Amir (KOS) - Going to Rome 3-4 days - help needed

My dear friends,

After nearly 2 decades of being Lazio fan and cheering every weekend for out colors,
it appears I will finally attend a match @ Olimpico.

Namely, I will most probably attend Lazio - Bologna, the last weekend of November.

Now, what things I can visit in 3 days in Rome (Colosseum, Vatican, etc etc).

What is your experience ?

Any advise is absolutely invited: metros, busses, taxis, shops, shopping centers,
good and cheap places to eat, have a drink etc etc, prices for everything!

I will arrive in Rome on Friday, Nov27 around 8 PM. I booked a Hotel near Termini station.

Thanks in advance!

My advice, go to any kiosk and buy a map of Rome. They have all the subway, tram and bus lines described. Alternatively get a map from your hostel/hotel (they are bound to have some) and look for walking routes.
Bus/tram/subway fare is 1€ and lasts for 45 minutes if I remember, in that time you can switch as many trams and buses. Once you exit the subway system you'll need another ticket though for re-entry. While you're underground you can switch as many trains as you like for 45 mns, but once you exit your ticket expires.

There are daily tickets but in my experience, the only ticket you need is to get to Termini (main station) and every tourist attraction is within walking distance from there. I walked all over town in 3 days and saw everything there is to see (well not everything of course), I even walked from Termini to Olimpico before the derby. Vatican is also close, Castel Sant Angelo, Colloseum, Pantheon, Forum Romanum, Piazza Navona, Spagna, Fontana di Trevi, Ara Pacis, Piazza del Popolo, just walk around and you'll find everything.

Depending on how much time you have you choose to go to the Vatican Museum, it's beautiful but the line to get in is often long and it will take you a couple of hours just to walk through it with stopping at every 10th piece of art for 2 seconds to appreciate. The churches are also beautiful but it takes time to get into every one.

Bars, food, etc....
I don't know, I went where people took me, eating fast food, drinking beer in front of a store, dinner with the guys after the derby.

Lazio shops - Lazio Style, Via Calderini, close to Olimpico
- Lazio point, Via Farini, 300 m from Termini

Other shops all around town, fancy shops (Prada, Versace etc.) next to Piazza Spagna if you want to know.

Have fun amigo

Sile wrote:

Lazio shops - Lazio Style, Via Calderini, close to Olimpico
- Lazio point, Via Farini, 300 m from Termini
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You forgot 1 shop:lazio original fans via degli Scipioni 84 very close to the vatican if you get off the metrostation ottoviano just 2 mins walk!
To shop you should go to the via del corso!its mutch cheaper then the via condetti.there is also a small mall in that street .
For the rest Sile is right,the places he says r really beautifull.
If you want a good pub you can go to finnegans pub in the Via Leonina, 66 5min away from the colloseum and 10 from termini!

Sile, you have been most helpful man. That is the type of respond I was looking for.

I will print that out and take it with me


You walked from Termini to Olimpico, but that is over 5 km I think ?


Also, are there budget shopping centers around Termini and that zone ?
I mean a shop where you can buy jeans or a shirt for 30-40 euros ?

Yeah I know it's far, my cousin was so pissed his legs were hurting, but we bought a couple of beers on the way and as the tram from Popolo to Olimpico was too full so we decided to walk. It was fun And then back also 3/4 of the way and then on a bus Check out Google maps beforehand, and if you have any sense of orientation you won't even need a map when you get there, there are direction signs to point you the right way, also Tevere is a good thing to orient yourself and of course the St Peters basilica and it's dome.

What I saw regarding stores was a whole lot of Benetton and for instance Foot Locker (shitload of shoes) but I'm sure you can find jeans and shirts at ok prices around town and especially around Termini.

What's interesting is that I had a really tough time finding supermarkets or stores in which to buy beers and chips/chocolate/water there are no signs or ads you really have to look for people with shopping bags and sniff around. Newsstands don't have beer nor do kiosks so that's a bitch. And we were always on the move so didn't feel like sitting down or anything.

Sile wrote:

...
What's interesting is that I had a really tough time finding supermarkets or stores in which to buy beers and chips/chocolate/water there are no signs or ads you really have to look for people with shopping bags and sniff around. Newsstands don't have beer nor do kiosks so that's a bitch. And we were always on the move so didn't feel like sitting down or anything.

