a hot shower will do for your spirits.  After my shower and a judicious application of lotion to my poor feet, I got ready for...

Noche de Tango!

All prettied up for Noche de Tango!

Since I had no idea where I was going, I took off an hour before it started...and got there thirty minutes early.  Oh well! Gives me time to rest my feet (now in heels) and catch up on my journal.

Wandering around Rome is freeing in a way I'd never imagined.  Everyone warned me to watch out for pickpockets or handsy men, but so far I haven't had a problem with either.  (Maybe the men are deterred by the ring that normally rests on my right hand that has now found a temporary home on my left one!)

Rome is a city bustling with life, and it has been like that for thousands of years.  It blows my mind.

...and now the bistro where Noche de Tango is being held is playing Ray Charles (I think) singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

I guess you can take the girl out of Texas, but it'll always catch up with her!

Tango is like a game of cat and mouse between two long time lovers.  He poses, she beckons; he advances, she coyly retreats.  Who catches whom? The answer is both, or neither. It's a predator's game, and there are no prey here.

Noche de Tango is a perfect evening for me - wonderful music, powerful dancers, and tons of carbs and meats to eat.  I'm not quite sure what exactly is going on - the band speaks Spanish and the waitstaff mostly Italian - but I am more than content to let the evening play out.  The good things in life, like food and music, transcend language barriers.

Between sets, music from what sounds like a Ray Charles Pandora station plays.  (Including one of the songs I put on my Rome playlist!) I'm going to have to remember to come here for antipasti on a different night - it feels like my kind of place.

I end up watching the dancers' footwork more than their faces. Watching their faces makes me feel as if I'm peeking into some private seduction - as if I'm seeing a moment not meant for my eyes.

Another break happens - but this time they play tango music during it, not Ray Charles.  The accordion player from the band asks the female dancer to dance, and they are quite good together.  But before I can get too distracted watching them, the male dancer asks me to dance!

Me!  Who barely knows the basic steps to the tango!

So of course I said yes. (What kind of adventurous person would I be if I said no?)  He corrected my stance a little bit, and we made small talk - but it's a bit unnerving to be so close to someone you don't even know! Stefan (the dancer) made the remark that tango is a dance of trust, and it's hard to trust someone you just met a moment ago.

However well I did (or didn't) dance, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I walked back to the metro with a secretive kind of smile on my face, and fell asleep dreaming of tango kicks and feet that didn't ache.

Day Two (Part I): A Morning at the Vatican

First evening of sightseeing down, and my feet are already feeling the burn.  Nonetheless, I hopped out of bed and hit the ground...well, not running, but more at a steady clip.  I had reservations at the Vatican at 9:00 am, so I grabbed a cornetto and left the B&B around 8:30.

Cornetto in hand (and soon, in mouth), it was only a ten minute walk to the Musei Vaticani.  I passed several restaurants setting up for the day, and the air was cool enough to warrant a jacket.

Pre-purchasing tickets for the Vatican is super smart. Instead of waiting in line for hours, you can go to the right of the lines and bypass all those poor tourists waiting in the sun.  There's still a bit of a wait, but it's more that you're probably going to end up stuck behind a tour group and have to wait for all of them to get through the door.

Once you get inside. it is a madhouse. Tour groups, with guides speaking every language, crowd around you.  You're packed like cattle to the slaughter as you go through security, exchange your booking for a ticket, ride the escalator up, and then go through the final entrance.

Once inside, I somehow ended up going through a small gallery featuring Greco-Roman marble statuary.  It was surprisingly quiet, and I was able to really get a close look at Minerva, Diana, Selenus, and the like.

Statue of Selenus (leaves spotted: 1)

(Fun fact: At some point in time, the Vatican placed modesty leaves on all of the nude statues, so no man-bits could offend your eyes.  So play spot the leaf!)

As I was finishing that gallery up, a (loud) tour group started to come in, so I quickly darted out of there.

