One of my dearest friends is getting married in Rome in September, and as she flew 1400 km or so for my wedding . . . well, you know how these things go. So I'm planning a quick trip over (6 days in Rome, two of which are taken up by the wedding). Has anyone been to Rome? Any advice? I fear I will have to abandon my low-carb lifestyle to try some pizza and and gelato . . . any other must-sees or must-dos? My travelling companion is 79 years old (sounds like a Paul Simon song, doesn't it?) so nothing like 'climb all 8,000 steps' of anything . . . Many thanks!

My wife says, "Don't pass up any opportunities for gelato." She reports the fountains and the Vatican are stunning. Also, "don't feed the pigeons." In addition, "Be careful crossing the street, because everything you've heard about Roman drivers is true, including the mopeds."

Everything in Rome is to be seen. It sounds silly, but it's true. The city is simply amazing.

And kc is right. Watch out! Scooters are everywhere and they ride the sidewalks.

Hi Amie!
When I've heard about the Axiom reunion I was very sad because I will not be able to participate...for the last 10 months I was very busy booking my trip to...Italy in September!
My wife Cristina and I will be in Venice(6 to 10),Florence(10 to 17) and...Rome(17 to 21).
So...if I could not meet you at 200Km(?-we live in Whitby,Ontario) from my home, we would be very glad to see you in Rome(we will stay at Hotel "ZEUS", on Via Ricasoli,close to Stazione Termini), for a pizza, a glass of vine and a...gelatto).
Regarding the ...shoes,etc,you know that there are tons of books,guides,internet sites related to Italy, it is impossible to "extract" just a few info for this post!
Hoping to see you in Roma, I wish you a safe and marvellous trip.
Enjoy your time!
Arrivederci!

Octavian

My wife and I went on a 3 week European trip for our 2nd anniversary in 2003. It was also the last big trip before starting to have children. Well, the trip was really where we were going to start trying to have children Austria is a great place and they have a fertility drink/shooter that works wonders!

Any how back to your question Amy, we spent 2 days in Rome and were just in awe. It is such an incredible city so much history, ruins everywhere and anywhere you went there was something fascinating. Apparently anytime the Romans want to build something as soon as they start digging they find more ruins!

The best thing to do is probably try to get an Italian tour guide. We were on a Contiki bus tour but our guide was not allowed to show us around, we needed to get an official Italian tour guide for our group. The guide we got was great and he brought us around the main heart of Old Rome. This was where the Coliseum was and the main city had all been uncovered to the best of their ability. We got to go see where apparently Julius Caesars body was burned...just amazing. My advice is to do a little research before you go to get an idea of what you want to see and how to get there.

A big warning though, gypsies are everywhere downtown. If you go on the bus, subway or whatever be very careful, keep all bags on your chest and in a good grip.

I will look for my itinerary for more info tonight.

I would second all the recomendations made: First a guide; The Vatican is a must see for the scale, the architecture, the art; The gypsies are very serious--my wallet was snatched by 2 little girls within an hour, valuables were in a money belt though our 7 year old was shocked to see an adult robbed by children his age right in front of him. Somewhat obscured by the building since the 13th century is the grandeur of old Rome. I didn't fully appreciate it until I saw city after city in the hinterlands of Turkey--each with 5,000-10,000 seat auditoriums and stadiums, some still in use after 1,800 years. Only then did I really start to understand what Rome really was.

St Peters, The Vatican, Vatican Museams, Sistine Chapel will take all day but worth it.
The gypsy mothers holding babies suckling at breast distract you while your being fleeced. They are very smooth.
I've been twice and enjoyed it both times. It can be overwhelming. You don't have time to think about all you've seen until you get home.

Good advice so far. I would add, try to get a hotel right in the center of the city. Most of the big attractions are fairly centrally located, if your hotel is there you can walk to most everything. They also have an underground metro system that I found very easy to use. You can take it to the Vatican, which is THE must see attraction in my opinion. It is very expensive there. And people aren't kidding about the pick pockets, but if you stay aware, you won't have a problem. If something unusual happens, it is probably a ploy to divert your attention. People may spill stuff on you, packs of kids surround you, people stop suddenly in front of you while in heavy pedestrian traffic. I had one attempt made on me the 3 weeks I was there, I knew what was happening right away. 4-5 people came right up to me and held a cardboard sign in my face, they were all talking rapidly like they were trying to sell me something. I pushed the sign away, turned around and walked away. They knew I was onto them, and gave up on me looking for an easier target. You may go all 6 days without anyone trying it on you, but it does happen quite a bit.

You guys are making me jealous. No Italy for me for a while, more like Disneyworld...

I think the guide is a good idea. A friend also recommended that for a Rome trip, especially if you're time-pressed. But it may also make your travel w/in the city easier.

Pizoni, in Florence, I highly recommend Aqua Del Due. The Steak Balsamico was THE best beef I've ever had.

