Arrived at 0730 hrs Friday 15 May. We are here for four nights.
Caught the train to the termini and then spent the next few hours trying to find our accommodation. It ended up almost next to the termini in the middle of Chinatown. After settling in we went for a bit of a wander and stumbled on a huge amazing church (Santa Maria Maggiore), the Trevi Fountain, and later the Colosseum (which we happened upon after getting lost in the dark). This was to set the pattern for the rest of our stay. Everywhere we went, every street, lane and backalley we went down we stumbled upon another HUGE amazing church stuck between buildings or another archeological ruin. And Rome just carries on around it. They don’t seem to make a big thing about their buildings and history, it just … is. It is what it is.
Over the next few days we went and saw a few of the other main sites. The Fori Imperiali, the Roman Forum, the Colosseum (of course), the Palatine, the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and the list goes on. What we were weren’t prepared for was the size and scale of everything. These places really do have to be seen to be appreciated. We could easily spend another week here and still not see everything that we want to see. As you wander around the site of the Roman Forum and the houses of the vestal virgins, seeing the Colosseum not far away, the dome of St Peters you can’t help but imagine what an impressive place it would have been at its peak. Everywhere you look there is history going back thousands of years. This is the historic center of western civilization.
As for the traffic, that is another story. As you step outside there is only one word that sums up Rome and that is ‘Chaos’, or as we have learnt to say ‘Questa e nove da matti!’ – ‘This is insane!’ The scooters rule the roads and there are thousands of them, but the pedestrians have right of way, or at least think they do. There is only one way to cross a road and that is to step out and they will give way. Road rules are considered merely as a loose guide. But considering all this battling for position across the cobblestones and the frequent ‘discussions’ between drivers we never saw a single case of road rage. I guess a gelato every day and fantastic coffee make it all OK. Did I mention the coffee? It really is the best in the world.
Caught the train to the termini and then spent the next few hours trying to find our accommodation. It ended up almost next to the termini in the middle of Chinatown. After settling in we went for a bit of a wander and stumbled on a huge amazing church (Santa Maria Maggiore), the Trevi Fountain, and later the Colosseum (which we happened upon after getting lost in the dark). This was to set the pattern for the rest of our stay. Everywhere we went, every street, lane and backalley we went down we stumbled upon another HUGE amazing church stuck between buildings or another archeological ruin. And Rome just carries on around it. They don’t seem to make a big thing about their buildings and history, it just … is. It is what it is.
Over the next few days we went and saw a few of the other main sites. The Fori Imperiali, the Roman Forum, the Colosseum (of course), the Palatine, the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and the list goes on. What we were weren’t prepared for was the size and scale of everything. These places really do have to be seen to be appreciated. We could easily spend another week here and still not see everything that we want to see. As you wander around the site of the Roman Forum and the houses of the vestal virgins, seeing the Colosseum not far away, the dome of St Peters you can’t help but imagine what an impressive place it would have been at its peak. Everywhere you look there is history going back thousands of years. This is the historic center of western civilization.
As for the traffic, that is another story. As you step outside there is only one word that sums up Rome and that is ‘Chaos’, or as we have learnt to say ‘Questa e nove da matti!’ – ‘This is insane!’ The scooters rule the roads and there are thousands of them, but the pedestrians have right of way, or at least think they do. There is only one way to cross a road and that is to step out and they will give way. Road rules are considered merely as a loose guide. But considering all this battling for position across the cobblestones and the frequent ‘discussions’ between drivers we never saw a single case of road rage. I guess a gelato every day and fantastic coffee make it all OK. Did I mention the coffee? It really is the best in the world.
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