To get to the Sistine Chapel, you must first weave your way through the many rooms and hallways of the Musei Vaticani.  The trick is to pace yourself between tour groups - that way it's slightly less crowded.

I had two favorite sections in the Musei Vaticani - the Gallery of Maps and the modern art collection.  The Gallery of Maps features huge wall panels that are - you guessed it - maps.  Beautifully painted, vibrantly colored, highly detailed maps.

Detail from one of the panels in the Gallery of Maps

One of the last sections of the museum before the Sistine Chapel, the modern art collection features works by Matisse, Chagall, Munch, Dali, Rivera and more.  It's wonderful, and not just because the majority of the tour groups skip it!

When you think of religious art, the traditional Middle Ages or Renaissance period artwork comes to mind.  It's fascinating to see how these modern artists have reimagined and reinterpreted religious iconography.

close up of Salvador Dali's 'Paesaggio Angelico'

After this wing, I finally reached the Sistine Chapel...and was a little underwhelmed.  It's so packed with people that you spend more time trying to navigate through the crowds than you do staring at the ceiling!

Don't get me wrong - Michaelangelo's work is amazing.  There are places where the bodies look three dimensional, as if they're reaching out to you.  Delphica's face still haunts me.

After the Sistine Chapel, I escaped to the gardens.  by now, it had warmed up enough to ditch my jacket and enjoy the cool breeze.

cooling off in the gardens

I decided to walk around the Vatican walls to St. Peter's Square.  It was set up for a papal audience, so there were chairs everywhere.  

I checked out the Basilica next.  I mistook which line I was supposed to get in, so I ended up in the papal crypts.  The burial places of the popes is beautiful and solemn, and it's frustrating to see tourists disrespecting that.  Many had their cameras out (when it's clearly posted no photography) and their flash on (which you should never ever do around works of art).  I shouldered my way through another tour group (this one in Polish) and made my way up to the Basilica.

The main altar is massive.  Like, ridiculously so.  And it was designed by my boy Bernini, so you know I had to at least get a glimpse at it.  While it was crowded here as well, you don't feel it because St. Peter's Basilica is just so large.  I wandered through the Basilica for a bit before going back and getting in line to climb the dome.

Altar in St. Peter's Basilica

I decided to try and save my feet just a bit and paid extra to take the elevator.  The elevator takes you to the roof - which on this leg is blocked off from viewing outward, so I was forced to climb if I wanted to see those famous views.

Dang, I am out of shape!  Even if you take the elevator, there are still 323 steps you have to climb to reach the top of the dome - narrow, steep steps that will make you feel every time you broke your New Year's resolution to work out more.  Fortunately, there are narrow window slits and actual windows that let the breeze in - but in some places, it's still stifling hot.  Even better (or worse), there are places where the walls slant, so you have to climb the stairs at a lean - or my personal favorite, a set of spiral stairs so narrow and steep that there is a rope strung from the ceiling for you to hold on to!

But oh, the huffing and puffing and mild claustrophobia is worth it.  You reach the top and a clean, cool breeze sweeps over you as your breath is taken away by the views of the city.

view from the top: St. Peter's Square

...And then you have to climb back down.  Fortunately, you can view Rome from the roof on the climb down, so you can get some great photos of the saints circling the square (also by Bernini!).  Then the elevator takes you back down to the Basilica, and you're spit back out into the piazza.

Saints' backs from the roof of the Basilica.

By this point, my jacket was sticking to my arm from where I'd been lugging it around, and my pants were sticking to the back of my knees.  So I headed back to the B&B to change before setting off in search of lunch.

Stay tuned for more of my adventures! Next up: Walking, shopping, and a night of tango...

Ciao!
Samantha

Day One in Rome

Rome feels like a dream come true.  However, when I first arrived in Rome, I felt like a nightmare.

Thanks to some sneaky dairy in my airline food, I was sicker than a dog on the last leg of my flight in.  My stomach was cramping so badly I couldn't sleep, it was uncomfortably warm on the plane, and my neighbor's bright IFE screen only exacerbated the migraine I could feel forming.

