Roman Holiday

The famous saying "All roads lead to Rome" came true to me as soon as I got married! My fiance and I had planned a romantic honeymoon to Italy. It took almost a month's planning and a lot of research to get the best deals for flight and stay, not to mention that our trip was to be in the best part of European weather - Summer. In the end, thanks to Pegasus Travels, we had a fully packed itinerary for our 7-day stay in the ancient Roman Empire.

Lufthansa carried us from good ol' Chennai to Frankfurt and from there to Rome. As soon as we landed in Rome, I got the feeling that I was in a land not very different from my own country. The Airport was very similar (if not worse) to the Chennai Anna International Airport. It took us nearly 2 hours to get our baggage. We waited in anguish with our co-passengers, all of us fearing that our baggage might be lost. After that incident the Roman Experience was a very sweet one. We boarded a train to take us to our Hotel which luckily was very close to Statione Termini (which was the centre point in the city to get anywhere).



By the time we checked into our Hotel and got refreshed to explore Rome it was 6 in the evening. We decided to grab something light to munch and headed to the Great Colosseum. The aura of the Colosseum was visible to us miles before we reached it. Although we just missed the entrance time, we were amazed by the architecture that was in place since almost 2000 years. We went around the Colosseum about 2-3 times just to admire the piece of art and were totally in awe.






My husband began explaining to me about the Gladiators and how they fought to entertain the royal family. The brutality of those times sent a shiver through my spine.



The next day, we went to Fountain de Trevi. This fountain is known for visitors coming there and throwing coins into it, wishing they would come there again. We too wished and tossed a couple of coins over our heads and wished we could go to Italy again. The wish is yet to come true!



After the coin tossing, we went to the Piazza de Spagna or the Spanish Steps. There was a church at the top of the steps and a tall monument. The place was full of people relaxing and enjoying the sunny day.

What is Rome without the Vatican? Our next destination was the Vatican City which was about 20-30 minutes by bus from Rome. First we visited the Castello San Angelo which used to be a fort during war times to protect soldiers and store weapons. This was right opposite to the St. Pietro Basilica. Wonder why they built a holy place and then built a fort, my guess was to protect the church from hostile beings.



The St. Peter's Square was one of the most beautiful places I had visited in my life. I couldn't blink for the first few seconds, trying to capture the enormity and the architectural excellence of this old place of worship. It only got better on going inside. The shrine had a bird-like glass bringing in rays of light inside the church. The ambience was peaceful and gave a divine feeling. The marble sculptures felt like they had lives in them and were narrating stories from different centuries to me. The one that touched me most was the sculpture by Michelangelo of Mother Mary carrying the body of her son Jesus on her lap after he was crucified.






After admiring the interiors of the holy church we wanted to explore the exteriors and we found that we could climb 369 steps to reach the top of the Cupola and have a grand view of the Vatican City. The sight was breath taking. If only I could pause that moment forever.






The next day we visited the Vatican Museum which was close to the St. Peter's Church. There were paintings and sculptures by different artists of the 14th and 15th centuries. I was amazed by the techniques used 500 years ago that still gave the paintings a life-like look. There was a lot of attention to detail. The Cistine Chapel where Michelangelo had painted the walls and the ceiling on being requested by the Pope himself, was an eyeopener.






Rome has an ancient feel all over with the buildings, walls and even the roads reminding us of Roman empire eons ago. One such magnificent architectures is that of Piazza de Venezia. Although we couldn't find the story this building, there was an equestrian king standing tall and mighty. It looked like a memorial of some kind.



On the whole the trip to Rome gave me a satisfaction of lifetime. I sincerely hope that the wish I made at Fountain de Trevi comes true and I could go back to this historical wonderland once again!