May 14, 2017
What a day we have had!! We decided to do our own walking tour today with some help from the Rome Toolkit online. We, of course, started the day with a Caffe Latte and an Italian pastry (me). David, and I know nobody will find this hard to believe, ate cereal and nuts at our room before heading out. The day was gorgeous - in the mid 70's with a gentle breeze. After breakfast we started our walk which took us by the River Tiber and it was so beautiful. Everywhere you look and everywhere you go, there are amazing old buildings. Our first stop was the Spanish Steps. This is a popular stop in Rome - 135 steps built in 1723 linking the Spanish Embassy and the Trinita dei Monti church (at the top of the steps) that was under the patronage of the Kings of France to the Holy See in Palazzo. It was beautiful but not sure if it deserves to be on quite so many postcards. From the Spanish Steps we went to the Trevi Fountain. This fountain deserves its postcard status and is one of the most visited fountains in the world. It is the terminal junction of one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied Rome with water in 19 B.C. Truly beautiful although there were TONS of people everywhere. From the Trevi Fountain, we headed to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was a former Roman temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa and completed and dedicated by the Emperor Hadrian in 126 AD. This building is mind boggling. 2000 years later, it still has the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It was now time for lunch and we went to a beautiful Rooftop restaurant. Of course, more Caffe Lattes....
After lunch, it was time to see the Colosseum. We all know this place well with the history of gladiators and other Roman events. We chose not to go inside as the lines were long but walked all around it. The Colosseum is colossal :) and I kept thinking about all the people that have gone before that had been in its interior - both in pain and glory. We walked from there to the Roman Forum and walked all around the ancient ruins of former government buildings of Rome. There are parts of the Forum that have temple ruins that date to 800 BC. Since we are from California, where something is old if it is 200 years old, this is a little hard to wrap the brain around. The Roman Forum is huge and after walking through the ruins, it was time to head back. Of course, we stopped for Italian pizza and yet another Caffe Latte! We found our way into a Gelato shop too. Pizzerias and Gelato are EVERYWHERE. I thought pizza was prolific in America but they have us beat here. The pizza is nothing like the pizza at home. I like them both but the Italians don't skimp on cheese and the pizza is much simpler with very thin crust and oh, so wonderful.
Other notable things about Roma, Italy.
1. People eat hamburgers and french fries with a fork and knife.
2. Pedestrians have to be extremely aggressive or they will never cross the street and you must risk your life to get across the street! Don't hesitate - stare down those cars and go for it.
3. Cobbled streets that look like sidewalks are so narrow and tiny cars drive very fast down them.....nothing like anything at home.
4. Bath towels are made out of material that we use for kitchen towels - I like ours better......lots better.
Tomorrow.......Vatican City and then on a high speed train to Firenze.
What a day we have had!! We decided to do our own walking tour today with some help from the Rome Toolkit online. We, of course, started the day with a Caffe Latte and an Italian pastry (me). David, and I know nobody will find this hard to believe, ate cereal and nuts at our room before heading out. The day was gorgeous - in the mid 70's with a gentle breeze. After breakfast we started our walk which took us by the River Tiber and it was so beautiful. Everywhere you look and everywhere you go, there are amazing old buildings. Our first stop was the Spanish Steps. This is a popular stop in Rome - 135 steps built in 1723 linking the Spanish Embassy and the Trinita dei Monti church (at the top of the steps) that was under the patronage of the Kings of France to the Holy See in Palazzo. It was beautiful but not sure if it deserves to be on quite so many postcards. From the Spanish Steps we went to the Trevi Fountain. This fountain deserves its postcard status and is one of the most visited fountains in the world. It is the terminal junction of one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied Rome with water in 19 B.C. Truly beautiful although there were TONS of people everywhere. From the Trevi Fountain, we headed to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was a former Roman temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa and completed and dedicated by the Emperor Hadrian in 126 AD. This building is mind boggling. 2000 years later, it still has the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It was now time for lunch and we went to a beautiful Rooftop restaurant. Of course, more Caffe Lattes....
After lunch, it was time to see the Colosseum. We all know this place well with the history of gladiators and other Roman events. We chose not to go inside as the lines were long but walked all around it. The Colosseum is colossal :) and I kept thinking about all the people that have gone before that had been in its interior - both in pain and glory. We walked from there to the Roman Forum and walked all around the ancient ruins of former government buildings of Rome. There are parts of the Forum that have temple ruins that date to 800 BC. Since we are from California, where something is old if it is 200 years old, this is a little hard to wrap the brain around. The Roman Forum is huge and after walking through the ruins, it was time to head back. Of course, we stopped for Italian pizza and yet another Caffe Latte! We found our way into a Gelato shop too. Pizzerias and Gelato are EVERYWHERE. I thought pizza was prolific in America but they have us beat here. The pizza is nothing like the pizza at home. I like them both but the Italians don't skimp on cheese and the pizza is much simpler with very thin crust and oh, so wonderful.
Other notable things about Roma, Italy.
1. People eat hamburgers and french fries with a fork and knife.
2. Pedestrians have to be extremely aggressive or they will never cross the street and you must risk your life to get across the street! Don't hesitate - stare down those cars and go for it.
3. Cobbled streets that look like sidewalks are so narrow and tiny cars drive very fast down them.....nothing like anything at home.
4. Bath towels are made out of material that we use for kitchen towels - I like ours better......lots better.
Tomorrow.......Vatican City and then on a high speed train to Firenze.
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