But I will say this - the flight attendants were very nice to me.  They gave me a toiletries kit out of the first class so I could brush my teeth and a bottle of ginger ale to help settle my stomach.

Needless to say, I was not feeling too great when I landed in Rome.  However, going through customs was a breeze, and I now officially have a stamp on my passport!

Baby's first passport stamp!

The only thing I had on my mind was getting to my B&B, taking a nap, and showering the sick off of me.  I caught a bus from Fiumicino to Termini, the main train/metro station.  (It's true what they say about the Roman bus system: it really does have a mind of it's own.  The metro is much more reliable - but more on that later.)

Once I got to Termini, I was incredibly overwhelmed.  There are trains, taxis, buses, and the metro lines all delivering people into this central hub.  It was crazy busy, and I could barely function beyond making sure I had a grip on all my luggage. (I definitely overpacked a little, and I've now learned my lesson!)

So I took a moment to just breathe.  I found a spot on the wall between benches and just...existed for a moment.  Tried to control my breathing so I wouldn't get sick again, because I had no idea where the bathrooms were.

Then I glanced to my right and noticed a monk sitting on the bench next to me, and I immediately felt that nothing terrible could happen to me with a monk sitting right there. I pulled myself together and set off to figure how the metro worked.

The trick to figuring out anything in a new city is observation.  I simply followed to crowds down to the metro, and then watched a few people buy tickets from the self-service machine to see how it worked.  (Bonus: the self-service machines have an English language option, so I didn't have to strain my extremely limited knowledge of Italian!)

Same for getting my ticket validated: I just followed a group of people, watched how they did it, and then tried it for myself.  And voila! I was on the metro.

Fortuitously, I had looked up directions to my B&B before I left, and had copied them into my travel journal - which is what saved me.  I knew that if I could get to the Ottaviano metro station, my B&B was only a block or two away.

So five stops later, I was banging my suitcase up the steps of the metro and back out into Rome.  It didn't take me long to find the street my B&B is on, but I had to circle it a few times before I actually found the building!

Alessandro was here to meet me, and he let me in to the B&B.  I'm sure I looked like death warmed over, but he was charming and gracious.  He showed me to my room (which was fortunately ready, even though check-in wasn't for another two hours), then gave me a brief tour of the place.  It takes four keys to get to my room, which makes me feel super safe! Street door, inside door, B&B key, then room key.

Alessandro then sat down with me and showed me the best routes on the map to get to some of the sights - and even told me some lesser known, smaller churches to see.  He highlighted paths on the map and circled where things were.  So helpful!

After that, I went to my room and slept until nearly 5:00.  Once I woke up, I felt slightly closer to human - and a piping hot shower brought back up to decent shape. I unpacked and rested a bit more before deciding to go out and brave the streets of Rome.

Vintage Coca-Cola ads are actually quite popular here!

I decided to risk food - it had been too long since I'd eaten and kept it all down :(.  So I went back to a little restaurant I had seen earlier.  It had a vintage Coca-Cola ad outside, and I took it as a sign that I should eat there.  (My grandpa used to work for Coke.)

A little Coca-Cola goes a long way!

Half a bowl of pasta and a nice cold Coke later, I felt...actually decent, which was astonishing considering how my day started! I ran back to my B&B to grab a jacket, and then decided to do some wandering.

Alessandro told me, when he was marking my map, that the best way to see Rome was to go to a neighborhood and get lost in it. So that's what I did! I wandered around the general vicinity of my B&B, spotting some shopping I'd like to do later this week and just getting familiar with the area.

After a bit, I hopped back on the metro and headed up a few stops to the Spanish Steps.  Sadly, they are under renovation right now. so I window shopped in all the luxury stores around the Piazza di Spagna. (Bulgari! Dolce and Gabbana! Versace!)

My wallet can't afford much of that, though, so I set out on one of the walking paths Alessandro suggested: from Piazza di Spagna, tak Via del Babuino to Piazza del Popolo.

