It's time for the next installment in my Rome travel series. December 27 was a busy day for me. I started off by going to the Catacomb of Priscilla, which is located outside of the historical center of the city. I took the subway there and found the entrance to the catacombs. I was lucky: There was an American family just getting ready to tour the catacombs, so I joined their group. What a spooky place! The bodies have been removed, but the labyrinth of tomb-lined passages carved into the soft volcanic rock was impressive enough. The catacombs feature some of the earliest known Christian artwork--it's amazing to think that people made that place almost 2,000 years ago.
After the tour, I got a lunch of artichoke pizza from a little pizzeria. The lady there spoke no English, but we figured everything out through a combination of sign language and my extremely skeletal Italian (I was able to figure out that she asked me if I wanted my pizza warmed up, to which I replied "si si"). Then I headed back to my hostel and asked the receptionist the best way to get to Hadrian's Villa. I studied that site in an architecture class, and I really wanted to go there. After getting directions, I took the subway to a suburban bus station. At the bus station I looked for a bus to Tivoli and got on the first one that pulled up. I asked the driver (in Italian) if the bus went to Hadrian's Villa, to which he replied "si" and then a lot of other things I couldn't understand, so I sat down and enjoyed the ride into the Italian countryside.
I didn't exactly know when to get off the bus, but I knew that the ride would take about an hour. So I watched the road signs carefully and saw a sign for Hadrian's Villa and got off the bus. Fortunately I was in exactly the right place. The grounds of the villa are immense and very beautiful, and I recognized lots of places I studied in my class. It must have been quite a sight to see two thousand years ago when Hadrian was throwing big parties in the giant bathhouses and ballrooms. I managed to see most of the villa complex, but I had to leave somewhat early because it was getting dark. Also, for a while I was the only person around, which was sort of eerie.
I walked back to the main road, a bit unsure about how to get back to Rome and whether the neighborhood I was in is safe after dark. There were lots of people just hanging out, and, after having been in Russia for so long, my instincts were telling me that it would not be good if people found out that I was a foreigner. I think I was being paranoid, but I wanted to get back to tourist-packed Rome. A bus pulled up after not too long, and its destination sign said Rome, so I got on. Fortunately it was the right bus and took me back to that same subway station. The weird thing is that I didn't pay for the bus to or back from Tivoli. No one ever asked, and there wasn't any sign of a way to buy tickets. Everyone just got on and off the bus without paying, so I figured I was okay. I guess I saved eight Euros that way--not too shabby.
After the tour, I got a lunch of artichoke pizza from a little pizzeria. The lady there spoke no English, but we figured everything out through a combination of sign language and my extremely skeletal Italian (I was able to figure out that she asked me if I wanted my pizza warmed up, to which I replied "si si"). Then I headed back to my hostel and asked the receptionist the best way to get to Hadrian's Villa. I studied that site in an architecture class, and I really wanted to go there. After getting directions, I took the subway to a suburban bus station. At the bus station I looked for a bus to Tivoli and got on the first one that pulled up. I asked the driver (in Italian) if the bus went to Hadrian's Villa, to which he replied "si" and then a lot of other things I couldn't understand, so I sat down and enjoyed the ride into the Italian countryside.
I didn't exactly know when to get off the bus, but I knew that the ride would take about an hour. So I watched the road signs carefully and saw a sign for Hadrian's Villa and got off the bus. Fortunately I was in exactly the right place. The grounds of the villa are immense and very beautiful, and I recognized lots of places I studied in my class. It must have been quite a sight to see two thousand years ago when Hadrian was throwing big parties in the giant bathhouses and ballrooms. I managed to see most of the villa complex, but I had to leave somewhat early because it was getting dark. Also, for a while I was the only person around, which was sort of eerie.
I walked back to the main road, a bit unsure about how to get back to Rome and whether the neighborhood I was in is safe after dark. There were lots of people just hanging out, and, after having been in Russia for so long, my instincts were telling me that it would not be good if people found out that I was a foreigner. I think I was being paranoid, but I wanted to get back to tourist-packed Rome. A bus pulled up after not too long, and its destination sign said Rome, so I got on. Fortunately it was the right bus and took me back to that same subway station. The weird thing is that I didn't pay for the bus to or back from Tivoli. No one ever asked, and there wasn't any sign of a way to buy tickets. Everyone just got on and off the bus without paying, so I figured I was okay. I guess I saved eight Euros that way--not too shabby.
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