Rome Day 1!

We left Florence at 8:00 in the morning and arrived at Roma Termini Station at 9:30 a.m.--talk about high-speed! The train was comfortable, so comfortable in fact, Pox tried to fall asleep and Cindy kept waking him up because he was going to miss some beautiful scenery. We had been up late the night before waiting for some of our clothes to dry...Pox forgot some chones and pants at the apartment, so he had to make due with what he had. Eww!

Arriving in Rome was exciting! Our hotel was literally just one block away from the train station. We got to the hotel before check-in, so we were able to leave our bags. We took a tour of the city on the Hop On- Hop Off bus to get an overview of the "Eternal City." We cannot really say that we were prepared for what we saw! Within the first 5 blocks of what we had the opportunity to see, we were floored! The architecture of the buildings, the colors of the buildings, and layout of the city was very reminiscent of Paris. Throw in a few cathedrals, the president's palace with an outdoor fountain and Egyptian obelisk on a hilltop, and you begin to get the feeling that you are in for something special. We were only on the bus for about 15 minutes when a revelation occured: Rome and its monuments are "gian-ormous."

Before us was the Monument to late President Vittorio Emanuelle II. The monument was grandious. Across the street from it were Trajan's Column and Trajan's Market, the world's first recorded market. Behind the monument was the Roman Forum, it is huge. A few moments later, behind the forum stood the Colosseum. Although it is nowhere near the size it was during its full glory days, a lot of the marble has been used to create other monuments over time, it was still a sight for the eyes. On the tour we also saw the Circus Maximus, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Vatican, Piazza Barberini and lots and lots of other monuments that we didn't even know about.

After the one and a half hour tour, we headed back to the hotel to check in. Once we settled in, we cooled off a little and headed out to one of Rome's major attractions, the Colosseum. Once we got there, we didn't realize until later, from the bus stop we walked all the way around counter-clockwise to the entrance when we could just walked a few meters clockwise, oh well, you live and you learn. Thankfully, we were smart enough to book our tickets in advance, we skipped a line at least an hour long, woo hoo! One cannot truly imagine how large this ancient structure is, it's only a third of its original size. It was very interesting to see all of the materials used to create such a landmark, this is probably why it's one of the seven wonders of the Medieval world( The leaning tower of Pisa is one of them so 2 out of 7 is not bad). Cindy now knows why all of the ancient statues have buns of steel, all of the steps and stones were very steep. She wonders how the women of the time could've remained graceful and fresh walking all of those steps without "glistening" (Pox calls it sweat) and huffing and puffing all the time. It was at times very dangerous, Pox kept slipping on lose stones and trenches.

After our visit at the Colosseum, we we brave or dumb enough (we haven't decided) to walk the Forum and the Roman Palatine. The Forum is a site with the ruins of numerous ancient temples, homes and even the burial site of Julius Caesar. As we walked, carefully, through all of the ruins, we saw the Temple of Julia, the Temple of Vesta, the Homes of the Vestal Virgins, the Arch of Titus, and a very well hidden tomb of Julius Caesar. (very easy to miss!) So much history, in about a three to four mile radius. After having walked so much, we were dumb enough, to climb all the way to the Roman Palatine, a musuem full of ancient Roman artifacts. On our way up, we walked through gardens and terraces that gave us a beautiful view of not only the Forum but of all Rome. Once at the top, Cindy was willing to pose for a Botticelli-esque portrait( Look at the slideshow). We were able to cool off in the museum and start thinking about dinner.

After being in the hot sun and walking, Cindy became delirious. We saw the Hard Rock Cafe on the map and were headed in that direction. At the bus stop closest to it, we started walking and saw a restaurant called "Il Peperone" (The Chilli Pepper) and decided to eat there. In our state of oblivion and delirium, we didn't notice that Hard Rock Cafe was right across the street! The food was good, but we had to pay four euro each for a can of soda, that's about six dollars! They didn't give us any ice either! For that price, we asked for some...

Once we finished our dinner, we started walking toward the Spanish Steps. The walk was very nice and it allowed us the opportunity to see the beautiful neighborhood that Fellini glorifies in his film, "La Dolce Vita." As we walked up a narrow and steep hill, we were able to see the obelisk that adorns the front piazza of the Trinita Dei Monti, the wonderful hilltop church. We made our way onto the piazza and were taken with the sight of the church, the artists that paint on sight, and with the Spanish Steps, which were filled with both locals and tourists. We went inside the church and admired the beautiful paintings by Michaelangelo and Volterra (his favorite student) and the altar. After a while, we headed out to enjoy the stunning view, especially because it was right before sunset! We made our way down the famous Spanish Steps, then up (Pox wanted to take more photos), then down again. It was simply marvelous and romantic!

The sun had already set by the time we were making our way to another famous Roman treasure, the Trevi Fountain. We found the massive fountain hidden behind a large building. The fountain is massive! Photos can be very deceiving! The front of the fountain was swamped with people trying to take their perfect picture. Others were trying to cool off with the water from the fountain, only to be dissapointed when the Carabinieri (police) blew their whistles to announce that you cannot touch the water. Others were asked to leave the fountain because they were not allowed to eat around the fountain--not even gelato! It is understandable though, such a glorious sight should be protected and kept unspoiled. Ending our first night in Rome at the Trevi fountain was amazing! It was more than enought to keep us for the long walk back up to the bus stop and the hour wait for the hop on-hop off.