Roman Holiday

Rome is one of those movies where all the good scenes are advertised on TV. While walking through Florence, Sienna, Tuscan Hill Towns and Venice is uplifting and inspiring all in itself, Rome is downtown Los Angeles with a coliseum on the side of busy streets and other famous sights scattered sparingly around the city. The city itself is polluted and heavily graffitied. I half expected strolling like Audrey through romantic streets on my own Roman Holiday, but alas non! Rome is definitely worth going to, but I won't recommend staying more than 2 days. I stayed there from Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon, and it was entirely too long.

The sights of Rome are beautiful. The cherubs in St. Peters (Vatican) were the fattest babies I have ever seen, standing almost as tall as me holding a plate of holy water. Every statute and monument in Rome is overwhelmingly larger than life, at times grandiose. The Trevi Foutain, while pretty, lacks the intricacies you see on works by the hands of Michelangelo. Many of the statutes in Rome are big, but less refined than those housed in Florence Museums. The coliseum was actually smaller than what I imagined to be. The ruins are confusing if you don't know what you're looking at, but fascinating if you know the history behind it (I never did find the "mouth of truth" however). Capitol Hill was gorgeous, framed by 4 gynormous statutes and one in the middle. Venezia Square looked like Ceaser's Palace in Vegas, and the Pantheon was absolutely stunning. Spanish steps were just "eh" but I hear it's beautiful at night. St. Peters in the Vatican is HUGE, with beautifully designed dome by Michelangelo and an awesome view on the "cupola" (the view from the very top of the dome). After claiming 320 steps just to get to the bottom of the dome and through countless twists and turns inside the dome to the very top, I realized that I am a bit scared of heights (not the best time to find that out). The Sistine was a dream, and the School of Athens was absolutely awesome. The public bathroom near St. Peters was the cleanest public bathroom I have ever seen, complete with an attendant sitting in the bathroom telling you were to go. Traffic rules are actually obeyed near St. Peters, as I found that out when Swiss guards dressed in purple told me to stay on the sidewalk.

All in all, it was a good Roman Holiday. It's definitely worth it to go, although it is not a city that I'm eager to go back to...