The train trip to Rome was about 4 hours with some wonderful countryside to be seen. At one point we were following the sea and saw a port - unsure where - where huge cruising ships were docked. Unsure it was a docking area or a shipbuilding area, but there were more than 20, something to be seen.
We arrived in Rome around 2ish, and pretty much walked off the station, crossed the street and saw the sign for our hotel! We are staying at the Una Hotel, which we all thought was serendipitous when we booked it as it is the name of Dad's mother, our grandmother.
The Una Hotel is rather spiffy, with a Deco feel to it.
After a settling in we hit the streets of Rome and let the cliches fly. 'When in Rome' seemed to fit everything. Every street has some kind of wonderful on it, so much to see it almost becomes overwhelming. The traffic is crazy to watch, cannot fathom where they are meant to be, no lines marked, everyone going in different directions, fast and yet like clockwork. No bogan mobiles, just small cars, motorcycles and scooters. There are lots of those electric two person cars which you find parked in the craziest spots.
So we spent a few hours exploring our neighbourhood, nearby we found our first archeological dig site...later we will find more and more as we explore. There was
an old building that looked like a church and in it an exhibition of modern sculpture from the 30s, amazing stuff, but the building itself even more so with a glass section over a dig site and an amazing dome. This is one of the things I like most about Italy, is how they meld history and progress, it appears seamless.
Had to have gelato...when in Rome...from a cute little arcade. We covered a large radius from the hotel in about 2 hours and saw lots of ornate buildings, fountains, statues etc. None of these were any of the run of the mill sites you see in travel books, but well worth a look. Close to the hotel, the Opera was about to begin and people were mingling and waiting outside.
It was a hot night and we were all exhausted, so dinner was in the hotel restaurant. I had lamb chops and creamy potato...really yum, followed by peach and strawberry semi-fredo...even more yum.
DAY 2 IN ROME
We had picked a route that took us to the Spanish Steps and then angled down to The Pantheon, beyond to the River Tiber and across to The Botanical Gardens...the plan was to follow for as long as we could stand and finish the rest the following day.
We left our hotel round 10am, and made our way to The Spanish Steps. It was bloody hot! The things we saw along the way made it worthwhile. So many amazing buildings,
statues, fountains...by god, The Romans and Italians really know how to build...this is not new to me of course, but seeing it all first hand...I was in awe and in love with this city!
On a small intersection were 4 reliefs with fountains in each corner, this was Quattro Fontane. Then further ahead some sort of palace with amazing column fence line with statues carved into the columns. The route we took was following a street right across the city and ended at the top of The Spanish Steps...I didn't realize this in the planning, but what a coup! I seriously doubt we would have walked up the
steps had we arrived downstairs...too crowded, hot etc. So we explored above...amazing views over Rome.
As you walk away from the very top there is amazing gardens that start at Villa D'Este and move towards Villa Borghese. In between there are ponds, statues, fountains, courtyards, playgrounds, cafes etc. It reminded me of a smaller version of Central Park, but more laid back. The weather was very Melbourne like: warm, sunshine, cloudy, drizzly, then sunny again!
We made our way back to The Spanish Steps and did the touristy thing. The Keats/Shelley house had closed for lunch so we moved on to The Trevi Fountain. This was my number 1 thing to see in Rome (after The Colosseum and The Pantheon which are a given). A huge Fellini fan, I love the scene in La Dolce Vita with Anita Eckberg in the fountain...sexy and alluring, but what a magnificent fountain! You could hear it before you saw it, firstly people, but mostly the water.It was beyond my wildest dreams, so much larger and ornate than you imagine. The crowd was thick, but we maneuvered through to the edges where there wasn't many people, threw our coins in the fountain and took some photos. I'll admit to getting a bit emotional here...not the first time, and not the last I am sure!
We found a small cafe out of the rain, it was drizzling lightly, and had lunch. I had The Greek Salad, nice and light. Then we zig zagged towards The Pantheon, the closer you got, the smaller the streets, the older the buildings, and an other worldly ominous feeling overcome me. I adored this area, every building was something amazing even if it wasn't of significant importance. Then we hit the piazza of The Pantheon.
WOW, it stunned me more than anything else I saw in Rome and inside was even more remarkable. To think it has been standing there all those years and what a piece of impressive architecture it is now, I cannot begin to think how it appeared when it was first built. I was in awe, the Dome was beautiful, the columns majestic. I'm not religious so a lot of symbolism inside was lost on me, but not it's importance and beauty. If it had not been raining, I could have sat in the piazza all day, drooling at it's perfection.
We moved on through to Piazza Navona, one of the largest Piazzas in Rome. The rain started again as we arrived, so we headed to one of the many cafes stretching around
the outside for cool drinks and coffee. I am assured by everyone the coffee is pretty special. I don't drink coffee, but it sure smells strong. The others have soon learnt to ask for Coffee Americana, otherwise they were getting espressos. Italians do not drink Cappuccinos or Cafe Latte after mid morning. All of these little things make the culture so interesting.
The rain eased a little for a walk around the piazza, but we decided to head home, it was getting late and we were exhausted, as we headed home the rain got heavier and heavier, we came across some interesting buildings, but we were all out of buzz. We made it back to the hotel and it was around 6pm, whilst we had umbrellas, we were hot, sticky and wet, tired and little testy. Everyone went to their various corners for a rest and met for a quick meal, then bed.
DAY 3 IN ROME
We started a little later today and headed towards the edge of The Colosseum, we had caught a glimpse of it earlier and it doesn't fail to impress, but more on it later. We wandered around The Roman Forum, the ruins are impressive and photos do them no justice. Nearby are more impressive buildings than you could ever imagine. The most
impressive is the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument which has been the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier since 1921. White, palatial, statues, columns, stairs, fountains, chariots on the roof...it's got it all!
After spending ages taking this area in, we cut down to The Tiber, crossing over through the Isola Tiberina...a small island on The Tiber. We followed the river towards the garden areas of Rome. We visited a small private garden and then The Rome Botanical Gardens. These were lovely and a welcome change of pace from the busy city. We then made our way home, over the river and back through the Roman Forum.
This gave us a few hours to rest and get ready to join our tour. We met in the lobby at 5.30 and bused it to a restaurant in the middle of Rome for a light supper. The
restaurant was in an old cavelike cellar. The light supper was huge amounts of Anti Pasto, Pizza and dessert plus unlimited wine!! We got to know some of our fellow
tourers too. Mostly American, some Canadian and New Zealanders. Also mostly older, but some our age, and some families too.
After eating and drinking way too much, we had a lovely night tour of Rome. It was great to see all the sights from the ease of sitting in the bus. By night Rome was even more beautiful.
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2 comments:
Great update, Cathy. You certainly covered some ground and it sounds like you fell in love with the place.
We were exhausted leaving Rome, we walked a LOT! But it was totally worth it, we crossed everything off our lists and more.
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