Tuesday 3 August 2010

My weekend in Rome, Italy

Despite my busy schedule, I decided to get away to Rome for a weekend and get the most out of it. Now Rome is a huge city and one cannot do full justice to it in one weekend, but I believed that, with the right planning, I would experience most of what Rome has to offer.

I arrived in Rome on Friday, having taken care to book the room well in advance since hotels in Rome tend to be crowded. I also needed to get a good Trevi Fountainnight’s sleep in preparation for the tough itinerary ahead.

Next day, I started my weekend on a religious note at the Vatican, which is actually a tiny city in its own rights. Since I reached the Vatican early, I was able to miss the long queues and view the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Cathedral and Castle Sant-Angelo in peace.

By then it was time for lunch and I am glad I was sensible enough to have a light lunch or else I might have wasted the rest of my day sleeping. Post lunch, I got a taste of Roman history at the Coliseum, a huge amphitheatre, the Roman Forum, the ancient center of the city, and the Palatine Hill. I was told that the best place to spend the evenings and enjoy night life is the Trastevere and that’s where I went next before calling it a day.

I started the second day of my weekend throwing coins into the legendary Trevi Fountain and wishing for a longer vacation in Rome, after which I visited the Spanish Steps, admired the shops of Via Condotti and the stupendous Piazza de Popolo. I spent the afternoon wandering around Villa Borghese, enjoyed the sight of Rome at sunset from the Pincio and had a sumptuous Roman dinner before leaving.