Rome 2

Wednesday December 1

So after spending much of the previous day sorting out a place to stay, today was my real chance to explore Rome. I checked with my sister via email as to how long it took to explore Rome, and she said it would  take two days, or one really full day to explore the main sites of Rome. Being an optimist, I decided I'd squash it all into one day, and besides I had the bicycle to get around on quickly. I was also aware that the time I had to get back to London to fly home was quickly running out.

I got up bright and early at around 9 am and headed upstairs to the hostel kitchen/dining room for breakfast. It was another disappointing meal, all they offered was bread rolls with jam, and all I wanted was cereal, is that too much to ask? Apparently so. Knowing I'd be needing plenty of energy for the day's explorations, I ate eight of those rolls.

I'd been considering booking into the hostel for another night, but the inadequate meals discouraged me, and the Wi-Fi had stopped working for me. Also I wasn't a fan of the common room, so I decided to move on. I found another Wi-Fi connection and hopped on hostelworld to look up more hostels.  There were plenty of options, but decided on Ciak Hostel. I rode there first to check it out and make sure it was a goer. 

Relying on Google Maps on the iPhone for navigation as usual, I was at Ciak Hostel 15 minutes later. The place seemed fine, quite small, and they advertised a "full continental breakfast." That sold me, so I booked in there.

Then I had to go back to Hostel Alessandro Downtown, pick up my bags, check out and ride back to Ciak Hostel to check in. It was a bit of a hassle, but I thought it would be worth it for a better hostel, and I was happy to experience staying in as many hostels as I could.

So finally, at about mid-day, I was ready to head out on the bike for a (half) day of sight-seeing!

I had a map of the sights of Rome from the hostel, so I was just going to follow that and check out as many sights as I could. My goal was to see all the important sights of Rome in one afternoon. 

To be honest, I wasn't overly excited about all the impending sight-seeing, but I knew I couldn't visit Rome without seeing the sites. It just felt a bit like a chore though; I guess I wasn't in the mood for it.

I did make it round to many of the sites, I'll be damned if I can remember the names of them though. I've lost that map with the names, you see? Here are some of the shots for the day:

Piazza Vittorio Emanuele in Rome.

The Colosseum, Rome.

The Arch of Constantine.

Roman ruins.

Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano.

An arch beside the Colosseum: the Arch of Constantine.

Roman ruins.

Some kind of old stadium, on the side of Via del Teatro Marcello.

The Monument of Victor Emmanuel, Rome.

Some sculptures on the Monument of Victor Emmanuel, Rome.

The Monument of Victor Emmanuel, Rome.

Roman ruins, with Trajan's Column, a Roman triumphal column in Rome which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.

Roman ruins.

Foro di Traiano, Rome.

Trevi Fountain, Rome.

The Pantheon

Inside The Pantheon

The Pantheon

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Rome.

On the Ponte Umberto I, looking towards the Palazzo di Giustizia in Rome.

The Tiber River in Rome, as viewed from Ponte Umberto I looking to the West towards the Vatican City.

The Tribunale Di Sorveglianza in Rome. Notice the fake facade on the right hand side covering the scaffolding

Cycling around Rome was...interesting, to put it nicely. Or more realistically, you'd probably describe it as hazardous, risky or even downright dangerous at times. There was one major intersection where I felt very vulnerable, I could see no structure or organisation to how the intersection worked, it seemed like a free for all, cars were barely giving way to each other. I couldn't stop for long because I was holding up the traffic, so I just had to make a dash for it, and just hope for the best. I made it through safely fortunately, but this sort of situation was pretty common in Rome. 

The other problem with cycling in Rome is all the cobble-stones; they don't make for very smooth or comfortable riding!

I made it to the Vatican City and St Peters Basilica later in the afternoon, and it was simply spectacular. I just couldn't stop thinking about how much work must have been put into building it, and how the engineers and builders of the day managed it. For about €7, one can buy a pass to climb the 300 odd steps to the top of the cathedral. I didn't take the opportunity because I was too tight to pay for it, but I think it would have been quite amazing.

