Episode 3:Day 2 In Love with Rome!
Ask any ardent traveller, and they will tell you that you have only seen a place well if you have mingled with the locals and fellow travellers, tried to emulate the way they travel and/or eat. Most often than not they stay over in a new location for prolonged periods of times only for this experience. Well, I for one had a job waiting back at home 2000 miles away where I had to show my face in a few weeks. So my partner and I, had to explore the beautiful country and feel it up, be the tourist and the traveler all at once. And when I look back I can gladly say that our Italian sojourn was nothing less of a lovely adventure!
Our trip to Naples and Pompei on Day 1 was fascinating. The kind of places we saw and the food we ate blew up our minds! To read about our time in Southern Italy check the link , and about our Pompei day trip you may find some interesting facts in this link.
Our time in Rome was amazing to say the least! Well, to begin with we cancelled our hotel reservations and made bookings through Airbnb. It was recommended by a close friend, their experiences had been so fascinating that we couldn't help but succumb to the idea of giving it a try. Our Roman home (away from home) was located about 10 minutes away from the Vatican. We shared the apartment with the owner, an Italian guy, rather a true blue Roman who is a journalist by profession. Along our stay, we shared many stories about our respective countries. He talked about travelling in Rome, photography which is his hobby and of course cooking Italian food! Giorgio was a great host to us, and made our stay in Rome a lot of fun.
I remember the first day as we entered Rome, the city was striking. It’s modern roads and a few sophisticated banners stood out against the forlorn walls, and the ancient ruins of a city from another era. The ancient architecture, the cobbled old by lanes, and the new-age city seem to be co-existing and that is the beauty of Rome. Everywhere we went, the art and the architecture graced the roads, the churches, and museums while some Italian man inevitably playing on his accordion or some such instrument and filling the air with love. In my sojourn this year, I must say this is the place I loved the most!
The day after our Naples visit, we took a Metro to the Vatican city to collect our Roma Pass /Omnia Pass. This is actually a one-time prepaid card which takes care of your entries into few key sites,and travel through all local transportation. We didn't need to book our tickets every time , so it was quite convenient and hassle free. From Vatican city, we boarded a 'Hop on Hop Off' tour bus, which passed through the key destinations in Rome and stopped for a few minutes at each of them.
Starting from San Pietro Vaticano the bus winds its way through Piazza Navonna, Piazza Venezia, Fontana De Trevi Basillica, Termini to Santa Maria Maggiore from where the bus goes towards Colosseum. It was going to be the first time we would be seeing one of the New7Wonders of the world up close and the excitement was killing us. At the peak of its glory the Flavian Amphitheatre(its functional name) was a sight to behold. Towering over the Roman Forum complex and the Palatine hill the Colosseum was an integral part of the imperial seat of power. It is symbolic today of the power the emperor held over his subjects, which is evident not only from the imposing nature of the structure but also the fact that entertainment was used as a way to hold the imagination of the Roman citizens and the fact that the emperor was the patron, made him the President Coriolanus Snow of the ancient times.
We wanted to savour the moment when we actually see Colosseum up close, so we set out on a long(we didn't know it, as maps can be slightly misleading at times) and ill conceived(we had a bit of a misgiving) trek from Santa Maria Maggiore. The beautifully shaded avenue was perfect for walking and the road grew as pretty as a picture till we reached, what looked like, the ruins of the Palatine hill complex. Except that it wasn't and we had reached Terme di Caracalla ! The Roman Opera from ancient times. We took a break under the shaded avenue and soaked in the beautiful sight. Fortunately for us there stood a Panini truck few blocks outside of Caracalla. The seller was Italian(not South Asian) and yet very cheerful and welcoming(a most unusual combination of course) We had a Ham and cheese Panini each and washed it down with a cold Lemon Chill Peroni (lemon flavoured beer). He told us that to get to the Colosseum, all we had to do was keep walking straight for another 500 meters and we would be right there.
As we walked up and took the final turn the majestic structure burst upon us. Imagining how it would have been 2000 years back with the of deafening cheers of over 70000 people, the roars of the exotic animals and the war cries of the Gladiators gave us the goosebumps. The walk through the Colosseum and the Roman Forum transported us to another time, while the audio-guides were a helpful addition to the whole experience.
By the evening we were quite exhausted and after two days of rigorous walking, our feet were sore. But the evening was ahead of us and we had planned to walk (again!) around Roma by night with friends from our Pompei trip, Stathis and Eleni , and we were really looking forward to it. Rushing back home we freshened up, and took a very long bath to soothe the feet. Within an hour or so, we boarded the Metro to Spagna metro station and out onto the Spanish step. Stathis and Eleni had reached earlier than us and were wondering if we had stood them up. Anyhow, we were happy to catch up on the second day again, and so began our night trip as we began to walk.
