I think I walked the entire city of Rome today…and then some.

Out the door of the hotel a little late, I first stopped at the Spanish Steps. Though I’ve walked up and down them almost every day so far, I had yet to stop and take a few pictures. From there, I headed to Piazza Del Popolo where there were a few vendors setup selling jewelry, toys, and general souvenirs.

After deciding there was nothing worth buying there, I back tracked a bit and made a day time visit to the Trevi Fountain for a few day time pictures. It was about 12:30pm at this point and a shadow as already casting upon the lower part of the fountain (something I was hoping to avoid). I took a few pictures and people watched for a bit and then headed over to Piazza Della Rotanda to pay a visit to the Pantheon. Though the Pantheon isn’t very big, but the huge dome above and the circular structure make you feel tiny while inside.

From the Pantheon, I hiked back toward the Ancient City center to visit Piazza Venezia. At the end of Piazza Venezia I found the enormous Victor Emmanuel Monument. I don’t even think enormous is a big enough word for it. I hiked the stairs to the top of the monument, took in the views and walked around to the back side to Piazza del Campidoglio. Some of Michelangelo’s designs and work can be found here, including the Cordonata, the Grand Staircase that leads up to the Piazza.

I decided to pass on visiting the Capitoline Museums and decided to walk across to Isola Tiberina and beyond to the other side of Fiume Tevere (the river running through the city of Rome). On the way, I took a short detour (or a wrong turn) and found myself in area Sacra di Largo Argentina. Apparently there were three old temples there that were discovered while they were building out the area. I don’t think this is a big tourist spot since there isn’t much information on it in the book I have with me, but it was surely interesting to see. After taking a few pictures, I moved on and back tracked to Tiberina Island. On the other side of the river, I really had no clue where to go. I started walking down the river, toward the Vatican, and eventually turned off on a street and the onto another into a small street filled with restaurants. I passed one small place named Pizza Roma (off of Piazza di S. Rufina on the corner of Vicolo di S. Rufina and Via della Lungaretta) that had a 5 EURO menu which included pizza, a fried mozzarella ball (can’t remember what it was called), and a beer. How could you go wrong? I enjoyed my meal and more so my beer and headed back out onto the street. I made my way back across the river and into Piazza Navona.

Piazza Navona was packed with vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine – candy, toys, christmas decorations, balloons – there was even a carrousel setup in the middle of the Piazza. I bought myself some candy and sat down for a bit in the middle of the piazza before taking some experimental pictures of the carrousel (they didn’t work out very well). After, I made my way back to the Spanish Steps through the hordes of crowds still out shopping. I stopped in a few shops, but still couldn’t find anything worth buying as gifts or for myself.

Back at the Spanish Steps, I climbed to the top where I knew a few vendors were setup selling mostly art. One of the pieces struck my fancy and he even had another piece that complimented it very well. After staring at these paintings for a long time, the price dropped from 180 EURO to 160 EURO to 140 EURO for one of the paintings. I really did like it, but really wanted both together. I offered 250 EURO for both and he accepted, however, I didn’t have the cash on me. I ran to the ATM only to find I could only draw 200 EURO at the time and I only had 20 EURO on me, which left me with 220 EURO. I went back to the guy (Atef Elnahas, obviously not Italian) and offered him what I could and he kindly accepted, however, he would have given me a barrel to put the paintings into and instead wrapped them into a piece of cardboard. I wish I had a picture to share with you what they look like, but since they are already wrapped up, there is no way I’m unwrapping them before I get home. In short, and doing them no justice, they are two large canvas paintings of jazz musicians, one of a guy playing a saxophone and the other of a guy playing a trumpet. The weird thing about it, now that I think about it, I don’t even know that they are 100% genuine, he could have just painted a photograph or another painting that he saw. I guess the bottom line is I liked them and that is all that matters now, well, that and that I hope I can find a place to hang them. From there, I headed back to the hotel for a quick breather before heading back out to see what the town had in store for Christmas Eve.

