Did anyone else find Rome a horror?

Old Nov 27th, 2004, 07:11 AM
  #181  
 
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To LoveItaly...I agree we you.."thank goodness we all don't like the same place or that place would sure be overcrowded". However, Florence was not as overcrowded as people think.
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Old Nov 27th, 2004, 08:21 AM
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Our first trip to Rome was in 1971. We drove in from Germany where I was in the Army. The USO got us a great hotel near the Vatican. The first night we decided to "explore" the town by car...our 1969 VW Beetle. I got stuck in a traffic jam in a small square that was so bad I thought my wife and I would have to abandon the car and walk back to the hotel. There were cars everywhere! Coming and going and honking and not moving! We worked ourselves out of that and never touched our car again...until we left town.

RULE 1: Never drive in Rome!

Rome then was crowded, but different. You could walk up to the Pieta in the Vatican as the madman had not attacked it yet. Now they have it behind glass and far away.

This was summer, but the crowds were not as bad. Not as many people were able to go to Europe in 71 versud now. We returned to Rome in 1998 and it was much more crowded and hectic.

Will we go back? Yes. There are things to see in Rome that make it worth the trip and the crowds. We do not find it a horror....just an over popular town that will always be that way. You gotta do Rome at least one time...and hopefully more than once. There is no other city like Rome.

RULE #2: Read rule #1
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Old Nov 27th, 2004, 09:40 AM
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TravelDa...,
there is an old Roman song called VECCHIA ROMA,the lyrics are:
Son Ricordi di un tempo bello che non c'e piu ..These are remembrance of a beautiful time that is forever gone..

I remember my beautiful city like it used to be..
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Old Nov 27th, 2004, 03:47 PM
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Keeping this thread going... I just returned from Europe a few weeks ago and I spent the first 3 days in Rome. I absolutely loved Rome... the amazing historical sights... the great food... the vibrant street life. My only regret is why did I wait 41 years to go...
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Old Nov 27th, 2004, 08:13 PM
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May I humbly suggest (ducking my head as stones are being thrown at me) that those who do not like or love Rome not visit there so that those of us who do will not have so many tourist to contend with?

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Old Nov 27th, 2004, 09:02 PM
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A favorite AA member of a friend of mine who'se been sober for years was a Hells Angels-looking type whose scruffy appearance masked a lot of wisdom. He used to say, "Thank God we don't all like the same things. If we were, where would we park all the Harleys?"
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Old Nov 27th, 2004, 09:46 PM
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Exactly Mary_Fran!! LOL
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Old Nov 28th, 2004, 08:37 PM
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Well, for the ones who did not like or love Rome, why would they go back anyway?
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Old Nov 29th, 2004, 10:23 AM
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Perhaps because they have an inferiority complex , they want to be in the spotlights,and complainings about a famous city or about the people in a certain country, gave them a five minutes fame in this forum .
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Old Oct 3rd, 2005, 08:10 PM
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I used to dislike Rome alot after visiting there two times. Just two weeks ago I came back from being in Rome for 12 days and loved it. I am going back again soon. If you are there for 1-3 days it sucks because it takes that long to get into the swing of things. Spend a little bit more time there and you'll really enjoy it
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Old Oct 4th, 2005, 01:42 PM
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I found Rome overwhelming! I thought that the amount of of people trying to scam my stepfather was alarming. There I learned that Italian men especially those in Rome, court agressively. Even a little shopkeeper tried to cheat me out of some change. I felt like I really had to be on the ball. It was exhausting!
I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain. You know that they say it will mean you'll come back soon. I was there again a month later and my experience was GrEaT! Knowing what to expect was half the battle. (My travel partner was a woman also in her early twenties and we weren't preyed on like my stepfather.) I love Rome now. But no where near as much as Paris! =)
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Old Oct 4th, 2005, 09:59 PM
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Loved Rome, our favorite city in Italy. But our 4 days in Rome were very carefully planned, with centrally located hotel near the Pantheon (Hotel Nazionale a Montecitorio on Piazza Montecitorio)...step out the door and there's the Pantheon right around the corner. Also planned what sites we could walk to (plenty), and we had a private licensed tour guide for a 4-hour guided walking tour of ancient rome right from the doorstep of our hotel on our first morning in Rome!

Also planned transportation, schedule to visit sites at least crowded times, etc. The only thing we needed public trnsportation for was the bus to visit the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's. Everything else we visited was within walking distance, making for a relaxing trip.

So if you haven't taken your trip yet and you are reading this, to get the most out of Rome, stay in a hotel where you can walk to most of your sites. Minimize the amount of public transportaton needed. I recommend staying near the Pantheon.

KAMG, did I just read your 2003 trip report for Ireland, where your bus got stuck in the snow, or do I have you confused with someone else?

