7 Days in Rome

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by getbak

It's the eternal city, so there's really amazing history everywhere you turn. The Vatican is incredible (the Sistine Chapel is a masterpiece), the Colosseum is amazing, the Forum is spectacular, the Spanish Steps are pretty.


If you want something truly unique (and a little creepy), check out this place: http://www3.sympatico.ca/tapholov/pages/bones.html

Another link: http://eternallycool.net/?p=728

It's a tiny church on a non-descript road, easy to miss if you're not looking for it. Every piece of decoration inside the church is made from the bones of monks of the Capucin order who were displaced at some point when their original burial site was dug up. To honour their devotion to God, it was decided to literally build a church from their remains.

oh yes! i am SO checking this place out. THANKS!

[4X4]

The Cappucin Masoleum. A must. It is easy to miss, but not because it's on a non-descript road. It's on via Vittorio Veneto, which is a very famous street in Rome. Via Veneto is where all the celebs used to hang out before it became a big tourist attraction. The Hard Rock Cafe is there as well as the Lamborghini dealership and a bunch of famous restaurants from movies like La Dolce Vita. The American Embassy is at the end of the street. It almost looks like a prison.

The Capucin Masoleum is in a church that is about the third or fourth building on the right hand side of Via Veneto if you're coming from Piazza Barberini. It's open from 9-12 and 3-6 daily. You have to donate something to the nuns at the front door and no cameras allowed. You can still sneak a pic, but it's kinda rude. You can buy a postcard on your way out. And FTR, you'll only be in there for about 10 minutes, so don't plan an afternoon around it. But trust me, you'll never, ever forget what you see in there.


So your wife to be is Calabrese. The toe of Italy. Nice. If she speaks italian then you're fine. Has she been to Rome?

Two weeks in small town Italy is going to take a bit of lustre off of Rome. The real charm of Italy is found in the small towns. So if you're going to be in Rome to do the city stuff, I'll base my suggestions on that...

Huge score rolling with someone Italian. Lots of 'scams' are aimed at tourists. As soon as you speak italian, they just bugger off and look for a foreigner to prey on.

With 7 days, you have enough time to do things yourself. Don't waste your money on a bus tour. They take you around the DT to places that you can get to faster if you look at a map for 2 minutes and then walk. The only place a bus tour will take you that is out of walking distance is the catacombs. You can get there yourself on a city bus. Your wife should have no problem finding out how by asking a hotel clerk. IIRC, it's bus 218 from Circo Massimo metro stop. Better check that though.


I don't know that I really need to tell you much since she's a wop and she'll be able to hear it from the horse's mouth in real time. Italians are pretty friendly if approached properly. You'll find yourself on many a patio. Talk to the people around you and ask where the hot spots are. They're different all the time.

If you want to have a serious Euro clubbing experience, head down to Testaccio on a Saturday night. The clubs are expensive, everyone is well dressed (note to you: don't show up in shorts and a hawaiian shirt), nobody is ugly, the music THUMPS, the buildings are 100s of years old... It ain't 17th ave, that's for sure.

Want to experience a real european market? Go to Porta Portese on Sunday morning. One of the biggest markets in Europe every Sunday from about 7 am to 4 pm. For the little tiny mini effect, you can hit up Campo di Fiori any day of the week for their little market.

And Campo di Fiori, spend an afternoon/early evening there. Sit on a patio and have a few. Big statue of Bruno, a market... Just... Nice.

A lesser known gem in Rome (like the Cappucin Masoleum) is Via Gulia. It's a road that runs parallel to the Lungotevere, just behind Campo di Fiori. There is a villa along that street with vines that have overtaken a wall and a plus 15 type bridge. Just a cool photo, and on the way to Trastevere from Campo. It is just a couple blocks from Via Arenula. I guess most of this doesn't make much sense now, but if you re read this post while sitting in your hotel in Rome with a map, you'd be able to get an idea of what to do the next day.


Hmmm... Shopping. Your woman is probably going to want to shop. There are alot of good shops along Via Nazionale. You can get good leather jackets and shoes and all the stuff Italy is supposed to be famous for there.
If you want to trip her out, at the base of the Spanish Steps are all the super expensive places like Gucci and DG and Prada. The shop windows boast $3000 handbags and stuff like that.