My handy dandy map!

Piazza del Popolo houses an ancient Egyptian obelisk - and I do love ancient Egypt! I circled around it, testing my hieroglyphics knowledge, before trying to find the next leg of my wander: from Piazza del Popolo, head down Via Ferdinando de Savola until you cross the Tevere River on the Ponte Margerita.  Admire the cute little houses on the water.  

Egyptian Obelisk - Hopefully I'll get some better pictures tomorrow!

Right after crossing the bridge, I found a gelateria that had been open since 1947.  I decided to risk the possibility of dairy to try out gelato.

Strawberry & lemon gelato!

It was like ice cream and fruit slushies had a baby, and then God himself smiled down on it and blessed it with flavor.  My gelato was like the frozen strawberry lemonade smoothie of dreams.  As I nearly devoured my gelato whole, I continued down Via Cola di Rienzo, which would take me back to Piazza Risorgimento. From there, it's only a hop, skip, and a jump back to the B&B! (Look at me go, doing directions and stuff!)

Now I'm back in my room, getting ready for a day of sightseeing at the Vatican tomorrow!

The end of the night - much better than the beginning of the day!

Stay tuned for more of my latest adventure!

Ciao,

Samantha

I looked to the

How to Make an Itinerary

Ahh!!! Only one week until Rome!

After all the planning I've done, and how long it's been since I bought tickets, it almost doesn't seem real that my trip is nearly here. (I actually bought my tickets way back in October - so this trip has been a long time in planning!)

I've had my itinerary pretty much locked down since about December.  I've made a few minor changes since then - I found a few little things I'd like to see or restaurants I'd like to try.  And because I'm that girl, I even have a color-coded itinerary made.

(Hey, I'd rather be over-prepared than winging it!)

So, want to know how to plan an itinerary? Read on!

made in BeFunky

Step 1: Do some research.

Buy a guidebook. Do some Googling.  Find pins on Pinterest.  Figure out what sights sound interesting and which ones...not so much.  I personally used Rick Steve's guidebook - which has his rankings for sights and about how long it should take you to see/tour them.

Step 2: Rank the sights you want to see, most to least.

Sounds common-sense, right? Figure out what sights you have to see, what sights you'd like to see, and what sights you'd see if you have time, but they're not a have-to.

My have to see sights: Borghese Gallery, St. Peters, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

My like to see sights: Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Capuchin Crypts, and the Protestant Cemetery.

Step 3: Consult your map.

See what sights are close to each other, or within walking distance of each other.  You can see a lot more if you travel to a specific metro or bus stop and see everything by it rather than criss-crossing over the city all over the city randomly.

Step 4: Check the calendar.

Most museums are closed on Mondays, and obviously you can't go checking out the churches on Sundays.  So make sure that whatever you're planning to see that day is actually going to be open to the public!

Step 5: Consider day trips.

If you're going to be based in one city for an extended period of time, consider day trips as an option.  What's within a train ride from the city? Are they any tour groups doing day excursions?  I'm taking a day trip from Rome to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast with Walks of Italy.

Step 6: Fill in the gaps.

So you've got you're have-tos and like-tos on your itinerary.  Now go back to your map and see what's around those sights.  For example, Castel Sant'Angelo is maybe a 10 minute walk from the Vatican Museum, so I could easily go see them on the same day. Also, check out what restaurants are around that area, especially if you've heard of any you'd like to try. 

Step 7: Leave some down time.

Leave yourself some free time - you may find that you're enjoying a museum more than you thought and need more time there than you allotted. Or you may want to just spend an afternoon wandering around a neighborhood.  Or - shopping!  Leave some free time to just slow down and enjoy the city itself.

Voila! You've made an itinerary.

Now it's a lot easier to figure out which metro/bus stops you need to go to, what kind of tickets you need to get, etc.

But remember, your itinerary is not set in stone! If the urge to do something else hits you, feel free to do so!