The Spanish steps was bustling with life as hundreds of young revellers had gathered around the place and the place looked beautiful with the ancient architecture in the back drop, but now had flagship showrooms of the modern designer labels. The Creme de la creme Italian and other designer brands had their outlets here. The quaint restaurants and cafes had all opened up on the cobbled roads and of course there was the ' familiar tune ' from the movie The Godfather being played on the street! A feel of the place could make one gauge how Rome is the in fact the Eternal City.
We walked through the narrow, winding lanes from one monument to another. Deeply in love by now, with this beautiful city I too dropped a coin and wished at The Fontana de Trevi. We crossed The Pantheon, Julius Ceaser's tomb and the Museum of Arts on our way to a restaurant suggested by Stathis, where they had eaten before. All the while we talked about our countries and our cultures, and took many photographs.
We eventually reached the restaurant at around 10:30pm we were happy to find it still open and partially filled with patrons, mostly Italians. The food was some of the best we had eaten till then and the great company made it an evening to remember.
The day after our Naples visit, we took a Metro to the Vatican city to collect our Roma Pass /Omnia Pass. This is actually a one-time prepaid card which takes care of your entries into few key sites,and travel through all local transportation. We didn't need to book our tickets every time , so it was quite convenient and hassle free. From Vatican city, we boarded a 'Hop on Hop Off' tour bus, which passed through the key destinations in Rome and stopped for a few minutes at each of them.
Starting from San Pietro Vaticano the bus winds its way through Piazza Navonna, Piazza Venezia, Fontana De Trevi Basillica, Termini to Santa Maria Maggiore from where the bus goes towards Colosseum. It was going to be the first time we would be seeing one of the New7Wonders of the world up close and the excitement was killing us. At the peak of its glory the Flavian Amphitheatre(its functional name) was a sight to behold. Towering over the Roman Forum complex and the Palatine hill the Colosseum was an integral part of the imperial seat of power. It is symbolic today of the power the emperor held over his subjects, which is evident not only from the imposing nature of the structure but also the fact that entertainment was used as a way to hold the imagination of the Roman citizens and the fact that the emperor was the patron, made him the President Coriolanus Snow of the ancient times.
We wanted to savour the moment when we actually see Colosseum up close, so we set out on a long(we didn't know it, as maps can be slightly misleading at times) and ill conceived(we had a bit of a misgiving) trek from Santa Maria Maggiore. The beautifully shaded avenue was perfect for walking and the road grew as pretty as a picture till we reached, what looked like, the ruins of the Palatine hill complex. Except that it wasn't and we had reached Terme di Caracalla ! The Roman Opera from ancient times. We took a break under the shaded avenue and soaked in the beautiful sight. Fortunately for us there stood a Panini truck few blocks outside of Caracalla. The seller was Italian(not South Asian) and yet very cheerful and welcoming(a most unusual combination of course) We had a Ham and cheese Panini each and washed it down with a cold Lemon Chill Peroni (lemon flavoured beer). He told us that to get to the Colosseum, all we had to do was keep walking straight for another 500 meters and we would be right there.
As we walked up and took the final turn the majestic structure burst upon us. Imagining how it would have been 2000 years back with the of deafening cheers of over 70000 people, the roars of the exotic animals and the war cries of the Gladiators gave us the goosebumps. The walk through the Colosseum and the Roman Forum transported us to another time, while the audio-guides were a helpful addition to the whole experience.
By the evening we were quite exhausted and after two days of rigorous walking, our feet were sore. But the evening was ahead of us and we had planned to walk (again!) around Roma by night with friends from our Pompei trip, Stathis and Eleni , and we were really looking forward to it. Rushing back home we freshened up, and took a very long bath to soothe the feet. Within an hour or so, we boarded the Metro to Spagna metro station and out onto the Spanish step. Stathis and Eleni had reached earlier than us and were wondering if we had stood them up. Anyhow, we were happy to catch up on the second day again, and so began our night trip as we began to walk.
The Spanish steps was bustling with life as hundreds of young revellers had gathered around the place and the place looked beautiful with the ancient architecture in the back drop, but now had flagship showrooms of the modern designer labels. The Creme de la creme Italian and other designer brands had their outlets here. The quaint restaurants and cafes had all opened up on the cobbled roads and of course there was the ' familiar tune ' from the movie The Godfather being played on the street! A feel of the place could make one gauge how Rome is the in fact the Eternal City.
We walked through the narrow, winding lanes from one monument to another. Deeply in love by now, with this beautiful city I too dropped a coin and wished at The Fontana de Trevi. We crossed The Pantheon, Julius Ceaser's tomb and the Museum of Arts on our way to a restaurant suggested by Stathis, where they had eaten before. All the while we talked about our countries and our cultures, and took many photographs.
We eventually reached the restaurant at around 10:30pm we were happy to find it still open and partially filled with patrons, mostly Italians. The food was some of the best we had eaten till then and the great company made it an evening to remember.
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