F*** there are so many places that I could recommend but I can only tell you how to get there.

Rome has fountains. Hundreds or even thousands of them. If you take side streets, you'll inevitable end up in a piazza with a fountain. My favorite one was a couple blocks from my apartment. It has four bronze turtles. If you find it, take a picture and post it so that I can snag it. It is two blocks south of the Argentina ruins and two blocks east of Via Arenula.

Just too many things. You have the right idea. Just wing it. Just explore. There are way too many things to list so I just gotta shut up. You'll find that Rome is an experience, not a sight. You'll see lots, but it is the context of how you saw them that will burn them into your memory. To stumble upon something will make it that much cooler. Take the side streets. Go into shops. Eat at obscure places. Jump on a bus and get lost. It's Rome. There is an amazing sculpture or fountain around every corner.

Speaking of which, I once had a catholic couple stay in the hostel and they were very disappointed that I didn't tell them about the sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. It's in a little obscure church in a small piazza off Via Cavour. If that's your thing, go check it out. The church is called San Pietro in Vincoli.

And one more thing, if you do like art and arent overloaded after seeing the Vatican Museum, definitely go to the Borghese museum. Beware that you have to call in advance for a reservation. Probably a week or two in advance. The entrance fee is around 12 euro and it is well worth it. Well, well worth it.

Oh yeah, just ONE more thing... San Giovanni in Laterano. It rivals St. Peter's as the most amazing basilica in Rome. Do go.

And find some aquaducts. They are there, but you almost don't notice because everything is so interesting.

[4X4]

Heh heh. I just surfed the OTF again and noticed a locked thread. It had been FATA'd. Wanna see a real FATA? There is a store in Rome called FATA. I have a picture, but I took it in night mode and moved enough to blur it so it's not worth posting. If you want to see the real FATA, the third most impressive basilica in Rome is called Santa Maria Maggiore. Behind the basilica is a piazza. Across the main drag (via Cavour) is a street with trees on either side. Walk down that street for 30 seconds and you'll be greeted by a big FATA sign. Take a picture. Maybe Reg and put a dancing Rico/Spiderman beside it.

[Aeneas]

I wont mess with my man 4x4 when it comes to Roma, I am more of a northern Italy guy myself.

However two points. When you are in St Peters and head to the dome for the view (designed by Michaelangelo no less) do not bypass Michaelangelos "Pieta". It is right by the door as you go in. Now sadly covered by bulletproof glass due to some wacko who tried to blow it up with a hand grenade or something. It is, in my humble opinion, the greatest sculpture in the history of mankind. I have stood before his David, and many others considered "great"; but for me nothing compares to the brilliance of this Pieta.

Also, 4x4 suggested San Pietro in Vincoli to see Michaelangelos Moses. If you are at all interested in art, then yes this is a must too. If memory serves it is the tomb of Pope Julius II. Michealangelo only sculpted the three main figures: Moses, Rachel and Leah (I think). Moses is breathtaking; check out the folds of draped robes, look at his hands. It truly is outstanding.

There are 5 (or 6) basilicas in Roma. I suggest you check out all of them. They all have treasure troves of art. One was dissappointing to me, the others brilliant. I am too drunk to remember which ones were which (slo pitch night), but with seven days you could easily hit them all. They are always on the way, or near something else interesting.

Someone else mentioned the big park, Villa Borghese. ou should definetly check out the museum there. You will need an appointment, but well worth it.

And I would go tour the coloseum, just to disagree with Locke.

ps Phanuthier: Cinque Terre rules!!!!!!!

Aeneas

[chid]

Originally Posted by 4X4

The Capucin Masoleum is in a church that is about the third or fourth building on the right hand side of Via Veneto if you're coming from Piazza Barberini. It's open from 9-12 and 3-6 daily. You have to donate something to the nuns at the front door and no cameras allowed. You can still sneak a pic, but it's kinda rude. You can buy a postcard on your way out. And FTR, you'll only be in there for about 10 minutes, so don't plan an afternoon around it. But trust me, you'll never, ever forget what you see in there.

