Fun fact you might not know: Did you know that Hive and Rome have a lot in common!? 馃悵馃悵
Rome, such beautiful, ancient city full of mistery and secrets... but did you know it has a lot in common with Hive? Yes, just as you read it: Rome and Hive share a particular aspect: the great appreciation for bees.
Wow, I seriously can't believe that it's already been two months since I last had some time to focus, write and create a post for Hive. I'm sorry, won't happen again!
But this time, I have something very interesting to share, it's been two weeks since my six-month solo trip started and I got to visit some great places. I hope to keep on sharing with you all the things I will be doing and I'll be more than thrilled if any of this information is useful and interesting to you.
I'm writing this as I'm waiting to board another flight to leave Rome this time, Sicily will be my next destination and I couldn't be more happy about it! It has been a place I've always wanted to go... So I'll keep you updated on how that goes!
Well, enough chit-chatting... Let's make it to the interesting part.
My experience visiting Rome
Little did I expect about this city, to be honest. Part of my family comes from Formia, which is a very small village located only 140km away from the huge urbe, so it was pretty usual for me to hear things about Rome and to see as many pictures as my nonnos could show me. Still, I have never felt a deep connection with it... till now.
From the moment in which I stepped down from the train, I completelly fell in love with it. It's gorgeous monuments, a blissful yet quiet spark that caught you from the very first time and so many ancient and magical secrets awaiting for me to be known.
I did what I usually do whenever I arrive to a city that I've never been in: make your own path walking with no particular destination. Walking just for the love of walking and letting the Universe guide me.
馃悵 What do Hive and Rome have in common?! 馃悵
It's no news that Rome is greatly known for its historical value, wherever you go there's a lot to see... and so many things still remain hidden to us. Beneath it's own charm, history shines through time and lies in front of us to tell us a lot about what happened so many years ago. I'm still amazed by how good buildings and constructions have remained through time...
I had been wandering a lot through the city, with no particular destination, just for the love of getting lost in those narrow and magical streets. I had never been a person with a good sense of orientation, it's quite easy for me to lose track of where I'm going, but that's part of the magic itself: you get to see what you need to see and find at that particular time.
And that's where I found myself in front of this hotel:
It wasn't weird that I reminded myself how inconsistent had I been with Hive, of coure. Promising myself just once more that I would find and make the proper time to actually sit and write... and of course, share with you all this journey that I'm in. But it wasn't just it, why would a hotel be named like that in such historical place?
Well, there was deeper explanation than I could barely imagine.
On one of the days I was there, I decided it was a good idea to attend a guided tour for all the Ancient part of the city, as it'd mean a better understand on all I was about to see... and glad I did, 'cause I found the answer I was looking for.
The tour began quite early, I had an americano coffee to go, as the day was grey and windy as hell. The tour guide was a loca roman, with a very emphatic love for his hometown; he gave us a quick introduction on how Rome had been built and the different damages and things it had to go through in its whole history.
While being close to Palatine Hill, we stood next to a very imponent church, called Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Falegnami. We were a group of almost ten tourists that were too impressed on how big and breathtaking Rome was, so we couldn't focus on details at that time... till the guide asked what I already had in mind:
"Do you know what Rome and bees have in common?"
He made us look to the main entrance of the church, to realize that sculpted bees had been placed there.
This church had been built by the Barberini family, one of the wealthiest families in Ancient Rome, so each building that had been done by them can be recognized by the presence of sculpted bees. But why bees, precisely?
The Barberini family had in its coat of arms three bees on a blue background, which for them symbolized hard work, dedication and eloquence. Pretty nice, right?
As well as in buildings, these bees can be spotted in fountains as well. This is another place I found them when walking with no destination:
Now you know, interesting to be associated with bees... right?! 馃槈馃槈
My experience in Rome
Aside from that fun fact I shared with you, I want to say that Rome has amazed me in a way that I never expected. Its great story and different atmosphere regarding any other city makes it simply a one-of-a-kind experience.
Wherever you go, there's art and magic waiting for you. Ancient stories remaining to be told once again and art expecting to be admired by thousand of new eyes every single day. Rome is as magical as you want it to be.
Every single piece of history has been represented in a way that trascends time.
For instance, this magnificent and huge building is the Altare della Patria (or Altar of the Land) that memorates the reunification of Italy in 1911. You can get in, climb the stairs and get beautiful views of Rome.
Another thing that I found interesting is the huge devotion and appreciation romans have for their ancient aqueducts. You will see so many beautiful fountains across all the city... Mostly, all of them represent the ocean and their importance for the development of civilizations across time.
Of course, none of us are strangers to the Trevi Fountain, that is always soooo crowded it's almost impossible to take a good picture of it! But here it is, my best attempt to it!
But of course, there are so many other fountains that can be appreciated too:
Rome has several places in which you can have a panoramic view of the city. Here's the view from Piazza del Popolo, that my very good friend 
It would have been a lovely spot to see the sunset, but unfortunately all my days in Rome were pretty cloudy and cold, so there was no chance of enjoying a view while the sun would set.
There are so many different and interesting things you can do in Rome. At first, I was going to be there for a day and a half... but luckily, I changed my mind and spent almost five complete days and I still have some things left to see. So, make sure you have the proper time to visit the city and get lost in all it's small passenges and streets.
And of course, don't forget about gelatto! 馃崸馃崸
See you in my next post and thank you so much for reading!