Once again thank Sile.
I was wondering the same of supermarkets actually. I have to find one as soon as I land there. heheh.

About beers, that is not an issue for me cause I don`t drink beers.

About Google Maps - that helped me so much about basic orientation. I already printed out few maps and made some notes on it.

Hvala!

on the corner of the via carlo alberto and via gioberti (piazza di santa maria maggiore )is a big supermarkt!1 min walk from termini!

drake1900 wrote:

on the corner of the via carlo alberto and via gioberti (piazza di santa maria maggiore )is a big supermarkt!1 min walk from termini!

Thanks man.

I think you can get a metro/tram/bus ticket for 24 hours at 4 € (at ticketmachines inside Termini metro and elsewhere), so you don't have the hassle to get tickets everytime and have the freedom to hop from metro to bus to tram to metro and so on.

Last year took some friends over for 1 day (Lazio v Inter game), and within 5 hours time I managed to show the the highlights, finishing at 15:00 for some beers

And the last question(s).....(for now):

Lazio - Bologna will take place on Sunday, 15;00.

Which bus/metro goes right to Stadio Olimpico ?

What do you suggest, at what time is best to go there, 1 hour in before the kick off, perhaps 2 ??

You can catch a bus from Termini to Piazza Mancini.I think thats bus 911,im not 100%sure though.The Olimpico is a few minutes walk from Piazza Mancini.

you can also take the metro and get of ant ottoviano(vaticaan)and from there take bus nr 32 it stops right infornt off the stadium

I'd personally leave 2 hours before kick-off.

You can catch the same bus 911 from Piazza Mancini back to Termini.

Thanks guys, you all have been truly helpful!

the Tram from Piazza del Popolo (near Flaminio metro station) to Piazza Mancini is always and full of on matchdays

My friends, I have returned from Rome today.

I want to thank you for your tips for travelling to Rome.

You have all been very helpful.

What sites did you end up visiting Amir?

Dan wrote:

What sites did you end up visiting Amir?

Day 1:

- Piazza Republic

- Trevi Fountain

- Piazza Spagna

some shopping centers et et.

Day 2.

Stadio Olimpico, Lazio - Bologna


Day 3;

Vatica

Piazza Navona

Pantheon

Colosseum and the surrounding area.

Here are the memories from Rome trip and Lazio - Bologna:


Part I

Scene 1, act 3.

After two previous attempts to watch my beloved Lazio, one in 2003 and another one in February 2009, which failed for two different reasons, I finally was able to attend at Olimpico, in an almost rainy 29th day of November 2009. One could hardly find a worst period for Lazio, in a relegation zone, fighting for every point. Fighting, hmm I doubt that is a proper word to illustrate what our coach and player display these two months. Nevertheless, being a Lazio fan ain`t easy at all and suffering for our colors is something we are accustomed now. Our opponent was Bologna, with our two ex players, Marco di Vaio and Gaby Mudingayi, who left pleasant memories while playing for SS Laziio.

Being a Laziale in Kosovo is indeed a unique thing. Everyone is a fan of Inter, Juve and Milan. Then of Real, Barca, Chelsea, Manchester UTD. Lazio fans here are as difficult to find as snow in Africa.

This trip, which I call Act 3, as in the movies when directors try to shoot a same film scene, which for some reason fails in previous attempts, started when I accidentally found out that an air company was having some discounts in certain destinations. Rome was one of them and I immediately grasped this opportunity and booked the ticket, then assembled a million documents needed for a short stay visa in EU states, and prayed that something else does not happen to spoil this so long awaited event.

So I arrived in Rome as expected. Only a severely bad weather could be the obstacle that could take this match away from me. I spent Saturday walking around Rome, the day was excellent and despite being late November, there were a lot of tourist. In the afternoon, I met my two old Italian fellows, whom I know so good virtually, but whom I never met: Paolo (Ermetico) and Fabrizio (Jester). I had a lovely a friendly chat with them. My friend who was accompanying me from Kosovo could not believe that this is the first time I meet my Italian friends. We sounded like we met million of time before.