Earlier, while I was walking around, I saw a photographer selling his art on the street (Max Wayne to be exact) and he had a few photos that were a bit inspiring. So, when I headed back out, I took only my 50mm prime to push myself a bit to be more creative (one result is the picture to the right of the Spanish Steps). As I stepped outside, I heard music in the air and found the source once again at the Spanish Steps. This time the music was much more enjoyable, at least on my part. I didn’t understand the lyrics, but the music seemed to be gospel and churchy, but with a bit of rock and roll thrown in. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I enjoyed it. The concert ended at 7:00pm and the crowd vanished within 15 minutes…it was amazing. I wandered around just curious to see what was open and sure enough, all of the shops were shut down. I walked down a few side streets randomly and came across a restaurant, Re Degli Amici (on Via Della Croce just off of Via Del Babuino). They were open, had a good menu and seemed to have quite a few people already inside and eating, so I gave it a shot. I have to admit right now, I made a bit of a mistake while ordering that I am not proud to admit, but I will anyway as I continue…I was seated and eventually ordered Minestrone soup to start (after assuring there were no mushrooms in it), Spaghetti Carbinera (I’m not sure how I got it in my head that I thought that meant red sauce), along with the house red and water. The soup was good, but there was a bean or some kind of vegetable that I didn’t like in it. When the spaghetti arrived, I was a bit shocked, thinking it was going to be a tomato sauce, but I went along with it and actually thought it was very good (not nearly as good as their marinara sauce probably was).

A few interesting things that happened at the restaurant…

The waiter was an older guy, maybe 60 – 70 years old, and was an absolute riot. He asked me were I was from and in return made fun of the 49ers. After another table had just finished eating and he had just cleared their plates, he was bringing another table their food and pretended to give the first table the food. The first table’s faces were priceless and the waiter just laughed and kept on moving to bring the food to the correct table.

At the table in front of me, there was an older Swedish couple that heard I was from the States when the waiter asked and realized I was eating alone and near the end of our meals (we finished about the same time), the lady at the table turned around and said, “Cheers, Merry Christmas.” We chatted briefly and as I left I wished them a Merry Christmas and safe travels for the rest of their journey.

At 9:00pm, there were still Italian families coming in (I must have hit a jackpot or the only place open on Christmas Eve) and one of the families had a reservation at the table next to mine. They had a little kid that was no more then 10 years old. The waiter knew the family apparently very well, and he and the kid had a good connection. At one point, the kid wanted the candle on the table lit, so the waiter did so in a dramatic fashion and started singing (I think Happy Birthday). The kid was very amused by the entire scenario, as was I.

I finally asked for my bill and headed back to the hotel once again. This time, I re-clothed myself into warmer clothing and headed out to see what the Vatican had cooking. It was about 11:00pm when I left the hotel and the streets between my hotel and the Vatican were very quite. I probably only saw 20 or so people on the 20 minute walk over. As I approached the main strip that leads to St. Peter’s, the traffic thickened and more and more people were present the closer I got. As I entered the main square, there weren’t quite as many people as I thought there would be, but there were still a good number hanging out, not to forget who knows how many people were inside. It seemed as if the main service began at 11:30pm with a lot of choir singing and chanting (they projected the sound and some video as well to several screens setup around St. Peter’s Plaza). At 12:00am sharp, someone said something, everyone in the crowd stood up and the Pope emerged (on screen). The Pope made is way to the front along with a bunch of others (sorry, I don’t know who all these people were) in a very systematic way. Finally, the Pope said something, everyone crossed themselves and more chanting and singing proceeded. After about 30 minutes, I decided to head back to the hotel. I took my time and made a stop for some more pictures of St. Peter’s. After that, the camera went into my bag and I hiked back to the hotel.

Tomorrow I’m off to Florence for the final leg of this crazy adventure.

Till next time…

During breakfast, I decided I’d make a stop at the train station, buy my ticket for my trip to Florence in a few days and then make my way to the Colosseum and surrounding ancient goodies. The only hard plan was that I wanted to catch the Colosseum during sundown and twilight hours which I planned on starting around 5:00pm. So, with 7 hours up in the air, I head out to the main train station. On the way, I must have taken an incorrect turn. I found myself in Piazza Del Quirrinale. Since I was there, I took a few obligatory pictures and continued on my way (this time in the correct direction). I made it to the train station, bought my ticket and while looking at the map, I decided to make a stop at Saint Maria Maggiore. This church had some interesting cathedrals within itself, but it can’t possibly compete for my attention after I’ve already seen St. Peter’s. As I was heading out the door, there was a bit of commotion at the front of the church. A big group had gathered and cameras were clicking from every which way. I turned around and checked out what was going on. I’m not sure who it was, but some high church figure completely ducked out in full wardrobe was there and posing for pictures with people. I took my few shots and people watched for awhile and then headed out again.

