Amazing trip to Rome

I’ll let you in to a little secret – I adore travelling. In fact, if I had the time and money I would go away every month and one day I will travel the world.

I have been travelling since I was three, either with family, friends or on my own. The most adventurous place I have been to on my own is New Zealand. The first time I went was three years ago to visit a friend I used to work with. I hadn’t known him very long and most of our friendship was built up on msn conversations and emails. However, he invited me to go and I had always wanted to go to New Zealand. As my brother said quite rightly, “never invite my mother and sister anywhere as they will turn up on your doorstep!”

I just love experiencing different cultures, learning a bit of their language, seeing the history and trying new things.

I want to write about travelling from a unique perspective and to begin; I want to tell you about my visit to Rome over the Easter holidays.

Having a rather generous mother, who seems determined to spend her pension as fast as she receives it, I was whisked off to Rome as soon as the holidays started.

My initial reaction, I’ll admit, wasn’t a great one. Walking in the dark, trying to find our hotel and lugging our luggage around didn’t feel glamorous, in fact it was scary. However, once we reached a brighter, more populated part I started to see the attraction, especially at the little street our hotel was on. Full of cute houses with balconies, I had my first thought of wanting to live in Rome.

Our hotel, l’Espana, was gorgeous. Black and white drawings of Rome featured up the staircase and the staff were friendly. I loved saying Bionguorno every morning!

Nothing compares to Italy. Having already been to Tuscany, I knew that you could just be walking along and just around the corner is a beautiful monument. The same happens in Rome. Walking down a busy main road, I was greeted with my first view of the Colosseum. It is bigger than I imagined and part of every day life as cars, buses and trams hurtle past it.

My mam marched me past the Colosseum though, much to my dismay, saying it is better to begin in the Forum. She is right by the way. There were hardly any queues so we were able to buy our Roma pass easily. Then when it was time to finally go to the Colosseum, we were like VIP and went straight to the front, past a queue of at least 100 tourists.

The Forum was worth it too. Full of ancient Roman buildings and pillars, it also has an Arc, which the Arc de Triomphe in France is modelled on. We also went up a set of stairs, which my mam never got a chance to go up when she went with my Dad – as a smoker; he’s not in the best health, unfortunately. There were amazing views and my Mam pointed out a white building, which is a whole monument to an unknown soldier. Imagine being that important! My mam also told me that the Romans hate this building and refer to it as “The Wedding Cake” (more on this later).

We went to a little museum at the Forum with various statues and pottery. I was amazed at the quality the statues had been kept in. We also wandered around the gardens before heading to the Colosseum. Inside the Colosseum you really can imagine what it must have been like in the days of gladiators fighting tigers and bears. I imagine the atmosphere would be like that in a football stadium today.

Next we walked down the main road, seeing more Dumos and statues, including one of Caesar. I took so many pictures on that first day, as I just loved how many beautiful buildings we came across. We were also lucky that the weather was warm and sunny.

We headed towards the Wedding Cake and you can see why it’s called this. It has many staircases and tiers, each adorned with statues. Next we walked to the Trevvi Fountain. Although places look far apart on the map, they are in fact in close distance to each other and I really recommend walking to places. Firstly you see more of Rome and you pick up the atmosphere. Drivers are crazy in Rome though and being shy about crossing the road won’t get you anywhere. As the famous saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, you really do need to copy the Romans and just brave crossing the road, in order for the cars to stop for you!

The Trevvi Fountain again is an amazing piece of architecture. There are statues within the actual fountain as well as on the building behind. I managed to get right next to the Fountain, in order to throw my three coins over my shoulder. For some reason, this is what you do in Rome to make sure you come back again.

Next we walked to the Spanish Steps, that really is just a grand staircase but where everybody, including young Italians hang out.

Tip: stay at the Trevvi for some ice cream, it’s amazing! I had one every day.

Our next day consisted of a trip to Villa Borghese. This is in the grounds of the Medusa family and is full of incredible marble statues. Artists were so talented then, I honestly have no idea how they created such masterpieces. My Mam’s favourite is Apollo and Daphne and it’s not hard to fall in love with it yourself. The legend is that Daphne was running away from Apollo whom she had no feelings for. In order to escape him, she asked her father to turn her into a tree. The statue is of the beginning of the transformation – Daphne’s fingers are turning into branches and her stomach is already made of bark.

We wandered round the grounds, heading towards Pizza del Popolo. Again this had three huge fountains and statues. Next we headed to the Pantheon, which unfortunately was half in scaffolding. You still see the impact it has and inside it is completely unique, with the opening in the roof for when it rains. The raindrops are said to look like glitter but it never rained heavily enough for us to witness this.

We stopped at my father’s favourite coffee shop, which was an experience in itself. Italians don’t linger over their coffee; you stand at the bar and drink it.

I also got a chance to go shopping this day, although not to the designer shops I saw near the Spanish Steps! I loved seeing different shops, as although an avid shopper, I do hate seeing the same things all the time.

I was sad that it soon became our last day but what a day! Arriving at the Vatican, we heard people cheering and I said to my Mam, “The Pope’s here.” She told me not to be ridiculous but I was proven to be right! We managed to get seats in the second section and out he came in his Pope mobile to greet everyone! Although we are not religious, it was an experience we’d never have again so we stayed for the full service, which was read in Italian, English, French, Spanish, German and Polish. In a way it was like being at a concert. Each archbishop called out names of groups that were there and the people would stand up and cheer! There was even a German band and some Spanish girls who kept jumping up, shouting out “Il papa!” every five seconds. It was a surreal experience.

Next we wandered past the Castle and on to Piazza del Novio, once again with spectacular buildings, fountains and statues. We went to look for a restaurant, as I desperately wanted to sit outside, having lunch, as so many other people were doing. It just looked so relaxed. Just wandering through the back streets offered lovely sights and concreted my desire to live in Rome.

I was very sad to leave, especially having to return to South Shields. People in Italy are so fashionable and interesting, even the teenagers. Men waltz around in suits, not trackie bottoms like in England. Sigh, one day I will make it out of this country!

Another positive aspect of Rome is the compliments. If you need an ego boost, go there! Men appreciate women there; there are no dodgy chat-up lines. Plus having blonde hair and fair skin, I was part of the minority there. I was constantly told I was “bella” and even my Mam was called “bella mama” by the maitre d’ in the restaurant we went to every night! My mam noticed it more than me though, as I was oblivious in my own little world. She once saw a boy drag his father backwards by his coat to have a look at me! Another time, I was walking and realised she wasn’t with me. Turning back, she was talking to this man who I later found out was congratulating her on having a beautiful daughter!

My favourite bit though was our last night at the restaurant. A group of teenagers were in having a meal and two of the boys had bought roses. I’d commented to my Mam that I wondered which of the girls was going to be lucky to receive them. In fact, I was the lucky girl! It happened so quickly I didn’t get a chance to do anything but say “Grazie!” One of the boys came over with a rose, saying in Italian that it was for me because he thought I was beautiful. He returned once more to give me his friend’s rose and blew me a kiss! The whole restaurant was looking at me and outside the girls had gathered and were clapping and waving at me! The mother was crying and at first I thought it was because she didn’t get one but no she was just overwhelmed that they’d had the courage to do something so lovely and not want anything out of it. The whole experience has put me off British men even more so now!

So for now, Ciao! But soon I will make it to Rome – just as soon as I learn some Italian first!