Rome - Day 1

After a long day of travel, my husband and I finally arrived in Rome!! It was pretty crazy seeing old ruins surrounded by modern streets and city life on our drive from the airport to our hotel. When got to the hotel our room wasn't ready yet so we decided to drop our luggage off and head to the Trevi Fountain since it was just 2 minutes away walking distance. I was a bit overwhelmed with the afternoon crowds and the lack of sleep did not help. It took a minute to get past the reality of so many people, and trying to get a good selfie was not happening! After about 45 minutes of the Trevi Fountain and wondering around aimlessly, we went back to our hotel and thankfully our room was ready.

After a much-needed shower and nap, we grabbed a couple cocktails from the rooftop terrace and headed back to the Trevi Fountain to try and get some night shots. The crowds were still just as big, but with a snack and some rest we were not as hangry. The Fountain was a sight to see! The massive sculptures were dramatic and beautiful and you can almost feel this sense of history in the air. I tossed my coin already with hopes of returning soon! Still new to using the Sony a6300, I played with the Scene settings first and used the Night scene and Hand-held Twilight setting. I am very impressed with this camera! It was exactly what I wanted for this trip. The shutter is super-fast for on-the-go photos and the video quality is amazing.

Now it was time to head out for some real food. Just right off one of the main streets we found La Prosciutteria and a had a huge charcuterie board and a bottle of red wine. The food was delicious! People I know who have traveled to Europe have told me the food will never be the same at home and after my first bite, I can see why they would say that!

Feeling full and tipsy, we made our way to the Spanish steps and found ourselves at the top. Halfway down the steps there was a good size crowd sitting and listening to a guy playing his guitar singing Jack Johnson covers. At the bottom of the stairway I got several shots angled up at the steps. I continued using the night scene settings since I thought the photos were coming out great! I decided to take a seat and do quick sketches and some gesture drawings. It has been awhile since I just sat down in a public setting and quickly drew what I saw without thinking and not caring how it looked.

Rome - Day 2

It was an early morning start to meet our tour guide for the Vatican Museum. Thankfully, we booked our tour in advance for a smaller group and got to cut the line. It was well worth it! Our tour guide was incredibly nice and you could just tell he enjoyed his job. He was very knowledgeable about the history and passionate when talking about the art. Our first view after entering onto a balcony was Saint Peter’s Basilica, which was closed unfortunately. Our tour was supposed to include that, but instead, we got to check out other rooms that were not open to the larger public. Before we went further, our guide talked about the famous Sistine Chapel.

I learned so many great nuggets about Michelangelo that I never knew (or may have forgotten from class!). I did not know Michelangelo refused to paint the Sistine Chapel because he considered himself a sculptor and not a painter and he eventually accepted the job for more money. I also learned about his self-portrait in the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew in “The Last Judgement.” I also thought it was interesting that he painted the forbidden fruit as figs instead of an apple. And! It was mind boggling that he painted it all himself (looking up and NOT laying on his back) and only had help creating the frescoes!

We continued the tour and entered room after room of sculptures, paintings, and tapestries. It was a lot to take in! I couldn’t believe the level of skill and the outcome of these masterpieces. I loved learning about how each art piece told its own story and has its own meaning and message. Art historians would figure out who the subject matter could be based on different attributes, characteristics, and what was written in archived documents. It was interesting to see the different styles of the artists, what they preferred, and how it was created. A lot of the art was influenced by who commissioned the art piece and what they wanted to portray, but you could still see the artist’s hand. I felt humbled being around so much art from great artists.

In the evening, we met another tour guide for an intimate VIP night tour of the Colosseum with a group of just 3 couples. This included a proper Italian dinner on the roof top of the Hotel Forum with a balcony that overlooked the imperial forums. The view was spectacular and the food was delicious! After dinner, we visited the forum and got a short history lesson. It’s incredible to see these ruins and just imagine what life was like all those years ago.

We walked to the Colosseum and marveled at its sheer size as we got closer and closer. Seeing the Colosseum at night and lit up with the lights shining through all the arcs was just magical. I’m not going to lie, I felt very special entering through the gates with no people and crowds around. We walked inside and started to see the interior. I felt so pumped like we were about to go into battle! I could not believe we were standing in the middle of the amphitheater looking out into the stands imagining the gladiators and the different people and classes of Imperial Rome that would make up the audience. Russell Crow ‘Gladiator’ quotes were definitely running through my head! We continued the tour to the lower level where gladiators would have waited for their turn and where slaves would have worked. We saw tiny cages where exotic animals like lions and tigers were kept until they were hoisted up with elevators and would enter the arena through a trap door. The ingenuity and architecture is a marvel. It’s hard not to be in awe, but at the same time this iconic and beautiful structure was used for brutal and gory entertainment. I’m overwhelmed by this stark contrast and it was a bit eerie walking through dark hallways, but it was still such a great experience and I highly recommend the night tour. Despite being today’s everyday background in the middle of a busy metropolitan area, the Colosseum gave off a vibe and energy that was definitely unique. This structure that only took 8 years to build has pretty much lasted for 2,000 years and has gone through different uses, earthquakes, and turning black from air pollution is unbelievable. I asked our tour guide what his favor part about the Colosseum was and he said looking up at it from the outside. I just thought, wow, here is our guide that is obviously knowledgeable in the Colosseum’s history, but he still has the same reaction to it as I do.

With how the tour went and not having a tripod, I definitely wasn’t prepared with what Manual settings to use, so I used the Hand-held Twilight setting which worked perfectly! I was surprised that the images had very little noise and blur without using a tripod and in such low light. I thought the image processing to reduce blur, camera shake, and noise was really fast. I was also happy with the colors.

Rome – Day 3

Rome was an experience to remember! Before we said farewell, I got to take more pictures walking around. Every alleyway was just an amazing photo. I enjoyed the architecture, the details of the windows, and doors and how the streets create a vanishing point. I’m still working out the Manual settings and getting comfortable with the Sony a6300, but overall, I’m happy with the purchase. As this trip continues, I’m hoping the quality of my photos will get better and better. So far Rome has been epic, but now we took a train and are off to Florence! More to follow and more photos will be added to my FaceBook page!