| Page Views: 82 Last Visit to Rome: August, 2002 | Rome by edwis - last update: Jun 26, 2007 |
Roman Hotel
Our hotel (Villa San Pio) was in a residential area up a hill with a curvy tree lined street that had a monastery, school, and the American Embassy all within 2 blocks. It was a very pretty, secluded and quiet setting. The San Pio is a bed and breakfast type place which was once a villa estate consisting of three buildings. Now they are all connected by central garden setting that is the breakfast and cocktail area for the hotel. We were very pleased with this environment. The rooms were very neat for our first European hotel ever. In fact, I found this little clothes washing stool (or maybe it was some sort of a foot washing device?) sitting right next to toilet. Oh stupid me, when I found out later that the cute little device was a bidet! I’ve never seen one or even thought about that there might be one. I also liked that when you placed your room key card in a slot in the wall, the lights dimmed out as you leave and turn on when you return and opened the door. I was easily amused by all these new and strange devices. The bath area had a Jacuzzi shower stall, which was about the size of a telephone booth, but had 9 water jets all coming at you from the front wall of the shower. The pillows on the bed were about three feet long and we had 4 of them all piled up. I made a note to get some soon as we returned home, which we did. Then there were the great Euro styled toilets, with two flat panels (buttons) to push on the wall behind the stool. The large button for the full water flush and a smaller button for what I figured to be a little lite flush. I found that to be very efficient. The room air conditioners were run by remote control. You are able set the temperature, fan speed, and angle of vents using the remote, how cool. Croatia also had these models and I enjoyed making all the adjustments. I thought I could just stay around the hotel and be amazed by all these gadgets which I kept discovering.
Roman Sites
When we got to Roma, we started out with a kind of list of the ‘ten best things to see ‘and decided to “wing it” from there. Hell, we were so hyped about this being our first trip that we saw most of the ten sites before noon on the first day. About eight blocks away (walking distance for us) from our hotel was the Roman Forum, then a nice little walk over the temple ruins, continuing on to the Coliseum (Colosseo), and the Circus Maximus. We found some large sunken ruins, some16 feet below street level, which looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle from above. We learned this was known as Trajan’s Forum from the 1st century. Then we come upon the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele. We read there that many Italians referred to it as the "The Wedding Cake" building and we could easily see why. It really seemed out of place today amongst the old, ancient and weathered buildings around it. We were told that many Romans wish it would sink under its own great weight. That was the most steps I have ever walked up at one time. Evidently it celebrates Italy's unification in 1870 and is dedicated to the first King, Victor Emmanuel II. Coming out of there, I saw a gray bearded priest in a black gown outfit with a long ponytail walking with a nun. It looked to be a little too romantic scene to me, but who was I to speculate.
All of these different areas are connected by little alleyways and streets which we found to be full of gelato stands. I had more gelato treats in a few days than I had ice cream in a year’s time back home. Why does everything just taste so much better while on vacation? I guess that is also the answer – ‘being on vacation’. We took a short taxi ride over one evening to the Spanish Steps,where hundreds of young and pretty locals seemed to gather nightly for socializing and hooking up. |
|  | Roman Sites: Other walks took us to the nearby Pantheon / ‘temple for all gods’, which is one of the best-preserved buildings dating back to ancient Rome around 25 B.C. It has a perfect sphere rotunda with the height of the rotunda to the top of its dome matches its diameter. At the top of the dome there is an oculus (eye) of a circular opening which is its only light source.Then, almost by accident we turned a corner and come upon the famous Trevi Fountain. While there are many fountains and squares in Roma, this is most majestic and the most famous throughout the world. The Trevi Fountain dominates a small square in the heart of Rome. The legend says that anyone who throws a coin into the fountain will return to the ‘Eternal City’. Of course we did the coins, and we haven’t return yet.We found some great action and interesting scenes at the Piazza Navona one evening. This is a truly wonderful square to see. It has an unusual, elongated oval shape that is the same as that of the ancient stadium over which the square was built. The predominating style is Baroque and there are so many monuments and buildings to admire such as the main fountain designed by Bernini. This is another nightly gathering place for locals, complete with street mimes, balloons, artists etc. The nearby Campo de Fiore is an open-air market that is shopped by the locals and the food items and other staples seem to have very reasonable prices. |
| | Trastevere There is an old Roman saying that goes; “Roma, non basta en una vida” meaning something like ‘it takes more than one lifetime to see all of Rome’. Well, in our three days there we trekked through 5 of Rome’s 7 hills (zonas). And we had some sore feet to prove it. We spent two different times going over to an artsy and trendy little section called Trastevere (across the Trevor). There are five different bridges across the river coming into this area. We found quaint little narrow alleyways and cobblestone streets that are lined with trattorias, various shops, and a lot of laundry hanging above us that was strung across the narrow streets from the apartments. Many of the buildings are the original Roman construction and the inhabitants take pride in living and preserving ancient Romans traditions. In a beautiful neighborhood square stands Santa Maria credited as the oldest church in Rome. At a little mid-day lunch stop we had a ten-year old little boy come by and played an accordion for us. Another stop there produced another youngster playing a violin. It was perfect for us.
Trastevere sits at the bottom of the Janiculum Hill and garden area. We came from the other side and had our longest walk coming across this place. At the highest point is the garden area which is a tree-lined section leading to the impressive monument of the great Garibaldi. He is Italy’s independence hero who is sitting high atop a horse overlooking his beloved city. From up here we found the best views of the whole city.
Vatican / Citta del Vaticano
Our longest walking journey of the trip took place which covered the Janiculum Hill area and over to the Vatican complex. As you approach it you can’t help but be moved by St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world, which overlooks the square that carries the same name. Again it was designed by Bernini and the square is surrounded by a fantastic colonnade you can walk under. We heard several times and were pre-warned about the dress code for women visitors. One must be sure to have your shoulders covered and wear modest clothing etc. But it was I who was the one who couldn’t get in. Since it was an 88-degree Roman day of course I was wearing my normal attire - shorts. The clothing checker guard made it quite clear that there would be no entry for me, so Joan went through the lines and worked her way inside. She saw the main bingo hall with the great famous ceiling. She did have a fancy sundress on which did show a little shoulder. One guard on the inside told her quite directly to “cover yourself up”. This was said even though the outside guard let her pass in.
I just hung around outside in the big plaza and was just amazed at all the people moving about. I swear that we saw more nuns in 3 days in Roma than we have seen in past 30 years of our Catholic reared lives. After the Vatican we walked and walked seeing the Palazzo di Justice, the Castel Sant’Angelo, and the Mausoleum de Garibaldi. Somewhere along the way we stumbled upon the Gesu church which is the world headquarters of Jesuits. Since I attended a Jesuit college, this place had some interest for us. I bet we visited about 15 other churches while in Roma. Roman water was an exciting experience. They have public fountains and pipes everywhere producing some of the highest rated clean, purified drinking water available. Many times while walking around you would come upon a public drinking fountain. Albeit sometimes, it was just a single pipe coming out of a stone wall, but you could stop and become refreshed. We witnessed a motor scooter rider stop his scooter, get off, take helmet off, bend over and drink some water from the public fountain then remount continuing onward |
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edwis' Rome Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do | | | Restaurants
Tips: 1 - Photos: 5 | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | Transportation
Tips: 1 | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 edwis' Rome Travelogues | | | | Title [Click to view] | Travel Year | Pictures | | Rome | June, 2002 | |
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