From St. Maria Maggiore, I made my way to the Colosseum and bought a ticket for access to it, the Foro Romano and the Palatino. It was about 12:30pm when I entered the Colosseum and the lighting was a bit harsh with large shadows cast across half the interior structure. I took a few pictures, but mostly just walked around and enjoyed the site. I eventually made it around to the museum they have setup within the Colosseum and enjoyed reading some of the information as well as taking a few more pictures.

After I was done with the Colosseum, I moved across the way to the Palantino (Palatine) and the Foro Romano (Roman Forum). Once again, it seemed like big chunks of the area were closed and/or under construction. I first checked out the House of Augustus before wandering through Domus Flavia and Domus Augustana. From there I passed the Stadium and the courtyard of the Palatine before making my way into the Roman Forum. One of the main things I wanted to see was the Vestal Virgins in the central courtyard, but that area seemed to be closed. I managed to get a shot from a weird angle so you that I can show I was there, but the picture is worthless otherwise.

By the time I was done walking through the Roman Forum, it was 4:00pm. That gave me an hour to locate a spot, seattle in and capture any evening shots I wanted of the Colosseum. I found my way up and above Piazza del Colosseo and situated myself there for a good 2 hours while he sun continued to set. I was amazed at how many people were there at 4pm and how little were still around (basically no one) through the sunset. In any case, it worked out for me so I could move around freely if I wished to do so and didn’t have to worry about being in someone else’s way or anyone being in my way.

After the cold started to reach my bones, I thought I should head back to the hotel to relax for a bit before heading out for another Italian meal. I walked all the way back to the hotel (I’ve done WAY too much walking on this trip) and enjoyed sitting on my bed for a bit as I backed up all of the pictures from the day.

At about 8:00pm, I headed back out for dinner. This time, I was pointed to Pizzeria il Boscaiolo which was around the corner from the hotel and recommended particularly for their pizza. I ended up ordering a mix of fried vegetables as an appetizer and a pizza with peppers and sausages. As last night, I accompanied the meal with the house red wine. Everything was very good. While I was there, I saw another table order a side of bread which looked like Nan, the bread you’d get from an Indian restaurant). Since I ordered pizza, I did not get any bread…guess I have to go back. After dinner, I strolled into the gilato place again for some mint and chocolate gilato (the lady behind the counter recognized me this time) and then back to the hotel.

The plan for tomorrow is once again up for grabs, however, I plan on trying to visit the places I still have yet to visit such as the Pantheon and possibly get some shopping done (still have yet to buy a single souvenir or present).

Till next time…

Today I had a prescheduled tour of the Necropolis at 10:45am. According to the email I received upon booking the tour, I could not be a minute late and must pick up my pass 10 minutes before or I would not be allowed on the tour. So, I made sure I had a wake up call set for 8:30am the night before.

At 8:30am sharp, the phone rang and woke me up. I grabbed breakfast at the complementary buffet at the hotel (nothing much – croissants, cereal, ham, coffee) and headed out the door at about 9:45am giving me one full hour to get to St. Peter’s (a 30 minute walk from the hotel) and find the excavations office. Along the way, I was good and kept my camera inside my bag so I wouldn’t make any stops and get distracted. I found my way across the river and up to St. Peter’s, but there were no signs for the excavations office. There was a long line to get into St. Peter’s, I but assumed I could by pass that line through the so called excavations office. I had about 20 minutes to spare at this point. I found the information office and they told me I had to wait in that long line I saw, check my bag, and go around to the other side of the Basilica where I’d find the office. I was not aware I’d have to wait in the line and it looked like it was going to take 30+ minutes to get through. It was 10:30 and I was suppose to pick up my ticket by 10:35! I wait in line and the line moves much quicker then I expected. I passed through security, checked my bag at the bag check and made my way into the excavations office at 10:43am. They didn’t even question my timing and I even ended up waiting 5 minutes or so before the tour left. It ended up being a close call, but it all worked out in the end. However, no pictures were allowed in the Necropolis.