Vatican City

Vatican City

The Swiss Guard

Inside St Peter's Basilica

Inside St Peter's Basilica

Vatican City

St Peters Basilica

Vatican City

I stopped at a cheap pizzeria for a late lunch, which also came with a free beer. 

Lunch: a cheap pizza and beer.

Then I went in search of the famous Old Bridge Gelateria which was just outside the Vatican City's walls, and which a friend Eli Beggs had insisted I must visit for the best gelati in the world. 

Old Bridge Gelateria near the Vatican City in Rome.

The biggest problem was trying to pick the flavours of gelati to order. I observed for a while, it was certainly a popular gelateria, and eventually made a decision. I must say, it didn't disappoint. I couldn't say if it's the best gelati in the world because I'm not much of a gelati connoisseur, but I certainly had no complaints!

Afterwards I made my way back to the hostel, via a few more sights:

Castle Sant'Angelo, viewed from the Viale Cardinale Angelo Dell'Acqua, Rome.

Obelisco Flaminio, in the Piazza del Popolo, Rome.

A water feature at the base of Obelisco Flaminio, Rome.

Obelisco Flaminio, Rome.

A fountain at the base of the Spanish Steps, in the Piazza di Spagna.

The Spanish Steps, Rome.

Looking down from the top of the Spanish Steps, Rome.

I met a few of my roomies in the six bed dorm. I met a young Swedish couple: a bloke called Christian, and his girlfriend's name now escapes me. The other guy there was Spanish and went by the name of Marcos.

Christian on the left admiring one of Marcos' football scarves (Marcos on the right).

We had the usual discussion of where we were all from, where we'd been around Europe and where we were going, and also about music and Marcos recommended some of the bands on his iPod to me. I noted them down on my "music to check out when I get back to Melbourne" list, so I'll have to check those noted bands out when I get the chance.

It also quickly became evident that I was amongst some avid soccer fans. Christian had an impressive collection of soccer scarves, and was collecting more and more as he traveled around Europe. 

I headed to the supermarket to grab some pasta to cook up a nice big batch of tortellini so that I'd have some for the road the next day. The only real problem with the hostel was that the inadequacy of the kitchen. 

Cooking a massive dinner: tortellini.

There was only enough room and utensils for one, or maybe two, people to cook at the one time, so I had to wait a while to use it. It didn't bother me though, you get used to this sort of thing in hostels, if you want to be stingy and cook your own meals then you have to put up with inadequate hostel kitchens. I kept myself occupied by chatting to a guy from Hong Kong anyway. I also had a quick chat to a couple of Australians who were from Shepparton, and knew a guy I went to college with, Troy Snow, so that was cool.

The tortellini that I cooked in the hostel.

Meanwhile, Marcos and Christian were drinking red wine and had set up the Play Station 2 in the common room and being the devoted soccer fans, they were playing soccer on the PS2, while Christians girlfriend was typing up their blog on her laptop. 

Christian's girlfriend on the left, Marcos and Christian.

They were staying up late to see an important soccer match, Marcos' team was playing in a semi-final of some kind of championships which escapes me. 

Christian and Marcos watching a soccer match on the laptop.

Oh well, not important hey? All I can remember is that it was a favourable result for Marcos' team, and that they both got very excited when his team scored a goal.

I stayed up and hung out with them, and half watched the match while sending some emails and downloading lots of podcasts to set myself up for the long days I'd soon be spending on the road. I was pretty comfortable in the hostel there, wouldn't have minded staying there longer.
I didn't get to bed until about 4:20 am, good preparation for a long day on the bike :p

Ride Stats:

Distance: 28.20 km
Average: 10.9 km/h
Maximum: 30.0 km/h
Time: 2:34:38