Amie,

As everyone said, check out all the historic landmarks. I was just in Rome last fall (around same time) and you definitely need to buy the tour for the Coliseum! It cost like 5-10 extra Euros, but we got to cut in line and the tour guide was VERY good. Without the rour guide the Coliseum would be just another large stadium. He was entertaining and informative.

There are some college students which give FREE tours in St. Peter's Square/Basilica and in the evening to other parts of Roma. Of course they work on tips, but its money well spent and you can leave any time without paying if you dont like em (kinda like Axiom's 30-day policy! )

Beware on the metro, of course for pickpockets as many have stated, but ALSO of the heat and humidity. The metro was torture where everyone is drenched in sweat and lets just say the odor is not pleasing. Wear a lot of cool clothing that allows your skin to breathe and drink LOTS of water. Cotton is BAD since it stays wet, fortunately I brought a bunch of athletic wear which evaportates sweat quickly (Nike Dri-Fit,Adidas, Under Armor). Also, get comfortable shoes since you will have to do a lot of walking. Unfortunately, their metro system isnt as good as Paris since there are a lot of ruins in Roma which can't just be dug out. Definitely get a map for the places you want to see. I don't think anyone mentioned the Spanish Steps...but there are SO many places to see your camera will fill up quickly. I'd say the Vatican (St. Peter's and Museums) and Coliseum were the highlights and you MUST see them. Sistine Chapel was gorgeous (no cameras allowed tho unless you are sneaky ). Don't worry about the carbs for the pizza....they have a really thin crust and its much healthier than the deep dish of grease we eat in the States. Gelati really hits the spot in 90F degree heat with 75% humidity. Don't count carbs cus you will BURN them off walking and enjoying the city!!!

Octavian,

Sounds like a fun, we did the same exact cities last year also. Venice was gorgeous and definitely a unique city. Firenze was cool since we stayed with a local family and got authentic home cooking. You might want to consider a quick trip to Pisa (45mins by train) to check out their leaning tower. 7 days in Fireze is a long time but you might have time to check out neighboring towns/cities. Of course Roma was awesome too.

For the pickpockets, simply place your money/passports in a zipper,velcro, or buttoned pockets. The backpacks we had were almost always locked as well. Always carry your passport and money on yourself. For an entire month in Europe, no one even tried to pick us cus we always were aware and had everything locked up.

So have fun, be careful and LIVE IT UP!

Cripes! Has everyone, but me, on this forum been to Rome. Well HAH! I've beat you all. I've been to the garden spot of the world......................................................................................Viet Nam. Of course, it was 35 years ago.

Oh! Amie? Your travelling companion is 79? If I'd a known you were interested in older men, I'd a volunteered for the trip.

Rome?

Nope...never been...

Now, Paris...yep...been to Paris...Paris, Texas that is.

See Jack, you're not alone...

Vietnam...

Jack...I would like to personally thank you for going and serving our country.

Even if the war / police action / border dispute / disagreement was questionable at best...

Thanks to you and all who have served ( or now serve ) our great country.

You all deserve to be commended.

Warmest Regards,

WhatFurrer

Amen to that.

You guys have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that. There is no way you could ever understand. Thank you.

You have any pics of yourself in uniform? I want proof, dammit!

Taken the morning after my first (and thankfully, only) really serious night of combat. Is that guy aiming his 105mm howitzer at my head?

Ajax,
Was there with ya 36 years ago '69-70 up north around Way & Phu Bai-101st. How about you? Glad to have ya home!!

Yup!.....I was there too......even before the hostilities started

One of our(USS Kitty Hawk, CVA63)recon aircraft was the FIRST aircraft to take a hit by enemy fire in May of '64 I thought I'd take a few photos of that particular F8 on the flight deck; but was told I'd probably lose my camera and a few more personal liberties if I did.

Many thanks to all of you veterans.
I was playing in a poker tournament the other night, eventually taking third. The guy that won (and busted me out w/ a lucky river draw) is a medic in the reserves; just back from Iraq. Glad the guy won.

And Amie, if you're interested in ruins, I hear Detroit is nice.

You're Welcome.....and I appologize......many of my efforts as a civilian following Viet Nam, did tons to ensure that he got home to win(oops)your money

OK, so the technology needs just a bit more work. Get them home safely, accomplish the mission, and wipe any memory of how to play poker. The black planes seem to be pretty good at the first two; how hard can the third one be ?

For some reason they sent me over there with only 10 months left in my hitch. I arrived January '70, and went home on an "early out" due to troop reduction in November '70.

I was stationed in Saigon, but I was a soundman on a motion picture crew, and traveled all over the country. Never made it to Phu Bai or Hue. The farthest North we got, was Da Nang. Between there and Saigon, we managed to see the sights in Pleiku, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh Bay, and countless villages whose names I can't remember if I ever knew them. Spent a lot of time with the 1st Cav over by Tay Ninh and the Parrot's Beak. Now THAT was an interesting area. The photo was taken over there somewhere.