We left our last day in Rome unplanned as by then we figured we'd enjoy a spontaneous day and we did.

KAMG, sorry you didn't enjoy Rome. I have a confession too...I hated Florence! When we left Florence I breathed a big sigh of relief. I'm pretty sure we were in Florence during the most crowded 3 days of the entire year!

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Old Oct 5th, 2005, 05:30 AM
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Melissa - I am the same person (KAMG/Travelphile) who's Dublin report you read.

For our upcoming trip(9 days!) We did decide to leave out Rome. The furthest south we will be is Siena - and we have a wonderful 16 days planned! Thanks for the tips and enjoy Dublin - laid back, didn't seem to be anything overwhelming there
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Old Oct 5th, 2005, 04:59 PM
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I'm going to Rome the first few days in Nov, but will only be there for two days at the end of a 2-week trip to Tuscany. The first and only time I was in Rome I really didn't like it at all. It was also after a wonderful and relaxing trip to Capri, and of course the differences between the two places were pretty drastic! I thought Rome was way too hectic, dirty and there were street peddlers everywhere trying to sell things like ugly leather vests (lol) and yelling in your face...but, by the last day I was starting to like it more, of course by that time we had to go home! I am hoping that I'll like it better this time around that I know what to expect at least! I'm trying to keep an open mind and give Roma another chance! But I agree, I think you have to be there more than a day or two to get a feel for the city.
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Old Oct 10th, 2005, 11:17 AM
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Often when I don't experience the same thrill in a place like Rome that others do, I find it is for one of several reasons:

1. I didn't spend enough time.
2. I went with the wrong person (hated Venice with my daughter, loved it with my husband).
3. I had a single bad experience and blew it out of proportion.
4. I was in a bad mood.

I get very frustrated when I don't like a place that I believe I should like. So I go back until I do. Most places take no more than a second trip - Rome included. Didn't love it the first time - adored it the second.

Then again, I suppose there are those places we won't all adore. I just haven't found one yet.
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Old Oct 12th, 2005, 01:01 PM
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I visited Rome ( and the Vatican ) for 2 days in February, 2003. I was there during Ash Wednesday. Now that I plan my own trips, I normally spend at least 10 days in a city, but the trip to Italy was planned by someone else, so unfortunately, to my mind, we just blew through it. My first impression was that Rome is dirty, and it reminds me of how I imagine a third world city south of the border would appear. I wouldn't call it filthy, but it IS dirty. The Center 1 hotel close to the train station was a horror, but I won't go into that. My most pleasant memories are of the people we dealt with, in shops, trattorias, restaurants, tourist areas, etc. When I asked directions, or ordered food in Italian, almost everyone was nice and helpful, and even tried to help me along in Italian. I guess because we were two guys sightseeing together, we had no problem with any taxi drivers or pickpockets, although 3 females in our large 12 person group did maintain that they had been cheated. I even managed to take a photo of Pope John Paul in St.Peter's cathedral after the Ash Wednesday service. I've read that the reason the underground is not very extensive in Rome is because of all the artifacts and archaeological sites that appear every time digging gets under way. This explanation makes sense. I plan to go again to Rome, but the next time I'll do it right, and spend at least 10 days there so I can see more things and get a better feel for the city.
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Old Oct 12th, 2005, 01:28 PM
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Eurovoyages -- Athens had the same excuse for not digging more subways...but the 2004 Olympics changed the need. What they did was unearth all sorts of goodies as they dug along, and put them in display cases in the subway waiting areas.

I think Rome would be wise to do the same, and their city would be that much less dirty from all the pollution associated with the excess cars, scooters and buses on the surface.

Jules
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Old Jul 31st, 2007, 05:53 AM
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Reminded me of disneyland when i was there in June this year.

But hey it's Rome, a big crazy european city with some of the most amazing things exisiting on the planet.

Had a great time the day we visited the spanish steps with an Italian Beatles band recreating the Apple rooftop concert. Magic

I'll be goin back as there is still lots more to see.

Trip
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Old Jul 31st, 2007, 06:16 AM
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This thread was started in 2003. The other thread isn't canvassing enough views?
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Old Jul 31st, 2007, 06:59 AM
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Sorry, KAMG, but I don't really understand why you seem to be so upset about supposed "dirty flags" (there are very few flags in Rome to begin with) when you are gazing at the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Roman Forum. You said you did a lot of research for your trip. Did you never realize that Rome is a city of over 3 million people? How did you expect that a visit to Rome would have transported you from modern city life? Part of the fun of Rome is the juxtoposition of the ancient and the modern. I have lived here for years and have never noticed that the city is more commercial than NY or that the Italians are such an unhappy people (far from it!) I can understand if it had not been your favorite city or if you didn't plan on coming back, but you seem to have decided to hate it for utterly trivial reasons and to have completely missed its unique beauty.
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