Braineack
Been spending a lot of time on here!
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It's trashy, smelly, and full of graffiti.
I was going to drive between Florence and Rome and hit a few smaller towns on the way but we decided against it last minute. This gave us more time in Rome, which was good because our full day in Rome was over 8 miles of walking and that was using a bus, the metro, and a few taxis.
Rome really reminded me of Philly. Full of history, big city, but like meh.
We stayed in an area called Trastevere, we kept hearing how lovely and neat that part of town was. It had a feel like Florence but a stink like rotten fish. The people quite literally throw trash in the streets, whether in bags or just loose. Their garbage trucks are tiny little light trucks that could maybe move like 4 or 5 13 gallon bags so it all just sits outside on the street (they don't use cans). and the sewer grates you could see where just packed with junk that omitted an awful stench.
I guess it was the nicest part of town.
The taxi drivers in Rome also try to scam you, they'll ask where you are going and then give you a rate quote that's twice as high as it should cost. When we arrived from the train station, the first driver said 35€ to take us to our hotel...when I asked if he would use the meter, he just turned away from us and preyed on a couple of girls behind us. The actual fare was 12€.
Even the Vatican tries to scam you. They have banned photography of the Sistine Chapel claiming it's "a holy place of worship" so therefore no pictures, they pack too many people into the small boring empty room with just a cool painted ceiling, but once you leave it you walk directly into one of the handful of bookstores scattered within trying to sell you hundreds of images of it on postcards and calendars and books. Then you walk directly into the Basilica where the Pope is hanging out and there's a Mass in service, but there you can take pictures to your heart's consent of embombed popes and people actively praying...
Rome was just generally crowded with tourists and it was actually hard to find food. Restaurants don't open until at least 12:30pm (most 1:00pm) -- We had a 1:20pm tour of the Colossuem and needed to eat lunch beforehand but it actually was a big ordeal and we ended up walking for 15min to find a place and then had to wait around for them to open. I will say however, we lucked out and it was my favorite place for pasta--I would recommend.
I could say more, but I just generally didn't like Rome. Not sure why Audrey Hepburn liked it so much. Don't get me wrong, it had some awesome sites/sights to see, but I'm glad we just did 2 nights.
Anyway, how about some pictures:
DSC02434 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02435 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02454 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02483 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02488 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02500 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02512 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02520 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02549 by The Braineack, on Flickr
I was going to drive between Florence and Rome and hit a few smaller towns on the way but we decided against it last minute. This gave us more time in Rome, which was good because our full day in Rome was over 8 miles of walking and that was using a bus, the metro, and a few taxis.
Rome really reminded me of Philly. Full of history, big city, but like meh.
We stayed in an area called Trastevere, we kept hearing how lovely and neat that part of town was. It had a feel like Florence but a stink like rotten fish. The people quite literally throw trash in the streets, whether in bags or just loose. Their garbage trucks are tiny little light trucks that could maybe move like 4 or 5 13 gallon bags so it all just sits outside on the street (they don't use cans). and the sewer grates you could see where just packed with junk that omitted an awful stench.
I guess it was the nicest part of town.
The taxi drivers in Rome also try to scam you, they'll ask where you are going and then give you a rate quote that's twice as high as it should cost. When we arrived from the train station, the first driver said 35€ to take us to our hotel...when I asked if he would use the meter, he just turned away from us and preyed on a couple of girls behind us. The actual fare was 12€.
Even the Vatican tries to scam you. They have banned photography of the Sistine Chapel claiming it's "a holy place of worship" so therefore no pictures, they pack too many people into the small boring empty room with just a cool painted ceiling, but once you leave it you walk directly into one of the handful of bookstores scattered within trying to sell you hundreds of images of it on postcards and calendars and books. Then you walk directly into the Basilica where the Pope is hanging out and there's a Mass in service, but there you can take pictures to your heart's consent of embombed popes and people actively praying...
Rome was just generally crowded with tourists and it was actually hard to find food. Restaurants don't open until at least 12:30pm (most 1:00pm) -- We had a 1:20pm tour of the Colossuem and needed to eat lunch beforehand but it actually was a big ordeal and we ended up walking for 15min to find a place and then had to wait around for them to open. I will say however, we lucked out and it was my favorite place for pasta--I would recommend.
I could say more, but I just generally didn't like Rome. Not sure why Audrey Hepburn liked it so much. Don't get me wrong, it had some awesome sites/sights to see, but I'm glad we just did 2 nights.
Anyway, how about some pictures:
DSC02434 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02435 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02454 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02483 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02488 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02500 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02512 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02520 by The Braineack, on Flickr
DSC02549 by The Braineack, on Flickr
