Roma - Part I
this is definitely one of my favorite places so far. need to split Rome into 2 parts. this place was too huge!
i stayed at this B&B/hostel (they have a little of both) in Campo de'Fiori. couldn't have picked a better spot. the people here were great! ended up making a lot of friends (who you will see later), including one that introduced me to italy's version of box wine.
close by this place is the Area Sacra Argentina, aka kitty city. they're some old ruins (tho no one seems to know what of) and home to a ton of cats. rome apparently once had a rat problem so the city brought in a bunch of cats, thus resulting in a cat problem. and no worries for you freakshow cat lovers out there...the cats here are taken care of and protected by the city, and it's against the law to remove a kitty unless you're adopting it.
funny how they treat some historic sites here... the pink building behind the ruins-turned-litter-box happens to be the place where julius ceasar was killed. now it's a tabacco shop.
on my way to find the market at Campo de'Fiori, i totally missed it and found the Castel Sant'Angelo instead (if you look at a map, you'll see they're nowhere near each other...my navigation skills are shot...). unfortunately the only day of the wk that it's closed happened to be when i saw it.
next to the castle is the Piazza Tribunal.
on my walk i passed several gas stations. they're kinda funny here. they sit on the street and you just pull up to the curb and fill up w/the engine running. how is this possibly ok? safety first!!!
this is Piazza del Popolo, a big circle on the north end of the city with lots of things to see.
just behind the Piazza del Popolo is the Pincio, a gigantic park that extends forever. couldn't get thru all of it - it's that big. you can get some great views of the city from here too.
on one corner of the park is Piazza di Spagna, aka the Spanish Steps. people just come here to hang out. there's a lot of steps too.
from there i walked thru the Piazza Mignanelli,
found the Fontana di Trevi tho there was no water in it at the time,
passed by the Piazza del Parlamento which is under construction,
the Piazza Navona,
and ended up at Campo de Fiori, which i was originally looking for when i started out (apparently i got there too early for any stands to be up). it's a big open market w/fruits and veggies and lots of knock-offs. got some yummy melon here on my way back for a nap.
i did take a tour in rome which came highly recommended for anyone on a short stay (i.e. me). actually learned a lot too, none of which i can share w/you now cuz i don't remember any of it... we started out the tour at Circo Massimo, a place known for war, bloodshed, mass raping, and chariot racing. in the background is Foro Romano-Palatino, the ancient palace grounds.
we passed by the Teatro Marcello, a greek ampitheater that's been transformed into posh condos (sophia loren owns one). back in the day they liked REAL acting so death scenes entailed actually killing someone onstage. they would have criminals, etc stand in for those scenes. can you imagine living somewhere where LOTS of people died...on purpose...for the sake of entertainment???
went to the Patheon, possibly one of the greatest architectural phenomenons in the world. it looks simple, but it's actually pretty impressive.
the dome is 1 single slab of cement w/no rebar. can you imagine pouring cement and setting it in place before it dried? the open circle at the top keeps the roof structurally sound, tells the time, and provides light.
and of course if it rains, there are a bunch of little holes in the floor to drain the water. i was dumb like everyone else and just thot the holes were a sign the place was falling apart...
we did make a stop at Piazza Venezia, home of the wedding cake (as the locals fondly refer to it). this was built by mussolini, everyone's favorite italian fascist dictator. and while it is the home of the unnamed soldier and the eternal flame (no not the song), it is also an extravagant tribute to himself. it sits next to all the ancient ruins and kills the landscape. definitely the biggest disappointment i saw on this trip. on the other hand, the rest of the piazza was nice! and as i found out later, there's a lot of cafes here open at 4am (see Roma-Part II...).
this area actually has fallen apart. Foro di Traiano, home of ancient markets and ruins, and happens to sit on one side of the wedding cake (now do you understand why i think that thing is so guady???).
this was the equivalent of a shopping mall back in the day. not exactly southdale...
sadly this pole is falling apart, but they are doing their best to keep it intact.
it's an amazing piece of historical documentation. there are drawings that circle up the sides and if you could unravel it you'd get a visual story of rome's ancient history.
ended the tour at the Foro Romano (ancient forum). we were suppose to end at the Colosseum, but the road leading up to the entrance was blocked off so they could set up for the billy joel/bryan adams concert (coming in part II).