Sunday was the D-Day for me, a chance I have been waiting for such a long time. A dream waiting to become reality. I go to the stadium with a local bus almost 3 hours before the kick off. I have a coffee and Piazza Mancini and then take picture of the surrounding area. Through some connections, I managed to obtain tickets for VIP tribuna. A thing which I did not expect and a most pleasant surprise one Laziale could wish for at Olimpico. I enter the VIP section, a large room before the tribuna. Many guests are there. Food and drinks and served, of a very high quality. I see the door in front of me, the final ‘obstacle’ to see the grass of Olimpico. My heart starts beating faster. I display my ticket to the elegant guard and finally here I am: Stadio Olimpico, a view watched thousands of times on TV. Never did I think that I would be so emotional to only see the stadium, before the players are even on the pitch. I return back, since it was still 1 hour before the kick off. I pass the half of that one hour in the VIP hall, just before the entrance to the VIP stands in the stadium.

Good story Amir. I wait for part 2 and 3!

Please don't show any disgraceful pics!!!!

Awesome so far buddy!

Give us more!

Is that Mydinguy???

Jofo wrote:

Is that Mydinguy???

Yes.

Part II

Half an hour before the kick off, I enter the stadium and take my seat. Next to me seat an old couple, maybe 65 years. True Laziales, as during their conversations I over hear them speaking of former Lazio players. And while looking around, I notice Fernando Couto, just few steps below. He has come to watch the match. While walkng the steps, a kid stops him and ask him for a photo. Fernando agrees. Di Biagio is at the stadium too.

The match kicks off and Lazio starts good. I look at the Curva Nord, a view I`ve seen so many time on TV – so beautiful. First twenty minutes pass with our total control of the match: 3 golden chances go in no return: a solo by Zarate, from coast to coast; one assist by Rocchi to Matuzalem and Rochi himself who fires just above from a corner. After that, every things starts looking like the Lazio we used to see the entire season. No activities in the midfield, no ideas to attack, everything goes individually. The public starts whistling and they are right in doing so. The first half ends and people start screaming at Lotito, who takes a break as well “Vatenne” they say. Lotito stops for a second and takes a look at those screaming at him. He looks disturbed.

While everyone expects that we shall return and be more aggressive in the second half, the opposite occurs: the players are in lethargy, playing absolutely awful. Not even a semi-chance is created. Fans become to nervous, so do I. The time passes very fast. Ballardini makes a substitution: Foggia out for Meghni. And you have absolutely no idea of the reception this sub was met by the fans. An amazing noise, whistles from all sides to Ballardini for this unthinkable sub. As expected, Meghni does not make a change, at all. Two substitutions follow up, one weirder then the other. To no avail. The match ends 1-1. Tare almost has a fight with Bologna bench since Osvaldo fell on the groud in the stoppage time, pretending to have been kicked off by Radu. Fans are sad, nervous, pissed off – all feelings mixed in one. How is it possible that we have fallen to the level of being unable to beat teams like Cagliari, Parma, Bologna at home, when we are the better team? Everyone is shaking the head. Everyone is deadly worried for this Lazio, that is knocking on the relegation door.

After the match, I go to the place where players give press statements. Once again I am lucky. So many journalists waiting for the players. After a while, Diakite passes by, then Foggia. Gaby Mudingayi comes out and I take a pic with him. I tell my companion that I always valued him while playing for us. He aggress. Di Vaio comes out and gives a long conference for the journalists. Meanwhile Stendardo comes out, I take a pic with him too. I really like this guy. He is positive and always gives the best on the pitch. After him, Meghni and Matuzalem and Eliseu come out. Matu was limping. I wait no longer for other players, since everyone was so nervous and I was tired. Take the bus and return to hotel near Termini to have a rest and reviews the pictures I had taken. A day that shall remain with me forever.

The next day, Monday, I go visit the remaining Rome attractions: Vatican, Navona and Pantheon. Around 1.30 I meet again Paolo and have a pleasant lunch together. There was a huge battle who would pay the lunch, and who paid can you guess ? Naaah, that is absolutely irrelevant. I salute Paolo, thank him for his hospitality and guidance in the eternal city. Hope I see him again. Next day, I got on the place and return home, where I belong.

THE END

Amir I am so happy that you got to finally go to Rome. I remember when you tried in 2003. Nobody deserves it more than you.

you are a great Laziale.