Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Learn a Foreign Language

Are you planning to travel around Europe? Why not learn Italian or French before you go to maximize your experience.

Book Your Travel Here!!

The Saturday City: Rome

June 7, 2008

Ahhh Rome. The cradle of the west. The center of power for centuries. Birthplace of Caesar. Home to Catholic Church. A city steeped in three thousand years of history. All around the world, everyone knows Rome. Saying the name conjures up images of the old, the new, religion, food, romance, and Tom Hanks trying to crack the Da Vinci code.

I was excited to go to Rome. My visit was supposed to be three days but turned into a solid week. I feel in love with Rome. It was easy to see why everyone loves the city. Despite all the tourists and tour groups that roam the city, the ungodly crowds, and the congestion, nothing could take away from the beauty of Rome. Rome is Rome…it doesn’t need to be anything else. The name alone conveys everything.

Nothing I could write about Rome could do it justice. It’s beauty and elegance has been described by far better writers and poets than I ever could. So rather than talk about the beauty of Rome, I’m going to show it to you.

A Walking Tour of Rome

I started downtown where most of the ruins were located. There you can explore the ancient ruins built by Julius and Augustus Caesar as they expanded the Roman empire..

Cross the street and wander through the ancient Roman Forum, the seat of Roman power. There are a ton of ruins there and sitting down amongst them was a humbling experience. Someone thousands of years ago sat in this exact spot watching Senators and Caesars go past.

and then head to Palatine hill, where the kings, caesars, and aristocrats of Rome lived…

Then cross the street and gaze at the Colosseum. It was an unbelievable site to behold. Massive and beautiful.

Head west, through the Circus Maximus, and across the river Tiber. There you can wander through Trastevere, a local area that sees few tourists. It was my favorite section of the city, small cobble lined streets, tiny squares, great restaurants, and few tourists.

From there head north to the Vatican, the center of the Catholic Church. There you can check out the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the tomb of the popes.

From there head back east, across the river, for more exploration.

Walk through the Piazza Navarro and to the Spanish steps, for some good relaxation and people watching…

Continue south, past the Parthenon, to Trevi Fountain. Make your way through the crowds and follow tradition by turning around and throwing a coin in for good luck.

Then finish at this monument, built in the Roman style, to honor Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of a united Italy. It’s big and gaudy but it’s still beautiful.

Rome is an amazing city. It wasn’t built in a day and there’s more to do there than my little blog post can handle (Heck, they have whole guidebooks on the city!). There’s more to do there than you can fit in during your trip. It would take years to see the whole city…but I’m up to the challenge, are you?

Liked what you read? Use the icons below to share with others on the web:

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Saturday City

Comments

14 Responses to “The Saturday City: Rome”

Anthony on June 7th, 2008 6:14 pm

Rome has its sights, but it is one I’ll pass if ever in Italy again. It was/is very dirty and at least the people we encountered, rude. Nothing like getting kicked off a bus for no reason! Nice photos though.
Anonymous on June 7th, 2008 7:13 pm

Thanks for the tour of Rome Matt! I can’t wait to go there.
Nomadic Matt on June 7th, 2008 8:33 pm

@Anthony: Many of the Romans I met where quite nice but I have heard that from other travelers.

I’m glad you liked the photos though.
Jenna on June 7th, 2008 8:40 pm

Awesome photos Matt!
Christine Gilbert on June 7th, 2008 10:54 pm

I love Rome. Who said they didn’t like Rome!!

Anthony, you’re crazy!

Matt, didn’t you think it was crazy how the Trevi Fountain is behind some buildings? We walked down this side alley, and there it is, on the the back side of these buildings with a throng of tourists packed around it. That was one of the unexpected things about Rome for me… it’s like this city built upon a city. I really didn’t expect a four lane highway going around the colleseum… Great city though, love it. In one minute you’re dodging vespas, the next your in this quaint alley with clothes hanging between the buildings and someone riding a bicycle with a bottle of wine in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Gypsy Princess on June 8th, 2008 12:22 pm

I loved Rome too, but like Anthony I don’t know if I will ever go back. I love the rest of Italy so much more, Como and the Alps being my favorite part of Italy.

But that was an awesome post.
laradunston on June 8th, 2008 12:59 pm

Anthony, I’d love to hear more about your encounter of that bus that turned you off Rome… it must have been some terrible miscommunication. Rome is one of my favorite cities and I’ve been a number of times and each time fall more and more in love with it. I have never found Romans to be rude - in fact they are extraordinarily polite generally, but this last trip (last month) I did detect a certain frustration and detachment that I also find with Parisians, and I think like Parisians they’re perhaps a bit tired of the hoards of tourists…?

Matt, great post! Thanks for link (very sweet) and thanks for the visual “walking tour” - took me back, way back to last month
Are you still in Rome? If so, you really must try out one of the Contexts walks I posted about. I really think you’d love them. They’re inexpensive and the guides are amazingly knowledgeable as well as just being nice people. If you call the office talk to Petulia or Jessica and tell them I sent you!
Nomadic Matt on June 8th, 2008 5:08 pm

@Christine: Yeah! I did find it funny that you just come upon the Trevi Fountain…it just comes out of nowhere.

@Lara: You are welcome. I’m just acknowledging what is true!! I am not in Rome. I was just writing about my time there. I’d like to get back to Italy sometime soon but there’s just too many places to see.
Carrie on June 9th, 2008 3:19 pm

Great photos Matt. I enjoyed this photo essay and would love to see more.

On another note, do you have an RSS feed going for this site? I’ve been trying to pick you up for weeks and haven’t had any success. I’d like daily access please!!
Carrie on June 9th, 2008 3:22 pm

Oops. My bad. Your feed wasn’t coming up with my Flock browser. This makes Carrie a lazy girl! So sorry. I subscribed manually and now I’m updated. Sorry for the confusion.
Cuckoo on June 9th, 2008 5:50 pm

Well, I went to Rome before I read the novel Da Vinci Code.

I don’t agree with Anthony here. Romans are generally nice. It all depends which country/city are you comparing with. We were warned beforehand, so our expectations weren’t broken.

Come to India, you’ll find both very nice & very cheat people.

Cuckoo
backpakker on June 10th, 2008 4:20 am

Brought back such wonderful memories..have you seen my posts on Rome ?

lakshmi
Billigflug Jamaika on June 10th, 2008 12:04 pm

Very nice pictures, Matt. I love Rome, because it keeped its imperial flair. What I most like is that on the on side you got traffic and big city trouble and when you go downstairs you are in a beautiful park with no noise at all. WONDERFULL!
Monna on June 10th, 2008 8:24 pm

Lovely format for this post… I really enjoyed the tour. I remember when I first saw the Coliseum, I thought I would squeal right out loud. Thanks for the memories!

I would certainly go back to Rome but Florence and the Cinque Terre are at the VERY top of my list of Italian destinations.