Roman Holiday

That's right: I'm going to Rome!

Audrey understands.
(still from Roman Holiday)

In two weeks, I leave for the Eternal City to celebrate my birthday.  So in that suddenly short time frame, I'm going to write a few posts on my planning process. (I'm definitely a planner.)  You'll be seeing:

• how I planned my itinerary
• how I budgeted my trip
• my packing list (guilty overpacker here)

And of course, I'll be blogging about my adventures in the Eternal City when they're finally here!

quote from Roman Holiday

First, though, be sure to check out my Pinterest board for a little inspiration!

Ciao!
Samantha

A Soundtrack for Adventure

Life would be so much better if it had a soundtrack, wouldn't it?

All great movies - be it action-adventure, drama, romance or comedy - have a soundtrack.  So why doesn't life?

I love music. Genres, styles, artists, instruments, themes, albums, lyrics....the whole nine yards.  And I love to build playlists around different things.  I've made playlists for books, for fictional characters, for moods, for weather conditions...so why not make a playlist for adventure?

My first big adventure is coming up soon: a solo trip to Rome, Italy.  So I made a soundtrack for my first day in Rome - from landing early in the morning to sightseeing to dinner and drinks.

covert art made in BeFunky

track listing made in BeFunky

The soundtrack can be found over at 8tracks.

Have an adventure...without ever leaving your home!

I get it - travel is expensive! But while you're saving up for your dream trip, what can you do to keep that adventurous spirit alive?

My solution is often reading a good book.  So here's a list of five of my current favorite adventure novels and their destinations. (If you click on the titles, it will take you to each book's Goodreads page for more information.)

1. Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase 

Destination: Egypt

Okay, I'll admit it - I love historical romance novels.  This book by Loretta Chase is actually #2 in a series, but you don't have to read the first in order to follow along with the second.  It features a kickass lady archaeologist deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics who is chasing down her kidnapped brother, who publishes her work under his name.  No one will believe that he's been kidnapped, so Daphne (our heroine) hires Rupert (our hero) to be her muscle in her quest to chase down her brother. It includes:
- cruising down the Nile!
- shootouts!
- more kidnappings!
- our hero and heroine trapped in an ancient grave site!
- arson!
- several daring rescues!
- a pet mongoose!

But seriously, I love this book. Go read it.

2. City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

Destination: Prague

I bought this book on a whim from the sale aisle at B&N and ended up really liking it.  Sarah Weston is working cataloging Beethoven's manuscripts at a castle in Prague. (Archivists for the win!) Strange things start to happen...paranormal things. Sexy things. Time-traveling things.

It has a sequel, but I haven't read it yet.

3. Juliet by Anne Fortier

Destination: Italy

When Julie Jacobs' Aunt Rose dies, she cuts Julie out of her will - leaving her only a mysterious key to a safety deposit box in Sienna.  As Julie tracks down information about the mysterious contents of the box, which all seem to pertain to the story of Romeo and Juliet, it leads her to a legendary treasure known as Juliet's Eyes, and a strange secret about her own family.  Is history repeating itself? Is Julie destined to be the next ill-fated Juliet?

4. Abarat by Clive Barker

Destination: Abarat

This one is obviously about a fantasy land - but it has to be one of the most fascinating fantasy lands I've ever read about.  Abarat is divided into 25 islands - one for each hour of the day, plus the mysterious 25th Hour.  Candy Quackenbush, an ordinary girl from a Midwest chicken town, finds herself swept into a budding revolution in the strange yet oh-so-familiar Abarat.

This is the first in the trilogy.  I highly recommend finding a hardcover copy if you can, because Barker made all his own illustrations for this story and they are amazing.

5. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

Destination: South Africa

I had to include this book - it's where the title of my blog comes from! Anne Beddingfield takes off to South Africa, trying to solve the mysterious death she witnessed on the tube platform in London.  Along the way, she meets several interesting characters, and finds herself entwined in a much bigger scheme than just murder!