Aside from getting shot at by rifles, 51 caliber machine guns, mortars and rockets, the worst moment I had in Nam was getting lost at Tan Sa Nhut air base in Saigon. I turned into a compound that was shielded by a very high solid fence to turn around, and inside the compound, piled as high as the top of the fence, and as far as the eye could see were thousands and thousands of, as yet, unused coffins. I wept.

Second worst moment was sitting on the airplane, waiting for it to take off to take me home. My anxiety level was through the roof. I had the overwhelming feeling that somebody was going to come walking down the aisle, tap me on the shoulder, and say "Sorry soldier. There's been a mistake with your orders. You aren't going anywhere." No Lie. I was petrified that was going to happen. I wasn't the only one cheering at the top of my lungs as the plane lifted off the ground.

Thanks to you and F107 for your service and sacrifice. I'm glad you made it back to the world.

Apologies to Amie for hijacking her thread with old war stories. Rome has seen it's battles, too.

Hi!
Thank you for your nice words. I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed your time in Italy!I do not think that 14 days is "a long time", considering the "amount"(!?) of art to be seen!I'm very well prepared for this amazing trip, I've booked everything(flights,places to stay,Venice Card-access everywhere,transportation,even toilets!,trains,rental car for a 2 day drive around Tuscany,museums)and I've studyied the culture and language for almost 35 years...
...and I still hope I will meet Amie in Rome!

Regards,
Octavian

Wow - thanks everyone for the advice! Octavian, I'll pm you as soon as I have my schedule worked out (I'm a little slow at these things!). Jack, my travelling companion is not an older man (else I would have taken Ian! {giggles}) but rather my aunt, who hasn't been to Rome since 1964! But Alan was recently there and says not much has changed since the 60s, really.

I had been thinking of NOT going to the Vatican (living in the north makes you a little crowd-shy) but having had about 15 recommendations now, guess I had better! I keep hearing 'hire a tour guide' and a close friend has a name for me so that sounds like a must-do.

**

Looking at Jack's picture just makes me wonder how surreal that whole experience must have been. Did it always feel like a (bad) dream?

In reply to:

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Looking at Jack's picture just makes me wonder how surreal that whole experience must have been. Did it always feel like a (bad) dream?

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Interesting! "Surreal," and "dream" are two terms that I would say applied. Though I got into a few scrapes, and at times the dream was "bad," I, basically, had it pretty soft. The ones who deserve the credit, and our admiration, are the ones (perhaps F107 or cgolf is one of them) who were ground pounders and lived like that photo 24/7)

Keep in mind that the photo was taken the morning after my worst night in Nam. Six hours after that photo was taken, I was sound asleep in my bed in my air conditioned hotel room (with refrigerator, and bath) in Saigon, which I shared with two other guys. Most of the time I looked like this:



I was on an Army Department of Defense Motion Picture News Team. We were required to shoot 5 stories per month, and send the raw footage to the DOD, who would edit it into a short new story, and release it to the networks, and other news operations (made the CBS evening news with Walter Cronkite once).

What we would do is spend 3 weeks lolling in air conditioned comfort in Saigon, then hit the boonies shooting all 5 of our stories in one week. When in Saigon, with rare exceptions, it was pretty normal. One of those exceptions was standing on the balcony outside my hotel room (The Plaza Hotel) watching rockets coming in and hit the hotel a half block away. Now that I think about it, that same hotel once had a motorcycle bomb blow off the front of the building. I'm glad I lived in the Plaza, thank you.

When we were in the boonies, it could be quite a different story. When we went into Cambodia, the convoy that went in a half hour before mine was attacked, and the one that came a half hour after was attacked. Whew! One of the fellows on the other Army DOD Mopic team was killed when a 51 caliber machine gun round went through the floor of the helicopter in which his team was riding.

Yes I think "surreal," is a good description.

It's likely been said before but BEWARE of the cars. I've never seen worse driving than in Rome. It goes beyond bad. Street lights, stop signs, and that silly yellow or white paint on the pavement mean absolutely NOTHING to them.

Beyond that, there's a lot of neat stuff to see.

Amen in regards to the cars. From my experience in Naples: absolutely, postively do not drive while you're in the cities. Their methods of driving compared to ours, is like comparing my arms and legs to Bruce Lee's. Sure, we have the same number of hands and feet, but i can't fly through the air and put an artistic ass-whuppin' on anyone.They're are completely different beasts. The drive insanely over there, it is far safer to take a taxi and hang on for dear life. Think of it as a rollercoaster ride with a higher chance of personal injury!

Spiff, have you ever driven in Mexico City? OY!

Nice to have you back, by the way. Missed you.