"Rome is not built in 3 days", and my 2-day's stay in Rome was definitely not long enough to explore the whole history of the city. But I did get to check out most of the sites that I always wanted to visit.
Landed early in the morning, dropped off luggage at the hotel, and headed to the Colosseum right after. Surprisingly there were already lines of people lining up at the ticket booth and many early birds already made it inside the arena by 8am. Since I didn't plan to go in at the first place, I just want to get a picture from the outside and proudly cross that off on my must-see-list.
The lighting in the morning shining through the tip of the Colosseum was perfect for photography. Sadly, the other side of the colosseum had a lot of construction going on which was kinda disappointing. For travelers who plan to visit Rome in the summer, please be aware that a lot of the historical sites are under construction, the Colosseum, the Palatine Hills, AND the TREVI Fountain!! (which is the one thing that I really want to see, you know to throw a coin in the magic fountain, make a wish, and all that girlie romantic fantasy). oh well...
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"I want to kill you with the sword prop you gave me, old man!"
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I want to put this paragraph upfront.
!!!PLEASE BE ALARMED of the people in Gladiator costumes who are acting so kindly to offer you to take picture with them. They are waiting to ROB your money after your pictures got taken. They will name whatever price they want for the picture you just took. They are literally the street robber that walk around the tourist sites and the government has no intend to stop it. I will attach my picture here (cost me 20 euros after I cried out loud I don't have a 40 for you!) See what I mean? I learned my lesson. So stay away from those shameless Gladiators!
Besides all the constructions and those shameless "robbers", Rome is a very walkable city with beautiful fountains, spacious squares, and romantic parks. I did have fun walking on the street, people watching, relaxing near fountains or just sitting in the middle of any squares.
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The Fountain Boat at Spanish Steps--Doesn't it look like a giant bathtub?
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Photo by Jin Chen |
Can't help dancing at the spacious Piazza Navona, like a crazy woman lol.
If you got tired of walking, or if you wear a pair of walking unfriendly shoes like me, don't worry, there are plenty bikes in the city and parks for you to rent out for an hour or two. Biking in a park is very nice and safe, not many crazy drivers passing through your tiny bicycles.
If you want to try biking on the major roads in the city, one way that many travelers do is to book a bike tour and cruise in a group with the safety jackets on. Otherwise, please be very very careful biking on your own. Based on my two-week stay in Europe, their road surface marking is not very clear, sometimes I couldn't even tell if there's any marking on the road to separate different lanes.
It's also very important to take a break from walking, finding a quiet place to relax, and just enjoy the breezy weather under a big ass tree. Mmm, taking a nap on a tree bed sounds very tempting.
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Photo by Jin Chen |
Overall, Rome is a very nice city with both metropolitan fast tempo style and layback relaxing romantic spots. I'm sure anyone will find something here to enjoy depends on your interest, cuz I knew I did.
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Bird view of Piazza del Popolo
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Stay tune for my next blog on another city of Italy, coming out soon.
Ciao!