From One City to Another

Today was our traveling day from Venice to Rome. Our train departed at 12:25 from the Venice Santa Lucia Train Station. However, there was one last museum we really wanted to see (The Museo di Storia Naturale Venezia), so we figured we could drop our bags off at the train station at 10, and then spend some time at the museum until it was time to get on the train. We got to the station just before 10 just to find out that it cost 6 Euros per bag for storage. Ummm...no thanks! We have 3 bags and a backpack that needed to be stored, and we didn't want to pay that much per bag. So instead, we hung out at the train station for a couple hours.

Venice's train station

Is Adam protecting the bags? Or are the bags protecting him?

Finally it was time to go on our train ride! The trip took a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. At times the trip felt like it was going fast, since we were able to admire the beauty of the country, but at other times it felt like the ride was taking forever. But either way, we got to Rome!

Off to Rome!

It felt a little overwhelming when we got to the Roma Termini train station. With a population of over 2 million people, Rome is a huge city! But all we needed to do was purchase our bus tickets and get on the bus that took us to our Airbnb apartment, which was easy enough. Within a half hour, we were at our place!

Our apartment is fairly small…really only big enough for 2 people. The major downside is that it doesn’t have air conditioning, and judging by the weather in Venice…Italy is very hot and humid during this time of the year! We’re hoping it’ll at least stay in the 80s during our visit this week.

Street right outside of our apartment

Anyways, we pretty much set our bags down in the apartment and went out to explore a bit. We're only here for 5 days, and there's SO much to see! Our first stop was Piazza Navona. It’s a popular square where all sorts of artists come and show off their work, a couple of fountains and a statue, and restaurants are lined all around the square. It’s a very cool place to be able to people watch and just walk around, admiring all of the artists’ work.

We also stopped by another square - Campo de’ Fiori. Another beautiful square with lots of restaurants and a beautiful statue in the middle. At this point we wanted a drink/snack, so we walked a few blocks away from the square (the prices go a bit down when you go off the beaten path) to take a small break.

As soon as we finished, we were back on the road! We stumbled across the Ponte Sisto (a bridge) that crosses over the Tiber river. From there we got some amazing views of the city. It was probably at this point where we both said to each other, “Yep, we love it here!”

 

So inspiring!

From the bridge, we noticed that there were dozens of tents lining the river, so we decided to check them out. They’re all different temporary restaurants, bars, shops, and game activities to enjoy during the summertime. It’s a pretty great idea, and we decided we’ll probably go back there tomorrow for our early evening drinks.

Next, we wanted to check out the Pantheon, so we made our way over there. On the way, we came across some ruins called Largo di Torre Argentina. This place hosts four Republican Roman temples and the remains of Pompey’s Theatre. But, basically it’s a cat zoo! When we were admiring the ruins, we noticed a cat..and then a couple more cats! And then even more! Soon enough, we became more excited about finding all the cats as opposed to admiring the ruins. 

As it turns out, the Largo di Torre Argentina is also a no-kill cat shelter for homeless cats. Man…cats have it good in Europe. First a cat boat in Amsterdam, and now an ancient ruin cat palace in Rome?! I can’t wait to see what types of shelters Switzerland and France have for their felines. 

Next, we made it to the Pantheon. This place is HUGE! Unfortunately it was closed by the time we got there, but we still got to admire the exterior as well as the square that it’s located in. We’ll go back this week to peek inside. ;)

We did a little more walking, and ended up having a tasty dinner at a cute restaurant called Trattoria dall’Antonia. We shared a refreshing avocado and ship salad to start. Adam had some top-notch carbonara. It was so rich and creamy, and the bacon was thick and crispy. I had some comforting tortellini with black truffle and ricotta with a pumpkin cream. And of course, we topped off our night with some more delicious gelato!

Initial impressions of Rome? This place is absolutely beautiful and full of wonder. There's a healthy mix of old and new here, and we're just so excited to experience as much of the city as we can this week! Only problem is...where do we start?!