/ Rome

by Hina P. Ansari

Rome

Oct 07, 2014

A self-confessed travel junkie, our Editor-in-Chief recalls her solo summer trip to Italy.

I love to travel solo. It all started in university when I decided to stop waiting for my friends and set off to explore the world, one vacation at a time. Sure, travelling sans pals can be intimidating, but if I hadn’t taken the plunge, my home would be devoid of trinkets, my wardrobe of fashion and my mind of the memories. Most importantly, my heart would be empty.

This past spring, my travel bug was in full force. I was aching to explore. As I surfed those wonderfully addictive travel sites and let my mind wander, the decision was made: Italy.

So it would be: Venice, Florence and Rome. Rome. Just the thought of the city elicited iconic images from films such as Roman Holiday, Cleopatra and Gladiator. I was ready.

Before I Land

As a solo traveller, and a true type A, the idea of “letting things happen when I land” doesn’t sit well with me so I like to ensure everything is taken care of before I board the plane. Although I like to book my one-destination vacations online via my favourite travel sites, when it comes to multi-city journeys (remember Rome was the last stop of my three-city trip) I breathe a little easier knowing that I’m in the capable hands of a travel pro. Luckily for me, my agent Anna Maria knows everything about Italy (sì, she’s Italian). So I just let her take the reins and create my itinerary, relieved that I wouldn’t be wasting any of my precious, hard-earned vacation days.

I pre-book for a car to pick me up from the airport. By ensuring that’s confirmed before arriving (either through the hotel or via the travel agent), I’m not left guessing and vulnerable in the hands of shady taxi drivers ready to bump up the fare the minute they’ve clocked a tourist on their radar.

I’m a big fan of tours. Whether I book it myself or have my agent handle the details, I like to book a tour ahead of time — one that hits all the must-sees of the city, to ensure I’m not missing out on anything of touristy value.

And lastly, before I visit any country, I like giving myself a history lesson. It makes it a bit easier to absorb all the facts and figures being hurled at me by the enthusiastic guide on the group tour. And, it gives me a great primer so I can appreciate the history and vibe of the city even before I land.

Roma!

I arrived by train from Florence. I love the train. It’s such a civilized and wonderful way to really take in the country’s landscape. Rome, the capital of Italy, is a bustling metropolis with close to three million residents. Its cityscape is a wonderful milieu of successfully integrated historical architecture, which mingles flawlessly with the modernity of today’s fast-paced world. Steel and copper is intertwined with cobblestoned streets creating a beautiful mosaic which sprawls across just over 500 square miles.

History

A history buff in Rome; I was in heaven! Of course one cannot visit Rome without exploring the Colosseum and the remnants of Ancient Rome. I felt the gravitas of history when walking along the rims of the ancient gladiator arena in all of its glory. While traversing the Palatine Hill, I saw preserved remains of homes that were occupied by the Roman rulers, including remnants of their mosaic floors and marble columns, all weighed down by the illustrious history of the country. One of the seven hills of Rome, Palatine is the bedrock of Roman mythology and the birthplace of twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who initially founded the city together but after a violent argument Romulus killed his brother and went ahead and named the city after himself. See? It’s so Game of Thrones.

Churches in Rome are simply works of art. Walking through the streets, you come across one ornate church after another, each one housing incredible works of art by noted artists including Michelangelo’s marble sculpture of Moses in St. Peter in Chains church and the incredible paintings in the Basilica of Saint Paul, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the Santa Maria del Popolo.

A day trip to Vatican City Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica immersed me into the world of incredible spirituality and art as I admired mind-blowing ceiling paintings, marble sculptures, miles-long handmade tapestries depicting war scenes and incredible marble home furnishings direct from the homes of the Roman rulers. And as I looked up at Michelangelo’s masterwork sprawling across the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, I got goose bumps.

Of course other delights included the Trevi Fountain, the Piazza di Spagna (the town square at the bottom of the Spanish Steps), Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II where the tomb of the Unknown Soldier resides and of the majesty of the Pantheon.

Piazzas (squares) dot the city, serving as popular social meeting points, as well as haunting reminders of generations past with the monuments they surround. Not to be overlooked, each piazza tells a story about a certain historical chapter in the city’s (or even the country’s) history.

Food and Shopping

Pasta, pasta and more pasta. If you’re looking to diet, this isn’t the place for you. It’s an epic carb-fest but because I was in sheer vacation mode, I just walked it off. And thanks to the abundance of cafés that didn’t have waiters pushing you out the door for the next customer, you could sit and just take it all in. Taking in account the exchange rate, it might seem a tad bit expensive. But once you’ve made peace with the fact that you’ve paid the equivalent of $5 CDN for a small, two gulps-sized cappuccino everything else is a breeze. Must-eats include pizza (a fresh assortment of unbaked vegetables and cheese beautifully spread over a baked, sauce-covered thin crust). A single serving looks huge but because the crust is thin, and it’s just so delicious, you can easily finish it off and not feel like you just ate a loaf of bread. Oh and the coffee . . . it’s perfection.

There’s a wonderful assortment of shopping areas to explore. Via dei Condotti is Rome’s Mink Mile with high-end designer boutiques sprawling all the way to Piazza di Spagna. The bigger the name, the closer to the piazza. Fashionistas partake in drooling over Italian design giants like Gucci, Armani, Prada (remember, they are local designers) as well as other couture houses like Dior, Burberry and Louis Vuitton. When shopping in Italy, or the European Union for that matter, there is an approximate 20 per cent VAT (value-added tax) included in the price which is refundable to tourists depending on the price point. So be sure to get the forms from the store and visit the nearest tax office where you can get your refund on the spot. If you’re looking for smaller local designers, Via del Frattina is the place. Via del Corso houses the major less pricey retail shops and you can find antiques and art along Via del Babuino, Via Margutta and Via Monserrato.

As I write this, going through the memories of my Italian summer jaunt, I’m ready to plan my next trip. Where shall it be? My bucket list is filled with untapped locales. Istanbul? Tibet? Morocco? Who knows? One thing I do know is that travelling solo gives me the freedom to plan for whenever it suits me. I hope this inspires you to start jetting off too!

_{PHOTOGRAPHY BY HINA P. ANSARI

PUBLISHED IN THE FASHION & STYLE ISSUE, FALL 2014}

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...