Seconded, haha but yes if she sees you taking a picture she'll make sure to come remind you no pictures. Most of the ones my friends took ended up blurry. It took us 10 minutes to marvel at the bones and then we walked around some more that day.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by 4X4

The Cappucin Masoleum. A must. It is easy to miss, but not because it's on a non-descript road. It's on via Vittorio Veneto, which is a very famous street in Rome. Via Veneto is where all the celebs used to hang out before it became a big tourist attraction. The Hard Rock Cafe is there as well as the Lamborghini dealership and a bunch of famous restaurants from movies like La Dolce Vita. The American Embassy is at the end of the street. It almost looks like a prison.

Really? Wow, I was either really disoriented or we took some kind of back road to the place (or I have a horrible memory) because I don't remember seeing a Hard Rock or Lamborghini dealership.

[coaster]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Pick pockets!

How true. My brother in law got back from Rome yesterday morning 250 Euros lighter. Lost a pile of plastic too.

[Phaneuf3]

Awesome! you guys have really given me some awesome starting points.

The wife has never been to Rome, surprisingly, despite having lived in Italy and when living in Canada, she goes back every 2 years for about a month each trip. I agree that its nice in that I have someone who will be able to speak fluently and keep me out of too much trouble but hearing about the sites from the locals can be a mixed blessing.

Its always great to get the Canadian tourist's perspective on things as they're often quite different from the locals'. Also, I'll probably get a lot more interesting (and relevant) info from some anonymous guy on the internet who randomly went there after being barred from going to vegas with the boys due to a rough and rowdy past than I will from my 65 year old father in law

With regards to the no pictures thing in the churches - how common are these rules? Will many places allow photography? Should I be bothering to lug along the 'ol dSLR or looking for maybe along the point and shoot lines?

[COGENT]

when in doubt... eat. The food is amazing. While your at it drink a bottle of cold red wine... it's typically cheaper than water, plus walking around half pissed makes wondering a little more interesting.

[simmer2]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Cinquo Terra sucks. Go to the Bay of Kotor.

I've been to the Bay of Kotor as well, pretty sure nobody else had even heard of it!

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by simmer2

I've been to the Bay of Kotor as well, pretty sure nobody else had even heard of it!

I'd say the Bay of Kotor was probably my favourite lil spot in Europe.

Some of my favourites in Europe were:

Kotor (Bay of Kotor)
Dubrovnik (Ragusa)
Mostar
Gdansk (Danzig)
Belgrade (Beograd)
Rome (Roma)
Almafi Coast
Budapest
Copenhagen (Kobenhavn)

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

I'd say the Bay of Kotor was probably my favourite lil spot in Europe.

Some of my favourites in Europe were:

Kotor (Bay of Kotor)
Dubrovnik (Ragusa)
Mostar
Gdansk (Danzig)
Belgrade (Beograd)
Rome (Roma)
Almafi Coast
Budapest
Copenhagen (Kobenhavn)

Really??? Mostar? It was the only place in Europe I felt unsafe!

and Rome and Copenhagen on your list? You need to get to Prague, Krakow, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Zurich, Paris, London, Barcelona...etc....all of those places are 10x better, imo.

[Incogneto]

Boy of Kotor is Serbia Montenegro, right? just south of Dubrovnik? Damn, I was there, and we missed it. I regret that!

But I did go to a place called Bol, Croatia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol%2C_Croatia) which was one of the best places I have ever been in. Zlatini Rat is like nothing I have ever seen before.

[4X4]

There are only a few places that disallow photography. Sistine chapel is one of them but sometimes the gaurds don't care. Umm.. A few rooms in Castel Sant'Angelo. Most places are ok though.
You may want to consider getting a small camera like the canon powershot. It's the size of a deck of cards and takes really good pics. Unless you're a real photography buff like Cowperson or Neeper, a small camera is great because you never have to leave it on the table when at a restaurant.
The reason why you don't want to leave it (or a cell phone or a wallet) on your table is because another common scam is for a guy to come up to your table with a big piece of cardboard with dumb crap for sale. You'll tell him no and then he just leaves and slips into the crowd. 20 seconds later you notice that your camera is gone.
Beware of anybody that tries to shift your attention.

Something that you may be considering: cell phones. They're all unlocked over there. You can go into any Vodafone or TIM store and buy a sim card for 5 euro.
I doubt you two will be separated much, but if you were going to consider buying cheap phones for that purpose, just so you know, you can use them anywhere in the world as long as you have a sim card. Come home and pop your Rogers sim in there and it works. So if you see a phone you like, go ahead and buy it.