The Necropolis is the City of the Dead and lies underneath St. Peter’s Basilica. It houses the tomb of St. Peter himself whom I actually don’t know much about myself but I am sure Google can tell you everything you’d like to know. I did find out that the entire excavation was done by 4 guys alone and took 11 years to complete. The four guys did all of the digging at night and in complete secrecy. At the end of the 1.5 hour tour, we found ourselves at St. Peter’s tomb where the entire group said a prayer (any know what that prayer is/was?). As we exited the tour, we found ourselves at the tomb site for all of the past Popes. From here, I was on my own again.

I made my way outside and paid my visit to St. Peter’s Basilica. WOW! I took pictures, but I think I had a hard time capturing the vast size of the place, perhaps my artistic/photographic juices weren’t flowing in full force. Every corner of the entire place was covered with something, whether it was a sculpture, a painting or a place of prayer (some of which were in session). I tried taking in as much of it as I possible could before departing the magnificent building.

From there, I made my way around the outer wall of the Vatican to the Vatican Museum. I made my first stop at the cafe downstairs and grabbed a slice of pizza. After getting some food in my belly, I made my way to the Pinacoteca which is the main Vatican art gallery. It houses art from the 15th to the 19th century, particularly strong on works from the Renaissance period. Some of today’s most famous art work exist here, such as St. Jerome by Leonardo da Vinci. I was very happy to find out that pictures were allowed throughout the Vatican Museum, as long as you do not use a flash.

After the Pinacoteca, I found myself in the Cortile Della Picna which lead to Il Museo Chiaramonti. The Chiaramonti Museum is a museum made up of only statues and sculptures. When I first walked in, I was a bit overwhelmed and in awe. I don’t think I’ve seen so many statues in one place lined up one after the other like that. Even more impressive was Braccio Nuovo which housed full sculptures (not just heads or pieces of statues). Within Braccio Nuovo I was introduced to the famous Il Nino. The Chiaramonti finished with the Cortile Ottagono or Octagonal Court. This court yard, as you probably guessed, was shaped as an octagon and had 8 large statues at each side.

From there, I followed a series of rooms, one after the other after the other all filled with amazing murals, art, sculptures, rugs, etc. I finally reach the Raphael Rooms just before entering the Sistine Chapel. I think the idea is to tire you out and fill your memory cards (or run out of film) before you get the to grand finale of the Sistine Chapel, even though they say pictures are not allowed in the Chapel. Well, I finally arrived at the Sistine Chapel and 1) again, WOW! 2) people are snapping pictures away like crazy! I couldn’t believe it. I’m not sure if the rules changed or today was a special day, but they were allowing pictures to be taking inside the Chapel. Funny thing is, I was so overwhelmed, excited, and tired all at the same time, I’m not sure I captured everything I wanted to while in there. I did take the time to look around and take in the place for a bit instead of just taking pictures the entire time. I don’t know all of the meanings behind all of the paintings and drawings within that room, but none-the-less I found my jaw dropped most of the time and a stiff neck by the end from looking up most of the time.

When I finally left the Sistine Chapel and exited the Museum, I headed back to St. Peter’s Square just in time for sunset. I planted myself there for awhile snapping away pictures from every which angle I could think of. Since I didn’t have my Gorillapod with me, I can only hope the pictures came out nicely. Only time will tell that story…

As the light grew dimmer, I finally put the camera away and made my way back to the hotel. I took a few different streets back and found myself in the middle of some huge crowds and finally found myself at Piazza Di Spagna where there was a special Christmas concert going on and hordes of people were sitting, standing, crouching, etc. all over the place, covering the most of the Spanish Steps. I’m not sure who was singing when I got there, but I’m guessing it was some famous opera guy. People were very intense while listening and trying to see him. I stopped and listened for awhile, but I was tired and had to use the restroom, so I continued back to the hotel.

I took some much needed downtime (writing this post) and then made my way back out around 8:00pm. I asked the front desk for a dinner recommendation and though he was a different guy this evening, he started to give me the same recommendation as the guy from the night before. After I told him I had already been there, he suggested another place called La Rampa. La Rampa was around the corner from the Spanish Steps in Piazza Mignanelli. I sat down, ordered a bottle of water and the house red wine, or Rossa del Casa. After looking through the extensive menu, I asked a few questions and the waiter recommended one of the veal dishes. Since it wasn’t seafood (again, for those that don’t know me, not a fan) I went along with it. I believe it was veal leg, but not 100% sure. Since I’m not a huge veal eater, I can’t compare, but I thought it was quite tasty. After dinner, I made my way back to the hotel again stopping for my first Italian gelato on the way. I got a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of mint (those that do know me probably aren’t surprised). Needless to say, I planned on making a habit of getting gelato at least once a day for the following days in Italy.