i stayed at this B&B/hostel (they have a little of both) in Campo de'Fiori. couldn't have picked a better spot. the people here were great! ended up making a lot of friends (who you will see later), including one that introduced me to italy's version of box wine.
close by this place is the Area Sacra Argentina, aka kitty city. they're some old ruins (tho no one seems to know what of) and home to a ton of cats. rome apparently once had a rat problem so the city brought in a bunch of cats, thus resulting in a cat problem. and no worries for you freakshow cat lovers out there...the cats here are taken care of and protected by the city, and it's against the law to remove a kitty unless you're adopting it.
funny how they treat some historic sites here... the pink building behind the ruins-turned-litter-box happens to be the place where julius ceasar was killed. now it's a tabacco shop.
on my way to find the market at Campo de'Fiori, i totally missed it and found the Castel Sant'Angelo instead (if you look at a map, you'll see they're nowhere near each other...my navigation skills are shot...). unfortunately the only day of the wk that it's closed happened to be when i saw it.
next to the castle is the Piazza Tribunal.
on my walk i passed several gas stations. they're kinda funny here. they sit on the street and you just pull up to the curb and fill up w/the engine running. how is this possibly ok? safety first!!!
this is Piazza del Popolo, a big circle on the north end of the city with lots of things to see.
just behind the Piazza del Popolo is the Pincio, a gigantic park that extends forever. couldn't get thru all of it - it's that big. you can get some great views of the city from here too.
on one corner of the park is Piazza di Spagna, aka the Spanish Steps. people just come here to hang out. there's a lot of steps too.
from there i walked thru the Piazza Mignanelli,
found the Fontana di Trevi tho there was no water in it at the time,
passed by the Piazza del Parlamento which is under construction,
the Piazza Navona,
and ended up at Campo de Fiori, which i was originally looking for when i started out (apparently i got there too early for any stands to be up). it's a big open market w/fruits and veggies and lots of knock-offs. got some yummy melon here on my way back for a nap.
i did take a tour in rome which came highly recommended for anyone on a short stay (i.e. me). actually learned a lot too, none of which i can share w/you now cuz i don't remember any of it... we started out the tour at Circo Massimo, a place known for war, bloodshed, mass raping, and chariot racing. in the background is Foro Romano-Palatino, the ancient palace grounds.
we passed by the Teatro Marcello, a greek ampitheater that's been transformed into posh condos (sophia loren owns one). back in the day they liked REAL acting so death scenes entailed actually killing someone onstage. they would have criminals, etc stand in for those scenes. can you imagine living somewhere where LOTS of people died...on purpose...for the sake of entertainment???
went to the Patheon, possibly one of the greatest architectural phenomenons in the world. it looks simple, but it's actually pretty impressive.
the dome is 1 single slab of cement w/no rebar. can you imagine pouring cement and setting it in place before it dried? the open circle at the top keeps the roof structurally sound, tells the time, and provides light.
and of course if it rains, there are a bunch of little holes in the floor to drain the water. i was dumb like everyone else and just thot the holes were a sign the place was falling apart...
we did make a stop at Piazza Venezia, home of the wedding cake (as the locals fondly refer to it). this was built by mussolini, everyone's favorite italian fascist dictator. and while it is the home of the unnamed soldier and the eternal flame (no not the song), it is also an extravagant tribute to himself. it sits next to all the ancient ruins and kills the landscape. definitely the biggest disappointment i saw on this trip. on the other hand, the rest of the piazza was nice! and as i found out later, there's a lot of cafes here open at 4am (see Roma-Part II...).
this area actually has fallen apart. Foro di Traiano, home of ancient markets and ruins, and happens to sit on one side of the wedding cake (now do you understand why i think that thing is so guady???).
this was the equivalent of a shopping mall back in the day. not exactly southdale...
sadly this pole is falling apart, but they are doing their best to keep it intact.
it's an amazing piece of historical documentation. there are drawings that circle up the sides and if you could unravel it you'd get a visual story of rome's ancient history.
ended the tour at the Foro Romano (ancient forum). we were suppose to end at the Colosseum, but the road leading up to the entrance was blocked off so they could set up for the billy joel/bryan adams concert (coming in part II).
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