How we spent two perfect days in Rome

We decided to start the first day of our trip, a Sunday, by visiting the Papal Archbasilica of St. John in the Lateran. The basilica was a beautiful white structure with Latin inscriptions and statues of saints adorning its front facade. Its significance is derived from the fact that it is the oldest of Rome’s four major basilicas and also ranks above all the other Roman Catholic Churches – even St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the official seat of the Bishop of Rome i.e. the Pope and holds the title of ‘Mother church of the whole world’ among Catholics.

Our next stop was the most famous Roman monument of all. And as soon as we stepped out of the metro station we saw it. The largest amphitheater ever built. The arena of legendary gladiator fights. The icon of Rome. The Colosseum. The first thought that crossed our minds was that – IT IS HUGE! And these are only the ruins of it. It must have been a truly colossus structure in its prime.

After that we entered the heart of the ancient city of Rome – The Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. It felt like someone had put us in a time machine and transported us 2000 years back. We were surrounded by arches, ruins of basilicas, temples and other buildings of the capital of the Roman Empire. Another thing which stuck us was that the ruins were spread over a huge area and took us a lot more time to cover than we had thought.

After spending a couple of hours getting awed by all the history that lay before us, we exited the Forum and walked towards the Pantheon. It was huge but a plain structure. After that we walked to the Trevi Fountain. We were really looking forward to see it but as luck would have it, the fountain was under renovation. Well it just took two double scoop Gelatos to lift our mood and end our first day in Rome on a happy note.

Our next day started with the visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Let me just say it outright – Vatican is mind-blowing. It is a visual treat. It takes hold of the part of the brain that processes the feeling of ‘awe’ and enthralls it with frescoes, paintings, sculptures and tapestries that are so majestic, gorgeous and grand that in the end the brain is simply overwhelmed. It took us more than three hours just to complete the tour of the museums.

From Vatican we walked a short distance to Castel Sant’Angelo. This building located next to river Tiber has a unique cylindrical design. It was originally built as a mausoleum for a Roman emperor but was later used as a castle. Since it was a Monday the building was closed but the atmosphere outside it was very romantic. Musicians were playing soft music and a man was blowing soap bubbles in the air with children playing around it. We spent some time sitting in front of the Castle with the river behind us.