The Perfect Rome

We left on a sunny morning in Vigo on the 18th of December. Despite the unusually pleasant weather, we were a bit anxious for all the uncertainties of travel and still yet excited for the future fun and discoveries we were certain of finding in Europe’s historical cities. Our first leg of the trip was a train ride from Vigo to the airport in Santiago de Compostela; here we discovered we were to be flying with a large group of Italian students from our university in Vigo and others near-by. We really do like the Italians, but they certainly are a loud, rowdy bunch of friends! This was our first experience with RyanAir, and undoubtedly the best in a long run of irritating flights. Here’s the deal: RyanAir sells cheap tickets but then charges for each piece of luggage and strives to sell unnecessary travel insurance with each flight. Furthermore, the cheap tickets are really only a good deal if you happen to fly out early in the morning (8 am or earlier) or late in the evening (9 pm or later). Otherwise, the tickets are just as expensive as any other airline. It does, however, get worse. RyanAir flies from the small airports outside of the major cities, allowing for at least an hour of additional travel once arriving. Worst of all is the non-existent customer service. Lines form to check in at least two hours in advance; when a worker arrives at the desk to begin the process, the line is usually 50 or more people long. After check-in, typically one must spend another thirty minutes to move through the line to reach security. Then the backpack is searched and all forms of liquid and metal must be declared. Finally, when you reach the gate, another line is formed because tickets do not come with seat assignments; indeed the rush to sit where you want with whom you want on the plane is a free for all. Once happily seated, you can’t help but notice the strange amount of yellow and blue plastic as the flight “attendants” work to sell you a sandwich for 6 euros or some other item in their gift brochure. When Matt and I arrived in Ciampino around midnight that night, we were astonished when our travel buddies and others clapped at our safe landing as celebratory music played in the background. And that was only the beginning! Happily, our hotel was just outside Ciampino, and we were delighted to stumble into a modern room with TV and clean shower. The next morning we woke in time to enjoy the free breakfast and I must add that it was a banquet of breakfast – juice, coffee, tea, bread, cheese, meat, cereal, jellies, and honey. Before leaving, we had monitored our meager supply of groceries for two weeks in order to save all money for the trip. Accordingly, we had been eating very little at each meal and not at all the night before. Therefore, this breakfast with so many choices seemed heavenly and we marveled for the entire hour that we ate. This set a very fine stage for our first day of exploring and we headed immediately to the Colosseum. It really is outstanding, and we bought tickets to walk around the inside and along the narrow halls. Much imagination is not needed after movies like The Gladiator to picture large Roman crowds with mighty men and fierce animals below. The Colosseum sets up the stage to visit the ancient Palatine Hill where Matt and I walked for an entire afternoon after enjoying a picnic lunch (borrowed sandwiches made from the hotel breakfast!). In subsequent days, we visited the Pantheon, catacombs and the Vatican City. On a tour of the Basilica, we were shown through a room of pope’s tombs, including the recently deceased John Paul II. The sanctuary of the church is just beautiful and we walked through it in silent awe along with other guests from every country imaginable. The Vatican has its own postal system and Matt and I sent off postcards to Hanna and Matt’s mom and Ron. Finally, we toured a castle museum on the Tiber River with a grand finale overlook of the city from the very top of the castle. We found Rome to be just lovely, especially with its lights for the Christmas season. The Metro system makes it easy to get about in the city and we saw to our heart’s content!