First Impressions: Rome
It's been a while since I wrote one of these first impressions report! Rome really made a big first impression on me. Well, two big first impressions.
When you arrive at Fiumicino airport (FCO - the main one), you can take the "Express" train into Rome, where the only ticket option is "first class." It was €14 one way, which is more than what I pay for my discounted ticket from Eindhoven to Schiphol which is clear across the country.
Well, let's just say that this first class express train is just like the Intercity Dutch trains in second class, only sweltering hot with barely any air conditioning (people open up the windows for ventilation), a rickety and jolting ride, and barely any leg room.
Getting to Termini, the railway station, was no better. I seemed to have walked several miles to reach the connecting metro station, and got onto a 110% packed train with many sweaty other passengers.
But, getting out of the station at Colosseum: WOW! It's right there! Facing you as you walk out of the station!
Indeed, anywhere you walk in this town, there are ruins and monuments left and right. Thankfully I decided on a hotel right next to the Colosseum, which means that I'm also right next to the Palatine Hill and the Forum. And it's not everyday that you can tell someone that you'll meet up for dinner at the Pantheon! This is truly, as they say, a living museum. I had heard that many times before but never really understood it until I got here.
