| Page Views: 970 Last Visit to Rome: June, 2008 | Seen on the Via Veneto by TheWanderingCamel - last update: Nov 3, 2008 |
George Bush came to town whilst we we in Rome. It just so happened that we'd opted for a well-earned coffee stop in a cafe on the Via Veneto that day. Carabinieri everywhere - parked on street corners by the van load, lining the roadway, tearing up and down on motor-cycles - what a circus!
The motorcade rolled by, returning from the Vatican to the American Embassy, and slowly the street returned to normal. We hailed a cab and made our way to our next destination, the beautiful little church of Santa Constanza, where we found ....
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|  | ....more carabinieri
No workman-like fatigues or guns for these guys though. Cockaded hats and silver epaulettes were the order of the day as they stood honour guard for one of their colleagues whose wedding had just been celebrated in the church.
We watched and waited as the photos were taken, the wedding guests fluttered around the newly-wed couple, the old sexton berated all and sundry as he swept up rice and rose petals and the last of the guests left the church before we could enter.
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| Game over - time to relax |
| | New friends Because of the wedding, we'd had to hang around a bit before we could go up to the church, but this was our last day and Santa Constanza was a must (both for the mosaics and because my companion's mother had been a Constance too) so hang about we did.... in the company of the elderly bocce-playing members of the the Santa Agnes Community Centre at their shady bar next to the church.
Isn't it things like this that we really remember most about our travels? The chance encounters, the unexpected, the out-of-the-way. Millions of tourists and travellers visit Rome each year and each and every one of them will almost certainly make their way to the Roman Forum, St Peters and the Trevi Fountain. Of course we did it too, and there are all the photos to show for it. Do I really need to post them up here? To add to the 920 photos of the Colosseum, the 737 of the Vatican?
I'm not sure how this page is going to pan out. My love of history will almost certainly take me down the traditional paths of recording Rome's extraordinary past but I hope by the time it's done you'll have enjoyed sharing my view of the eternal city and maybe found a thing or two you'd like to add to your ideas of Things to Do on your Roman holiday.
leyle |
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 Comments for TheWanderingCamel about Rome | | | | |
craic Thu Jul 16, 2009 14:36 UTC
oh those poppies are so beautiful | gilabrand Thu Jun 4, 2009 11:03 UTC
Great food writing....I'm off to the fridge. LOL Glad you liked my Rome musings. I hope I'm not being too negative - we actually had a great time! | nomorewars Fri Apr 10, 2009 09:51 UTC
What a sensational tour of Rome! I absolutely loved every bit of info. you presented on your page, especially the info. pertaining to the Jewish ghetto. | hindu1936 Fri Mar 27, 2009 14:01 UTC
Hi Camel. Someday someone is going to catch you in a city carrying the encyclopedia with you while you write your wonderful tips. Thanks again for bringing a better light to something less well covered by others. |
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