Monday, March 30, 2020

My Hectic Last Day in Rome

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Oh, how I wish Italy is the same as it was before. Seeing all the news about the recent case in Italy is concerning. It hurts my heart, but I can't do anything for them except a prayer. Let's pray together for Italy and the world. This epidemic takes a lot of lives around the world, ready or not; we're at this age, so please implement social distancing wherever you are.


I'm going to continue my writing about my travel diary in Rome now. I hope you're not growing bored of me, lol. Since we all can't travel right now, I want to embrace my memories and write it down so I could treasure it.




On our last day in Rome, we wished to make the best of it. We woke up early so we could have a little bit of walk before we go to the airport. It was super hectic in the morning because we must prepare the checkout.

We left our luggage in the flat with the owner's permission. That day, we had a few hours left before we rode to the airport. Honestly, I still didn't want to leave Rome yet, and I felt like the time was moving too fast.

We then both decided to take a long walk from our flat to the Trevi Fountain.

I chose to visit the church near our flat because we have passed it many times, but we never enter. The complex is pretty big and crowded, but the line wasn't long to get in. No entrance fee btw!

This church isn't the main attraction in Rome, but the architecture is something you must see if you love art. Rome has hundreds of church, and it's 900 to be precise. I wish to visit all of them as I have a sunny spot for church-art. But it won't become true unless I live in Rome or I stay for a month there.




I love the gilded ceiling of this church and how the gold tones dominate this church makes it looks so majestic.


Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore


We spent like 30 minutes inside; my husband was waiting for me on the bench, and he accidentally fell asleep. I knew we both were exhausted because of our tight schedule in Rome. I let him sleep for a second, and I tried to explore the church quickly.

I sat on the bench beside my husband for a few minutes. I looked around from my seat and enjoyed the beauty of this church. The delicate sound of the wind whispered in my ear; it was so peaceful. I closed my eyes and prayed for a while before we left. It was a lovely experience.



This photo was one of those quick unprepared selfies for our memory outside the church. The humid weather made us sweat like a horse; our back was wet and sticky. It was uncomfortable, and the rays were hurting my sensitive skin. Weirdly, I was happy and grateful for the trip.



This basilica is unique because it has a small tower beside the facade. The vintage clock attached to the tower is a classical piece of time, and the carving on the building is fantastic.




We wanted to see the city from the Observation Deck near Villa Borghese. During our walked to the deck, we found Piazza del Popolo and Pincio Promenade in the same direction. We stopped for a while to see the obelisk. The piazza is spacious with the oldest obelisk in Rome, impressive. It must be overwhelming to live in such a historical city.

Like there's a story to tell behind everything. I would love to see if someday my country could have something like this.





After some quick exploration, we continued our journey.

On our way to the observation deck, we walked through a beautiful and leafy garden with a lot of big trees. The wind was warm but comfortable, and it made us a little bit sleepy. The city views along our walks were fascinating.




We decided not to explore the Villa Borghese as a whole, we need to prioritise based on our preference at that time. We were not in the right mood to stroll through the garden, have some walk and picnic. No, it wasn't the right time though it sounded enchanting to me. 🥺



I enjoyed looking at the landmark from above, and it was relaxing for me. I didn't care about the strong wind; even it made my hair looked like a sh*t. Since the people wasn't much there, we had a peaceful time in the garden surrounded by trees and fluffy clouds.






Our feet started to feel stiff on our first day in Rome. I couldn't bear the pain anymore, but we-must-made-it-there. I ran my steps carefully and focusing on some historical landmarks along the road. The pain was better after some hours.


We took the path directing us to Villa Medici, the 16th-century cardinal's villa with landscaped gardens and temporary art exhibitions. It looks so dreamy with the rays! 





We then faced one of the biggest challenges in our life. We had to climb hundreds of stairs to reach the Trinita Dei Monti, a renaissance church next to Spanish steps.




We came from another road, not this one, it was a narrow path from the British council. We almost broke our legs. 😂


The stairs we had climbed was higher than these steps, and I don't want to remember about it anymore. And I forgot to capture a picture because I was too shocked by the fact that I need to climb those steps. My husband even asked me whether we should change the path or keep walking. In the end, I have decided to step on all those steps. It was easy. 🤥


It was satisfying when we saw this painting-look view.


This place is quite popular with tourists, so don't expect a proper Instagram photo here. It was hard to take pictures as many people were walking and standing here and there doing their own thing. I gave up for any shots as my primary purpose to visit Rome was for a travelling purpose, not a photoshoot.

We didn't stay for long because many pickpockets were waiting for their chance. There was a lot of police near the fountain, and we just wanted to be careful—a quick selfie before we left for Trevi Fountain was a must tho.




I wouldn't recommend visiting Trevi Fountain in Summer because the crowds were insane!!!! We couldn't walk to the middle of the facade, not even an inch—the road enclosed by hundreds of people. Everyone was standing adjacent like sardines while holding their selfie stick, some of them just standing there looking confuse but refuse to move even an inch.


This fountain is such a masterpiece by Nicola Salvi, I mean look at that Rococo styled sculptures! It was beautiful and almost lunatic. I was disappointed because of the crowd. I didn't want to stay for long because I saw some polices patrolling and they brought a big sack of stolen bags. I couldn't stand losing my essential stuff because it would be a big big problem.

Protecting our wallet is required.




I only managed to take two shots of the fountain and two ugly selfies. 😬


My husband kept asking me if I was okay because we left Trevi too soon. I said we didn't have any alternative even though I didn't want to. The time was cheating on us, lol. 

I planned to get some lunch before our journey to the station and the airport. That was my plan; food is a-must. Then, panini was our first choice for the food, nothing else I could think of at that time. It was simple, quick and yummy.

We got two different filling and meat as usual. Both were lovely!




After we ate our lunch, we headed back to our flat and rushed to the station with our heavy luggage. It was very tiring for my husband because of the steep stairs to our stay, and he wanted to lift the luggage without my help. I was scared that he might fall while stepping on those steps. It was crazy.


The distance to the station was moderately near, but when we carried the luggage together with us, it seemed quite far. I was a little bit anxious because I had a bad feeling about the trip with the train.


We arrived at the super packed Rome central station. The ticket machine was nowhere in sight because of the overcrowded people. We found it after a few minutes. Unfortunately, the soonest train was too close with our time, tick tick tick. My husband asked my opinion about the condition, and I told him we wouldn't make it. It's better if we buy the next available ticket even tho we need to wait, or grab a taxi.


He had a quick calculation inside his head and said, "let's find a taxi now and go to the airport".

I was like, okay, that was wise. His decision was relevant to a situation like this. We couldn't allow our selves missing the flight. We could make it with the next train but the time interval was too short.

Finding the taxi stop was quicker than the right ticket machine and schedule. It was expensive tho but the moment we entered the taxi, we both felt so relieved. We had some rest while chilling inside the car; the seat was comfortable and the air was cosy, thanks to the air cooler.





Summer in Rome was fantastic but brutal. I wouldn't recommend you to visit the city in the middle of July. Perhaps at the beginning of June is better. The weather isn't as hot as in July or August but not cold like at the beginning of spring.

I know that travelling to Italy is most unlikely to happen this year. We shouldn't drop our hope and love for this beautiful country.

I wish the best for us during this epidemic. 🙏🏻




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