I had been in Italy for three full days without doing anything touristy, but Monday was to be the day to start exploring Rome's famous sights. X and I got up at an almost respectable time and headed out to the Colosseum. Exiting Colosseo metro station to be faced with the towering remains came almost as a surprise. It took a few moments for the scale of it to sink in - it's not incomprehensibly huge, but it's difficult to believe you are really there walking where nearly 2000 years ago builders toiled without the aid of modern technology to create this impressive stadium, so much of which is still standing.
We went inside and took our time wandering around, trying to imagine what it would have been like to be imprisoned in the dungeons now visible beneath the floor, or in the crowd cheering for more blood� It's hard to get feeling of what went on there, there is no death vibe in the air, it's all rather peaceful.
We ascended steep steps to get a view from a higher tier. I was impressed at how you are allowed to walk all over such an ancient building. If it was in Britain there would be a five mile exclusion zone around the Colosseum. Romans, however, seem to live around their historical monuments without fussing over them too much. This could be something to do with the number of historical monuments in Rome.
After leaving the Colosseum we strolled on to the nearby Roman Forum. Again, you need a good imagination to visualise life in Imperial Rome, but walking along streets where emperors and slaves once trod gives pause for thought. What remains of the buildings aren't still standing are scattered haphazardly about on the ground as if a giant spoiled child has got bored with his model Forum and stamped on it. So when tired of walking around one can stop to perch one's bum on some old bit of ancient, intricately carved column for a rest. Having rested, we made our way through the Forum and up a very steep hill (which provided excellent views) and through some narrow streets into the centre of the city.
We passed the monument of Vitorio Emanuelle II, otherwise known as the "wedding cake" because of it's uncanny resemblance to a wedding cake, from where could be seen the balcony from which Mussolini was fond of making speeches to the assembled masses. We found a splendid gelateria from which we purchased superb ice cream. I selected pineapple and strawberry flavours, and they went together very well. We finished our ice-creams sitting in Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon. At this point X had to go and do some work, scarily leaving me to go off and explore Rome on my own, and probably get lost.
I started out with an easy challenge by trotting straight into the circular, domed Pantheon. Inside it is a very impressive building, the hole in the roof providing a perfectly circular patch of sky to illuminate the many sculptures and paintings. There seemed an awful lot of big artwork, but in hindsight the Pantheon is refreshing in that it is divided up into a number of sides containing pieces you can look at one at a time. This is in stark contrast to the Vatican, which I later visited, where there is so much to see all in one go you can hardly take it all in. Back outside I took time to study my map and plan my route to Piazza Navona, before setting off only to be immediately confronted with a sign pointing the way to Piazza Navona. I followed the signs through streets hard to describe because of the eclectic blend of architectures. Nearly every building was delicately ornate, hardly anything was strictly functional. Piazza Navona is a large, elongated version of the squares in which Romans sit around and do nothing in particular. It is very elegant, but the fifty foot colour TV screen suspended high on a building at one end highlighted how easily this place could become the Piccadilly Circus or Times Square of Rome if only some big corporations could get their way. Some children were playing football between two (ancient, intricately carved) fountains, and as a couple of old men walked through the middle of the game I thought there would be trouble when the ball went flying their way. But these were laid back, Italian, old men, and one chested the ball to the other, who kicked it with a flourish to one of the boys. Children and old men happily continued about their day, as did I by setting off for the Fontana di Trevi.
I visited the Trevi Fountain twice that day, the first time on purpose. It is a magnificent, intricately carved affair, and you can almost see it through the hordes of tourists. Not that I'm complaining, it's certainly an impressive sight and has to be visited. I lingered a while, threw a couple of coins, and set off to Piazza di Spagna via Giardini del Quirinale, a place that looked on my map like some gardens. There are gardens there, but they are surrounded by government buildings (the mayor lives or works there). So I ended up going on an extended detour. I rested at Piazza del Quirinale then decided to take the straightest possible route to the Spanish Steps, ending up instead back at Fontana di Trevi. So much for my map reading. I regrouped and set off once more.
My first impression of the Spanish Steps was that they were smaller than I had imagined, but I think that it was just the angle I was looking from. Climbing to the top between the groups of people sitting and hanging out, and then looking down on it all, they did not seem small at all. I could see down over all the sitting people on the steps and in the square, and all the way down the narrow Via Condotti. I bought some water from one of the ubiquitous "Pizza Cold Drinks Snacks Gelato" vans, and set about wandering the surrounding streets. I passed the grand (but mostly empty) shops of Gucci, Versace and others, knowing that if I went in wearing my shorts and T-shirt I would probably be laughed at. Finally, noting I had some time to kill before meeting X, I set off for a distant tall monument, which turned out to be the one in the centre of Piazza del Popolo. I noticed with a smile that the fountain where we had sat a few days before now had "Lazio Champions 1999-2000" grafitied across it. I boarded the metro in Flaminio and set off to meet X.
We met successfully at the pre-arranged time and place, and went for dinner. We selected a pleasant restaurant, and were lucky enough to be able to sit outside. I had a delicious salmon pasta dish, and ordered too much wine which I was then forced to drink. Entertainment was provided by a double parked car that was repeatedly crashed into by the passing traffic. No-one seemed to mind, not even the owner who clearly had more important things than a dented car to concern himself with.