When I first started planning a trip to Italy for ten days, I had a very simple plan: to see as much as possible, eat delicious food, walk a lot, and preferably not be late. Already at the stage of setting the route, it became clear that the last condition would be the most difficult to fulfill, because Italy does not have a stopwatch at all. Here you can leave the hotel "literally for half an hour", and three hours later find yourself at a table in a small cafe with pasta in front of your nose and the thought that, since you've already come, you should try tiramisu. Rome Leonardo da Vinci Airport In the end, I decided not to try to travel all over the country in ten days and made a route so that each move would make sense. I wanted to see Rome, Florence and Venice, and between them leave enough time for ordinary walks, casual discoveries and those very moments that cannot be included in the tourist plan. It turned out to be a route that I was quite happy with, although I said to myself a couple of times: "Gilana, why did you walk there again if you could get there?" I arrived in Rome with the feeling that I would quickly settle in, drop my things and go for a walk, like a real organized tourist. In practice, everything looked a little different: first I was looking for the right exit from the subway, then I was trying to figure out which way to go, and then I saw the first beautiful street and, of course, I went completely the wrong way, because how could I walk past such a house and not take a picture of it. Trevi Fountain On the first day, I specifically did not arrange a sightseeing run. I walked around the center, reached the Trevi Fountain, looked at the Pantheon and just got used to Rome. I wanted to feel the city, not tick off ten famous places, so I walked a lot, looked into the alleys and periodically sat down somewhere to drink coffee. The Pantheon By the evening, I had already realized one important thing: Rome is impossible to watch "casually." Even an ordinary dinner trip here turns into an excursion, because there is so much history, beautiful facades and small squares around that the phone almost begs to be picked up.

On the second day, I went to the Colosseum. I tried to arrange the tickets in advance, because even before the trip, I imagined that spending a few hours in line under the Italian sun was not exactly the experience I was flying to Rome for. The Colosseum When I finally found myself next to the Colosseum, I realized why it was impossible to perceive it only as another item on the list of attractions.: The photos convey the shape of the building, but they don't convey the sense of scale at all when you're standing next to it. The Roman Forum After the Colosseum, I went for a walk around the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The walk turned out to be much longer than I expected, because there I always want to stop, look around and imagine how it all looked many centuries ago. Palatine At some point, I realized that my legs had already stopped sharing my interest in history, and if they had a voice, they would probably suggest switching to studying ancient Rome exclusively in a sitting position. After such a walk, I decided not to overload the evening and just went for a walk around the city. I went to have dinner, sat outside for a while and watched the people who were passing by for a long time. I actually liked that in Rome, even an ordinary evening turns into a little trip.: you don't have to go to any particular landmark, just go outside, and the city itself begins to show you something interesting.

Третий день я посвятила Ватикану и заранее настроилась на большое количество впечатлений. Собор Святого Петра производит совершенно другое впечатление вживую, даже если до поездки ты уже видел его на фотографиях десятки раз. Стоишь внутри и понимаешь, что рассматривать всё одновременно просто невозможно, поэтому я в какой-то момент перестала пытаться запомнить каждую деталь и просто наслаждалась тем, что нахожусь там. Собор Святого Петра После Ватикана я решила немного сменить темп и отправилась в сторону Трастевере. Мне очень понравились его небольшие улицы, старые дома, балконы, бельё, которое сушится совершенно без всякого желания соответствовать туристическим фотографиям, и маленькие рестораны, где люди спокойно ужинают и разговаривают. Площадь Санта-Мария-ин-Трастевере и фонтан Я несколько раз сворачивала туда, куда вообще не собиралась идти, и каждый раз находила что-нибудь интересное, поэтому постепенно перестала смотреть на карту и просто позволила себе немного потеряться. Площадь республики Вечером я снова оказалась в центре Рима и поймала себя на мысли, что город уже начал становиться знакомым. Конечно, я всё ещё могла спокойно заблудиться, но теперь делала это гораздо увереннее, потому что уже знала несколько ориентиров и примерно представляла, в какую сторону идти. Для меня это всегда особенный момент в путешествии – когда чужой город постепенно перестаёт быть чужим.