In case you didn't get any beach action in Calabria, go to Ostia. In fact, go to Osita anyway, there are some really cool ruins there. You can take the blue line metro to Pyramide and then transfer to the ostia train. Spend a day in Osita. It's worth it.


Another thing that a seven day stint may allow time for is to go down to the EUR and hit the Rome museum. There is a scale model of ancient Rome. It's huge and you view it from a 360 degree mezzanine. When I say huge, I mean that it's about 50'x50'. Bunch of other neat stuff, not really an art museum, more of an artifact museum.


If you time it right you can watch the changing of the guard at the Quirinal palace. That's kinda neat.


Important: knees and shoulders must be covered in churches/basilicas. If your wife is wearing shorts she should bring a serong to put on when you go into churches. They wont let you in otherwise. And churches are all free, so you'll be tempted to go into a few of them as you pass by.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by InCoGnEtO

Really??? Mostar? It was the only place in Europe I felt unsafe!

and Rome and Copenhagen on your list? You need to get to Prague, Krakow, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Zurich, Paris, London, Barcelona...etc....all of those places are 10x better, imo.

Well compared to Belgrade, Mostar was safe. Sarajavo was a little scarier, just because I almost got into a fight with a Bosnian stalker. I'm not really too worried about safety I guess, see: money belt topic earlier.

Prague was nice for sure, could have added that. I liked Krakow, but I expected more I guess, Krakow was also towards the end of a 9 week trip but would probably be on a second tier along with Warsaw (Warsawa) and I like Gdask more then both, Vienna and Salzburg was nice too and probably on a second tier along with Ljubljana. Munich and Zurich were pretty nice, but wouldn't be at the top of my list. Paris and London were really touresty, big and spread out. Of the big cities, I didn't think it matched up to Rome and Budapest, the two best biggest cities in my opinion.

Originally Posted by InCoGnEtO

Boy of Kotor is Serbia Montenegro, right? just south of Dubrovnik? Damn, I was there, and we missed it. I regret that!

But I did go to a place called Bol, Croatia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bol%2C_Croatia) which was one of the best places I have ever been in. Zlatini Rat is like nothing I have ever seen before.

I was going to go to Bol, Korcula and Hvar, but those got scrapped for Belgrade. In the end, I probably did have time and went to Krk instead.

Loneley planet called Kotor a mini Dubrovnik, but I didn't find it to be similar enough to match its name. Dubrovnik was nice, but I like Kotor more. Dubrovnik had the dreamy little old town hanging out from the bottom of the Fjords going into the Adriatic, whereas Kotor had the Fjords going straight into the bay with towns dotted just along the bay. Similar to Almafi Coast and Cinque Terra except it the towns were at sea level as were the roads, but there was little to no tourism, at least at the time I was there. Cinquo Terra is a zoo, Almafi Coast had lineups of people on the bus; and for Kotor, the bus was 1/5 full and it seemed like there were only about 10 of us tourists there aside from the Serbs. There is also a fortress alongside the mountain you go up 1400 steps to overlook a triangle town with the bay on 2 sides, and the Fjord/forgress at the base of the triangular town. Amazing. And I skipped Sveti Stefan too, also along the Bay of Kotor about 5 min from Budvu.

(Sorry to hijack the thread)

[troutman]

Steve Armitage talks about Italy (see Turin column):

http://www.schnee.ca/armsboard.htm

[4X4]

Gotta bump this thread because I forgot to mention the importance of reading the local free papers. Rome has all kinds of festivals and concerts and football games and stuff that will be happening while you're there.

For example: one day, out of the blue, I cracked open the paper to discover that that night Billy Joel and Bryan Adams were holding a free concert in front of the Colosseum. What a party that was.

There are tonnes of things like that going on all the time in Rome. Totally unexpected, and even if you're not a big fan of the show's centerpiece (ahem, Billy Joel and Bryan Adams) it's still just a total blast to be part of a (seemingly) impromptu party.

The free papers are everywhere. Every cafe, every bar. Just make the old lady read 'em and you'll know where the party is at that night.