This is the final post about our celebratory trip to Italy with my cousins. Read about our adventures in Naples in Part I, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Taking the Train to Rome
On the morning we were to check out of De Bonart Naples, we couldn’t believe how quickly our time in Italy seemed to be passing, but we still had three days of exploring Rome to look forward to.
After enjoying one last breakfast at the hotel, Nate and I chose to haul our luggage down the cobblestone steps and streets to the subway and make a connection to the train station, while Vanessa and Katrina opted to try hailing a ride with Italy’s taxi service, FreeNow.
Because we didn’t think to purchase tickets ahead of time, the only rate available to Rome was business class, but it made for a quiet, comfortable ride. It was only about an hour and a half, and we were there!
Fountains and Statues and Obelisks, Oh My!
Once off the train, we made our way on foot over to the DoubleTree Rome Monti. Nate and I stayed there on our first visit to Rome, and appreciated its central location and proximity to many of the city’s historic sites. I think we were all relieved for paved sidewalks, which made tugging our suitcases behind us much smoother.
Once again, we didn’t have anything specific planned for our first afternoon in Rome, so after getting set up with our rooms and resting a bit, we set off to explore. Between the fountains, statues, obelisks, and historic architecture, there’s something neat to see in any direction. We of course had to check out the famous Trevi Fountain!
Wandering around Rome, it’s fascinating to see the buildings, statues, and ruins that span the ages. You can’t help but think about the human history that has taken place there. It’s also fascinating that people come from all over the world to visit and experience it like we did.
After spending the day on our feet, we were all ready to return to the hotel and relax. We ended the evening with drinks, snacks, and pizza at the rooftop cocktail bar.
Touring the Colosseum and Roman Forum
Our second day in Rome was Katrina’s birthday! To celebrate, we planned a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. I bought the tickets a few months in advance thinking how neat it would be for her to spend her special day exploring such an impressive and iconic monument of Roman and world history.
With crisp, cloudless blue skies, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect, and it was only about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. Our tickets only included access to the first and second levels, but with entrance to the Roman forum too, there was plenty to see. I went with the earliest entry time, hoping it wouldn’t be too crowded.
After passing through security, we followed the curved hallway to these massive stone steps that instantly brought back fresh memories of our time on the island of Capri. The interior of the second level is filled with displays and replicas that illustrate this history of the amphitheater and what it looked like in its full form. Only when you step out through the archways to overlook the arena do you get a sense of how large it is.
The arena is also where the crowds tend to gather, stopping to take photos and selfies. We made our way slowly along the suggested path and stopped into small, crowded gift shop. There wasn’t much else to see from there, so we exited the Colosseum and made our way over to the Roman Forum.
And what did we see at the Roman Forum? More ruins! Since it was now later in the morning, we had to wait a short line to get in, but it didn’t take too long. Inside the gates, we followed a stone path through a campus filled with ancient remnants of statues, shrines, temples, and governmental buildings. At one point, we entered an underground passageway that lead to different parts of the forum.
We only covered about half of the forum before we decided we had seen enough and were ready to find something to eat. How many ruins could we stare at in one day anyway? After a lunch of pasta and spritzes, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring more of the city. We passed by the Pantheon, stopped into a boutique full of oddities, checked out a record shop, and browsed a store full of rubber duckies.
To officially celebrate Katrina’s birthday, we treated her to cocktails and spritzes at another rooftop bar, and then a late dinner of even more pasta and meatballs at an outdoor dining spot. We hope she had a special day!
An Outlet Mall to Die For
Before the trip, Katrina’s coworker recommended a visit to Castel Romano, a large designer outlet mall about 40 minutes from the city center. We decided it would be a fun way to spend our last full day in Italy, and Nate purchased tickets for a shuttle from the train station, Roma Termini. That was a decision we came to regret.
We arrived at the shuttle stop about 15 minutes before the scheduled departure to find a huge crowd of people rushing to a bus that just pulled up to the curb. A clerk stepped out and began taking tickets as the people in the crowd jostled and pushed their way to the door. We waited and watched as the bus filled up, and then the clerk announced that those remaining would have to wait an hour for the next shuttle. He handed out numbered ticket stubs, indicating that we should be guaranteed a spot.
So we waited. Nate decided to go find coffee while Katrina, Vanessa, and I stayed to hold our place. Over the next 4o minutes, a line of people grew behind us. Then a car pulled into the designated shuttle stop in front of us and parked illegally. I had a sinking feeling as I watched the driver and a passenger emerge and head into the train station.
After Nate returned with his coffee, that sinking feeling turned into dread as we watched the scheduled shuttle pull up to the curb at the end of the block. The line behind us quickly devolved into another crush of people rushing toward it. We joined the mob, elbowing our way through to make sure we could hold our position.
The clerk appeared again and began shouting, asking for numbers. Despite his request for order, people continued to push forward, waving their tickets and shouting in different languages, disregarding the numbers the clerk called out. When Nate heard our numbers, he took matters into his own hands and began pushing his way through the crowd. Katrina, Vanessa, and I followed, squirming through the people pushing into us.
Somehow, we managed to get on that bus, and we all collapsed into seats in relief. Nate, overwhelmed, plugged his earbuds in, raised his hoodie, and rested his head on the back of the seat in front of us to calm down. But it wasn’t over. The clerk took another twenty minutes letting people onto the bus, and then began arguing with a family that tried to save seats and told them to get off.
Eventually, the bus reached capacity, and the driver pulled it away from the curb. We spent the whole ride relaxing our nerves and watching the scenery as the bus left the city center and headed toward Castel Romano.
And the outlet mall? It was a mall. An outdoor mall filled with typical and recognizable designer stores. We found lunch, browsed clothing and shoe shops, and bought way too much chocolate at a Lindt store. Oh, and Nate almost bought a fluffy white and black faux fur coat. I vetoed that.
At the end of the afternoon, Katrina, not wanting to deal with the potential trauma of getting on a return shuttled, offered to call a taxi with FreeNow. We didn’t argue. The ride back to our hotel was, thankfully, much less eventful and much more relaxing.
Back in Rome, we ended our last day with one more pasta dinner, and then stopped by a gelateria before returning to the hotel. In the morning, we would take the train to the airport to begin our long journey home.
Nate and I were so grateful to spend the week with Katrina and Vanessa celebrate our milestone birthdays together. We’re already planning our next great overseas adventures together!
Leave a Reply