Ok, so Kate and I spent Monday and Tuesday in Rome this past week. 2 days is NOT enough time by the way. Our feet were dying by the the end of the first. We took the Eurostar train from Milan to Rome which took 3.5 hours. Impressive speed! We left Milan at 8:15 am which meant that we had to leave my apartment by 7, catch the 82 bus to the train station, find our platform, and get settled. Luckily we bought our tickets the day before. I have been using a Eurail pass which you can only buy in the US I'm not sure it was the smartest choice. I chose the 6 days of unlimited travel within 2 months pass just for Italy. All the trains we have taken have been the Eurostar trains which are the new super fast trains. There were no other options for the cities we were going so I was charged a reservation fee on top of the 164 euro I paid for my pass. I guess I will know by the end of the 2 months if it was in fact the economical choice. Aside from that boring side note, the trains are fantastic. So comfortable, even in 2nd class. Riding backwards is a little trippy especially for those who are prone to motion sickness. Other than that I highly recommend it. You don't have to be there 2 hours ahead like you do for planes, you don't have to check luggage, and its just as fast if not faster if you count all the time you spend in the airports. No security either, which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. One downfall is that people do not silence/turn off their cell phones so its constant ringing and beeping. Not so pleasant for people trying to sleep. Also, you get a nice table to put your things on.
We arrived in Rome at about 11:45 am and found our hostel which was close to the train station, its only redeeming quality. I would not recommend the Hostel des Artistes to ANYONE traveling to Rome. Bad idea. The website made it sound much closer to the center of things than it actually was. It was located behind the Russian Embassy which had armed soldiers with camouflage jeeps out front. Sort of creepy but sort of reassuring? You get what you pay for I suppose.
After checking in we made our way down to the Roman Ruins. Kate and I were continually baffled at how an entire city could just be buried and then re-dug up. Did they all just desert all the buildings, pack up and move? I can't seem to grasp the concept. I mean, if Caesar and Augustus and Hadrian and all those important people lived there and ruled there then how did the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill just go unnoticed for like 1800 years? We saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Incredible. As well as the Monument to Vittorio Emanuel II, who I believe was possibly the first Italian President? Not so keen on contemporary Italian history. I will post pictures below and label ones that may not be as obvious as the Colosseum.
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