On Sunday we woke up and got ready. We had planned to leave by 10:00 but that didn’t happen as it took us a little while to figure out how to actually get to the catacombs. By the time we left it was already 10:30 and we knew the catacombs were far away so we decided to do our afternoon plans first. We had to stop at an ATM on the way and sadly it only gave us 20s. To get a pass for the metro the largest bill you can use is a 5 so we had to find somewhere to break up the money. Since it was Sunday nothing seemed to be opened.
We eventually found a McDonald’s that opened at 11:00 so we sat outside to wait. It was about 10 till 11:00 at the time so we didn’t think we would have to wait long but it didn’t actually open until about 10 after. This was sort of the beginning of many things not going right for the day. We each got a drink at McDonald’s and since we now had change headed for the metro and got our day pass. We easily got to our stop. When we got off we looked around at an art festival that was set up. There was some pretty neat art work around so I enjoyed looking through the stalls.
Once we were done looking we headed to the Baths of Diocletian. We figured these were going to be actual Roman baths so we were really excited to see them. According to Rick Steves there were three different sections beginning with St. Mary’s Basicilla. The church was really pretty like most that we have seen. It was originally designed by Michelangelo but over time has been renovated. The only part that is original is the main entrance. Inside the church there was a lot of information on Galileo and the discoveries that he made throughout his lifetime. There was also an exhibit about the Baths and how the church had changed over time. Upon reading the information we slowly began to realize the church had been built over the baths. It was a tad bit disappointing when we made this realization but the church was still really neat. We spent a little more time looking around the church then left.
We went outside and sat the huge fountain to figure out what we wanted to do with our extra time. Doing little things like sitting on a fountain makes me love Italy even more. Those are the kinds of things I will be missing the most. We decided to head to Borghese Gardens because it was a beautiful day out and we wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. On the way to the gardens Jeana and I found a cute little pasta shop so we stopped in. It had the best prices on pasta that we had seen so we figured it was a good time to purchase some pasta to take home to our families. It was extremely difficult to decide which pasta to get but after some heavy contemplating we made our final selection then we headed on to find the park and eat.
Our plan was to find a little café and then eat in the park. Sadly we could not find any place to eat at besides a few street vendors you see all over the city. We didn’t want to eat any of that food so we decided to walk through the park and find a café outside. The park is absolutely enormous…basically it’s the Central Park of Rome’s. I love how they have these great giant parks in huge cities. I particularly loved Borghese Gardens because people had their dogs all over unleashed running around playing together. It was just super cute and about the only thing keeping me happy while my stomach was telling me it was starving. I really was starting to get in a bad mood because I was just so hungry. We neared the exit to the park and on our way did get to pass Borghese Gallery. We finally made it out and turned right only to walk a ways and realize we were going the wrong way. We turned around because we didn’t want to have to back track later. Our feet were beginning to fell all the walking we were doing.
As we walked there were absolutely no places to grab food in sight. Honestly I was really frustrated at this point. Normally we are able to find places to grab food everywhere we turn. It only made sense that when we were the hungriest there was nowhere to stop! We just kept on walking because there was really no other choice. As we walked we ended up finding the bust stop that would take us to the catacombs. We figured we might as well hop on since there was no food in sight anyway. Our hope was that near our stop there would be some food options. We ended up looking out by getting off at the wrong bust stop. We found one café but none of the prices were listed. We figured that wasn’t a good sign. Close by there was a pizzeria so we headed there and finally hit the jackpot.
In this place you simply paid for your slice of pizza by weight and got to pick how big or small it was. I just wanted something to eat that I was going to for sure like so I ended up getting margarita pizza. It was probably a good chance to be a little adventuresome, but my starving stomach told me to play it safe and feed it. There were a few tables outside so Jeana and I sat there to enjoy the still fantastic weather. As I was eating I realized I bit into something hard and sharp. When I took it out of my mouth I found out it was a piece of plastic. I probably should have been a little worried/upset about that fact, but I was just so happy I finally had food I just pretended it didn’t’ happen.
As we continued to finish our pizza two children came up to us and begged us for some money. It’s a scam parents use their kids for so I didn’t feel bad telling them no. at first they spoke to us in Italian but when we said no they were like “oh you speak English” and continued to beg. When they realized they would have no luck with us they moved on to the couple sitting next to us who told them to go away as well. The kids went into the pizzeria and promptly came out a minute later each with some food. The little bit that I did feel bad for them quickly evaporated. Jeana and I finished our food and went to catch the next bus as we were one stop away and did not know how to walk there. We got on and of course our bus driver did not stop at our stop but proceeded to take us two stops farther away.