Back at the hotel, I purchased another hour of internet (not very cheap – 3 EUROS per hour) and headed to bed. The following day is unplanned, so who knows what is in store. I had a 9am wake up call scheduled to ensure I do get up and do something.

Till next time…

Picture count: For those that might be interested, I took a total of 600 pictures to day. As of the end of the day, I have taken a total of 3,158 pictures on the trip in total so far.

Once again, I packed my bags up and checked out of yet another hotel. Jeff’s flight was 30 minutes before mine, so he left the hotel a bit earlier. I found my way to the bus to get me to the airport. Upon arrival at about 9:30am, the international terminal was a zoo. People going every which way and lines backed up and crossing each other everywhere. I managed to find the board that told me which counter I needed to check in at and managed to check-in and check my bag by 10:30am. In the process, I found out my flight was delayed an hour and a half. With plenty of time to spare now, I found an all you can eat buffet for 7.50 EUROS serving salami sandwiches, croissants of different kinds (yes, including chocolate), cereal, juices, water, and bread. I managed to inhale 1 bowl of cereal, 4 croissants, 1 sandwich, a glass of orange juice, a bottle of a apricot juice, 1.5 bottles of water and took one sandwich and one bottle of water to go. I think I got my money worth. From there, I found my gate and waited for another 60+ minutes before boarding the plane and making my way to Italy.

After the short 1.5 hour flight to Rome, I found my way to the baggage claim where I ended up waiting an hour (maybe a little more) before the bags started to come out. Once I had my bag, I departed the terminal (no customs) and barely found my way to the train station. There were very few signs and a few pointing in the incorrect direction, but needless to say, I found the train station. I bought a ticket on the Leonardo Express to Roma for 11 EUROS just before the train departed. I ran to the platform and jumped on the train just as it was departing. When I finally settled myself into a seat, I took a look at my ticket and it said something about validating the ticket before boarding the train which, in my hast to get on the train, did not do. I asked the lady sitting across from me and she said it isn’t a problem as long as I write the date and time of the train on the ticket. In any case, no one came around checking tickets, so it wasn’t a big deal. As the train took me into the heart of Rome, I watched the huge ball of fire from the sky set into the distance. The train ride from the airport was approximately 30 minutes and from the train station I decided to take a taxi rather then deal with the Metro system. I jumped into a taxi and was checking into Hotel King at 5:30pm, exactly 8 hours after I arrived at the Barcelona airport. I really thought I was going to have a chance to do SOMETHING today, but the delay in the flight killed it.

So I checked in, asked for a restaurant recommendation and wandered around the surrounding area for about an hour before grabbing dinner. While wandering around, I bumped into a small gathering of people in the middle of Piazza Barberini. Turned out they were all Jewish and lighting a huge menorah in the middle of the piazza for the first night of hanukah. The security around the ceremony was extremely tight and since I was caring a small bag with me, they wouldn’t let me anywhere near the congregation. I admired the crowd and listened to the familiar prayers and songs for a bit from the distance and then finally made my way to Olimpio, the restaurant the hotel recommended. I can’t tell you how important this meal was. I can probably safely say Italian food is one of my favorite cuisines and the hype about the food I was about to experience was starting to kill me, particularly since I was not exactly thrilled with the food in Spain. In any case, my first meal in Roma, Italy was fantastic. I ordered a fried artichoke to start, followed by the baked lasagna, all accompanied with the house red wine and bread. Like I said, it was fantastic and I was very happy.

After dinner, I decided to take another stroll to visit the famous Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). It was about 8:00pm when I got over there and there were still people all over the place. For every 10 people there, there were probably one person there trying to sell something. The most common thing I saw being sold was mini table top tripods. I can’t even tell you how many times I was offered one. In any case, the fountain was quite extraordinary. I spent some time walking around and checking out the different angles for pictures as well as watching the various people surrounding the fountain. When I was done soaking in the scene, I made my way back to the hotel.

Till next time…