Day 10 & 11 - June 1 & 2, 2008 - Ola Roma

  Rome, Italy
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

We bid aur revoir to Paris yesterday morning. The morning was not very kind to us, mostly because I booked us a bad airline and partly because we were carrying too much luggage. The flight from Paris to Rome was scheduled from Beauvaix airport outside of Paris so we had to catch a shuttle at 7a. The ride was not too bad - an hour, but Ryan Air nickels and dimes its passengers and we paid for the heavy luggage through our teeth.

Anyway there was no sense in spoiling an otherwise fabulous and memorable vacation. So we quickly put the incident behind us. Once in Rome, we took a taxi to our hotel. The hotel (Eurostars International Palace) is nothing short of classy. It is a very quaint but posh hotel with a very decidedly Roman decor.

I had learnt some new French words in Paris that I was just getting used to:

Bon Jour / Bon Soir - Good morning / Good night
Au revoir - Bye
Sorte - Exit
Jambon - Ham (so I knew what NOT to eat)
Poulet - Chicken
Epolle - Pork shoulders (I know!)
Deux - two
And so on ...

Now it was Italian's turn. Throughout the trip, Sofia has impressed me with her language skills. It is one thing to know she can speak it - but quite another when you see how comfortable she is doing it. French and Italian were both very natural to her and I felt proud seeing how good she was. Time and again, while I would struggle to order food or understand someone, she would step in and save the day. That is, when she was not saving me from stepping in a pile of dogpile.

It was really hot when we arrived in Rome. So far, we had grown accustomed to the cold of London and the mild weather in Paris. So the 85 degrees in Rome was extremely hot.

After some unpacking, we headed straight to a close by restaurant for lunch, but the food we had there was quite awful. Then, Sofia headed back to the hotel while I headed to a nearby tourist booth to pick up our Roma Pass (20 euros each would get us free entrance to any two museums and unlimited travel via the bus or metro for 3 days). Across from our hotel, there was a grocery store (Despar) so I dropped by to pick up some water for the room. I resisted the temptation to buy some cookies and snacks for two reasons:
1)      We wanted to experience Rome and the food it had to offer so it didn't make sense to ruin our appetite.
2)      Fear of the wife. I had been given some pretty dirty looks at during my eating binges in Paris.

When I got back to the room, Sofia was sound asleep - understandably so, as we had barely slept the night before. Around 4p though, we left the hotel and headed to the Pantheon. 

Vittoriano Monument

We took the bus and headed in the general direction, but got off prematurely. This proved to be a blessing as we happened upon the most beautiful building - Vittoriano monument - a large white roman piece of art that took our breath away. With a large statue of a man on a horse in the center, and two large entrances on each side, this was a sight for sore eyes. As we exited the monument, we happened upon another great sight. It was the ruins of ancient Rome. 

Arches at the ruins

You see, ancient Rome still lies virtually untouched. The old Roman architecture, despite centuries of war and wear, has still survived and modern life has not been allowed to intrude upon history. Arches, pillars, walls, rocks, all lie as they did when Caesar ruled and the Roman Empire spanned almost all of Europe. 

Trevi Fountain

After we left the area, we walked towards Trevi fountain. By the way, during our time in Rome, I will be having a lot of gelato (Italian creamy ice-cream) so I will abstain from mentioning it everytime. So Trevi fountain - it is a large fountain in the middle of a Piazza and was cluttered with a thousand people or more. You have to understand, a Piazza is nothing more than a small clearing upon which multiple small streets emerge. A Parisian/Pakistani/London round-about would qualify as a Piazza (pronounced Piat-za), but only in Rome is it a place where people walk, eat, lounge and "hang out". We hung out at Trevi fountain for a little bit and walked a couple of kilometers over to Piazza del Popolo along Via del Corso. This is a popular walk, recommended by Rick Steves (a famous travel guide and writer), for its many retail shops. Thousands of people were milling about on this street.

Rome really does look like something out of a story book.  Incredible looking buildings, cobble-stone roads, piazza's every four blocks, cafés and restaurants with outdoor seating, plenty of monuments and churches and friendly people.

Later in the evening, we had dinner at a small restaurant around Trevi fountain and then climbed the Spanish steps (Piazza di Spagna - which was home to Lord Byron and John Keats), but not before we saw the largest McDonalds in the world and hailed a taxi back to the hotel.

This morning, June 2nd, we got off to a late start, primarily because it is a holiday in Rome today and the Coliseum would only open after 1p. We are only a 15 minute walk from the Coliseum so we left the hotel around 2p. On the way there, we stopped at a side-walk café on a cobble-stoned street for cappuccino and a muffin. Italians drink cappuccino only before noon, but because of tourists, cafes here now offer cappuccinos all day long. A few blocks later, we stopped at a restaurant famous for their wood fired pizza, called Chicco di Grano. 

Coliseum

The Coliseum is a huge stadium used purely as a historic monument now. Built around 70 A.D., this is where gladiators used to fight for survival. It is huge and breath-taking. Since we had the Roma pass, entrance was free and we didn't have to wait in line. 

Pantheon

After a brief stop at the hotel and some coffee at a local coffee shop, we walked to the Pantheon. Due to the holiday, the Pantheon had closed early, but at least we got to see it from the outside. We plan to go back tomorrow if we finish the Vatican early enough. Across from the Pantheon, there is a coffee shop that some say is the best in Rome - Tazza d'Oro Casa del Caffe. Sofia had a latte there while I indulged in Parfait il Café (coffee mousse). Then we walked to Piazza Navona. This piazza has two fountains and a monument, not to mention a beautiful church - Chiesa di S. Agnese in Agone. After lighting a candle and praying for a few mins, we walked out and sat by one of the fountains. There are people everywhere we go, including locals and tourists, and this piazza, like all others, was bustling with activity.

Tazza d'Oro Casa del Caffe

Sofia praying at Chiesa di S.Agnese

We walked from Piazza Navona to an area called Campo dei Fiori, which is a tourist attraction for its restaurants and bars. Here, we ate at a quiet but popular joint in the middle of Piazza Farnese called Ostaria de Giovanni ar Galletto where I had veal and potatos and Sofia had soup and penne with spicy tomato sauce. The waited was very nice and friendly and we made friends with an Italian family seated at the table next to ours. Their little 8 year old is also named Sofia. :-)