When we got off we were not about to get back on the bus so we tried to back track the same way the bus had come. We did pretty well for a while and eventually figured out where we were on the map. Then we made it to Priscilla road but could not locate the catacombs. A police officer was mearby and told us to just keep going straight as we were headed in the right direction. We then were super extatic when we made it to the catacombs. By this point I was dead tired and totally ready to crash. That of course was not an option as we had just finally reached our destination and had a tour to go on!
Not to be a negative Nancy this whole entry but the first downside we experienced was that it cost more than we had originally thought. This wasn’t a huge deal, just a bummer because there were other catacombs we could have gone to that were cheaper, closer and easier to get to. We selected this location because we were supposed to go on a tour with a nun guided by a flashlight. It was supposed to make it more intimate and less touristy as it was in a more secluded location. Our tour guide was not a nun although other tours were guided by nuns. This was not a problem, what was a problem was that our tour guide barely spoke English. She struggled the whole time to tell us the information and said um after almost every word. I guess I should have appreciated the fact that they offered a tour in English at all though. Overall the information she gave us was really good, it was just a struggle for her to present it to us. I think because of the morning we had already had this just sort of piled on top of things.
I really did enjoy seeing the catacombs. It was a really neat experience and I got to learn some interesting information. For example, they used to display the bones but tourists took them as souvenirs so they had to store them in the parts of the catacombs they no longer allow guests. In all the catacombs were ten kilometers long and three stories deep. We probably only saw a fraction of the entire thing but it was plenty. We got to see a lot of the graves as well as the church. Definitely a neat place to experience and ponder. When the tour was over Jeana and I hopped on the bus we need to get home. It was quite a long bus ride and when we got off we had to get on the Metro before finally reaching our hostel. We were meeting Tyra and Jordan at our hostel at six so we could go to dinner together at a place the hostel owner recommended. We got back and had a bit of spare time to relax before they got back. When they got back they informed us the restaurant didn’t even open until 7:00 and that they had made a reservation for us then. This was really nice because it gave us even more time to relax and unwind from a semi chaotic day.
At 6:40 we headed out to walk to the restaurant. It was located near the coliseum so it wasn’t far away at all. When we got there it wasn’t open yet so we waited on the benches outside. A guy who was in Rome for business heard us talking and asked where we were from and so we all got to talking for a little bit. He was from NY and was curious about what we were doing abroad as most people are when they find out. Not after long we were let in the restaurant. This place was recommended because they have this special where you pick the number of different pastas you want to try and they choose them for you randomly. The place offers over twenty different pastas so they can pretty much bring you anything.
We decided to do four different pastas. They bring them out to you one at a time. Our first one was fettuccine noodles with artichokes. Second we got risotto with broccoli sauce, third we got pasta with mushrooms in fettuccine sauce and fourth we got noodles in tomato sauce. Then we decided we wanted another…our waiter told us we had to ask for another, not one more because you never really know what will be your last one. It did end up being our final one only because there was no way we could eat any more. It was by far our entire favorite as well. It was noodles in fettuccine sauce with finely chopped walnuts. Absolutely to die for! I’m going to try to learn how to make it so I can share it with others and have some more!
The greatest part about the meal was that we got to try so many pastas, most of which I would have never tried because I would have been too scared that I wouldn’t like them. On top of that the meal was so good it turned somewhat of a frustrating day into a memorable one. Our fun didn’t stop there though. Even though we were all full enough that we didn’t need to eat for a week our waiter convinced us to get desert. I didn’t eve know what I was getting before he brought it out because he just picked for me. I knew you couldn’t exactly go wrong with desert and our waiter sure did pick well. Basically it was three breaded balls filled with custard, dipped and smother in chocolate and then topped off with whipped cream. Can’t get much better than that! I thoroughly enjoyed it and let me tell you my plate was scraped clean.
As we all finished our deserts they brought us complimentary lemon cello shots. Apparently Italian’s are very generous…though they probably should have been with how much we paid for that meal! If there has ever been a meal I have not been sad I had to pay for it would be that one. After dinner we decided to talk to the coliseum. Now we made a rule in Italy that we had to have gelato at least once a day and Jeana and I hadn’t yet. Jordan was not okay with the fact so as we walked to the coliseum we all stopped to get gelato. Trust me we know we were crazy to get more food after that meal but you only live once and it may be the only time we are ever in Rome or Italy for that matter! I got coffee and strawberry. The coffee was kind of disgusting which was really disappointing but the strawberry was so good that it made up for it. We ate our gelato as we sat in front of the coliseum. To me that was one of the best moments of the whole trip. Sometimes it’s the little things that make for the best memories. We all had a great time together that night with amazing food and some fun conversations and company. It was the perfect end to a day when we were all feeling a little wiped out!
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