Galleria Borghese: The Gem of Rome

I haven't had much time to post but my favorite part of Rome was visiting Galleria Borghese. We were not allowed to take any photographs inside the villa so I will try my best to describe how amazing the villa was. The villa was by a cardinal in the late 1800s and he absolutely loved art. He filled his entire villa with works of art and it was the first museum opened to the public because the Cardinal loved art and wanted to make sure he could share it with everyone else.

I am usually not a fan of ornate artwork and gold and intricate carvings but this villa was absolutely amazing. You have to have a reservation to enter so Doug and I used our Roma passes and had the concierge at the hotel call and reserve us a 9:00 am time (when the museum opens). It was the best decision ever, we had almost the entire villa to ourselves, there were only about a dozen or so people.

I have never seen so many beautiful decorated ceilings and the Bernini sculptures were absolutely amazing. To imagine ancient sculptors carving into marble and stone and making these beautiful sculptures that looked like they were molded out of clay, it was absolutely amazing. The Bernini sculptures were by far my absolute favorite. I cannot do them justice by describing them, you really have to see them for yourself. From the curve of the Princess's back to the sculpture of Daphne the wood nymph turning into a laurel tree, I felt like I was there watching the myth unfold before my very eyes. Galleria Borghese is a site, no one should miss if they are in Rome. It really is a gem.

Saldi: One of my favorite Italian words

This morning, Doug and I found a great trattoria for lunch. I had the tortelloni stuffed with porcini mushroom in a truffle sauce. Mmmmmm, it was delicious. Doug had a large round type of pasta (it looked like mini logs) in a tomato mussel sauce. That was delicious also. Afterwards we made our way to try out the Metro in Rome and a kind gentleman helped us by directing us to the correct staircase going in the direction of the Vatican.

Today was a good day to visit the Vatican since it was still on and off raining. Doug and I had purchased the Roma Pass and I highly encourage anyone visiting Rome to do so. The Roma Pass allows you to visit 2 of 30 participating museums and historical attractions in Rome for free and have unlimited rides on Roma Metro and buses. The pass pretty pays for itself considering that standard admission is 10-12 euro and the pass was only 25 euro. I was a little jealous of Doug today because at the Vatican, he had his student ID card and only had to pay 8 euro while I had left my Mcard in NYC thinking I wouldn't need it and had to pay the full price of 15 euro. So I learned my lesson, always bring your Mcard with you everywhere you go. For all my fellow travelers with student ID cards, keep them in your wallet!

The Vatican was pretty amazing albeit to see the Sistine Chapel, you have to wander through most of the interior of the Vatican City. The Sistine Chapel was breathtaking. I can't even imagine how much significance it would have had if I actually was an art major or studied the works of the great Baroque artists. Afterwards, Doug and I went and I had the best Valrhona chocolate gelato ever. Doug chose a caramel flavored one which was also very good. Wandering from the gelateria, Doug and I were a little underwhelmed by the Spanish steps but Doug absolutely loved the Trevi Fountain (okay, I admit, I did too).

But my favorite part of the day was the abundance of the word "Saldi" everywhere. Doug and I agreed that early February is not a bad time to visit Rome. Less tourist crowds and everything is on sale in the stores for the biannual sale. Almost every store we went in had 50% off of the winter items. I'm still on the quest for the perfect pair of Italian leather boots...

Dinner was amazing also. We went to a cantina and split an order of deep fried salted cod and deep fried zucchini. Yummy... Then we went to a pizzeria that was bustling with people and Doug had the Penne Arrabiata and I had a margharita pizza. Then my tiramisu came out and in less than 2 minutes, I had devoured the entire thing. Now I'm stuffed and approaching a food coma as I blog.

Doug and I talked about how we're not getting the same vibe from Rome as we did from Madrid or Barcelona and we can't pinpoint why. It just doesn't seem to have the same effect as Spain did but I do have to say, no matter what, the Italians are very kind to us and they're so good looking! The food is hands down better here than it was in Spain but who doesn't love pasta and pizza? :)

When in Rome...

Continuing with my travels, I decided to take a extended weekend in Rome. Well actually the deal was too good to pass up $481 for a roundtrip ticket and 3 nights hotel including breakfast, all taxes included. So with the usual 30 minute frenzy of packing right before heading to the airport, Doug and I found ourselves on a non-stop flight from JFK to Fiumicino. We left JFK at 9:55 pm Thursday evening and arrived in Fiumicino at 11:00 am on Friday morning.

Our first adventure was getting in the city center of Rome. There are two trains from the airport that take you into the city center, FR1 and the Leonardo Express. The Leonardo Express is the tourist train and is 11 euro, the FR1 only 5.50 euro. Especially after Asia, I am on super budget watch so of course opted for the 5.50 euro. Doug and I boarded the last car of the train, settled in and as the train was leaving the station, and skipped the first local stop, we realized we had accidentally boarded the Leonardo Express after all. It clearly stated on our ticket, that our fare was not valid on the Leonardo Express. We just figured, we would explain to the conductor when he arrived to us and pay the extra fare. Since our car was the last car, the conductor did not arrive until the train was almost arriving into Termini station. 2 rows in front of us the conductor was checking tickets and just as he was about to arrive to us, he receives a phone call on his cell phone and had to leave to check on something else. So Doug and I arrived at Termini and got off the train without having to pay the extra fare or look like 2 dumb tourists. Pretty lucky...

It is raining here in Rome (ahhh my luck with bad weather when I travel) but Doug and I tried to make the best of it our first day. We wandered for a bit, saw the Colleseum and even Jenna, an old high school friend of my brother who is currently studying abroad in Rome. Since it was raining, I have not gone on my culinary hunting adventures yet but that is to begin today.

Today our adventure to the Vatican begins... more to follow :)