Day 75 Monday 30th October 2023 - Rome
Day 76 Tuesday 31st October 2023 - Rome - Day 1
Today we had booked a "free walking tour" of Rome - cost upfront 1€ each. Of course, we knew that a tip would be expected at the end of the 2 hour tour and we had no problem with that !
The tour started at Piazza di Spagna, at the base of the Spanish Steps. We arrived early, and looked around for a coffee, found a cafe, but cappuccinos were 5€ each, so we back tracked to McDonalds McCafe and bought two coffees totalling 3.40€ !! And - they were quite nice !
Met our free walking tour guide, Fabio at 10:00 and started the tour with a description of the Spanish Steps and the Barcaccia Fountain (broken ships), a Bernini sculpture, inspired by the flooding of the Tiber at this very point and maybe damaged ships being washed up on this very spot in ancient times.
The water source for the fountains in Piazza di Spagna, the Trevi Fountain and the 3 fountains in the Piazza Navona, are all supplied by the original Virgin Aqueduct built by Augustus in 19 BC - see this website for more info. : https://www.unaguidaturisticaroma.com/en/blog2/post/28137/acquedotto-vergine:-rovine-sotto-il-centro-commerciale
The walking tour then took us to the Victory Column of Marcus Aurelius, Palazzo Chigi and the Temple of Hadrian - or at least what remains of it, as it has been incorporated into a more recent Baroque building.
Next stop the Pantheon, - wow it is huge ! We didn't go inside and the queues of people waiting to enter were very long - even in this low season. We had a small break here.
Next stop was Piazza Navona with 3 fountains, and a church. The central spectacular fountain, the Bernini four rivers fountain - spectacular ! Piazza Navona was in fact an original Roman stadium where Olympic Games were held.
Last stop on the tour is the Castel Sant'Angelo which was originally the mausoleum for Hadrian built AD 135 - 139, but has now morphed into a castel and now a museum ! Hadrian was one of the Roman Emperors who was deified into a God ! This was the end point of the tour, and we started another Tania Tour ! The aim here is always to cover as many different routes around the city and locate places of interest along the way. We sometimes stumble across little gems as well, all as we clock up anything from 16,000 to 20,000 + steps each day. Consequently the belt needs tightening as our pants no longer stay in place on the body !
We walked across the Pont Sant'Angelo bridge over the Tiber, walked along the river bank and crossed back across the Saint Umberto 1 bridge. We then returned to Piazza Navona to inspect each of the fountains in more detail. From there we went to the Trevi Fountain ... we checked the correct way of throwing a coin into the fountain .. "must be thrown with your right hand, over your left shoulder - one coin to return to Rome, two coins to return to Rome and fall in love, three coins to return to Rome, fall in love and marry ! We threw one coin with the song Three Coins in the Fountain ringing in our heads !
Part of the Tania tour took us past the Curia de Pompey where Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March - see more info 44bc. https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/confirmed-curia-of-pompey-where-julius-caesar-was-killed-was-built-in-three-phases/
More info about Julius Caesar here : https://simplycharly.com/facts/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-julius-caesar
The next two spots were most important, first to Antico Forno Rocioli for reportedly the best pizza in Rome. We shared 3 slices of different varieties, not bad, but while there we chatted to a local who informed us of another pizza bar he believes has even better pizza ! Next stop Barnum Roma for reportedly the best coffee in Rome - we would debate that !
Tania then selected a route back to our apartment again through streets we hadn't already navigated to end 8.5 hours of walking, achieving just under 23,000 steps ! What a day ! It may be time for new walking boots before the next big trip.
Day 77 Wednesday 1st November 2023 - Rome - Day 2
Today started for Graeme as a mystery Tania tour. Left apartment at 8:15, with umbrellas and jackets as rain was forecast for later in the day. We made our way to the bus station outside of the Roma Termini railway station, looking for the bus 'H Linea', which we found without too much trouble. Timed well as one was just about to depart. Tania knew we needed get out in 9 stops, so was going to count them, except we didn't stop at all of them. We guessed that one was close enough and indeed it was, a short walk and a bridge across the Tiber (Tevere in Italian), and we were entering the Trastevere neighbourhood, a colorful area known for its restaurants and nightlife set in a medieval cobble stoned street atmosphere. First thing we noticed was the graffiti - it was everywhere ! As we were walking we noticed there weren't many businesses actually open, Graeme did a Google search and discovered it was All Saints Day - a public holiday for the whole of Italy ! Yay ! We found a cafe open, where a number of customers were sitting outside and ordered our regular Latte Macchiato which turned out to be more milk than coffee and luke warm. Granted it only cost I€ each, but it was a disappointment.
Not to worry, we continued our discovery tour onto the neighbourhood of Testaccio, known for its many fine food outlets. We did pass one, il Gianfornico, that looked and smelt delicious but it was too early for us to stop for lunch, so we pushed on. Tania was in fact heading toward the Testaccio market, open every day, 7.00 - 15:00 (except Sundays) - and as we discovered public holidays !!! Tania was deflated as this was going to be the highlight of the tour !
Not to worry, we pushed on to the neighbourhood of Ostiense, known for its street art. Here are some images from online :
Here is what we found : (disappointment #2) :
They seem to have lost their vibrancy ! Another disappointing find.
What to do but return to il Gianfonico for lunch - a good decision as it was delicious and the coffee, while not quite hot enough was nice! The Italians are very reluctant to heat the milk past warm and their milk to foam ratio for a latte is more than often 50:50, and that's with the tide out.
After lunch it was starting to rain, so out with the umbrellas and jackets. We walked back via Avertine Hill, which presented a fabulous view back over the city rooftops, then past Circus Maximus and eventually to the Colosseum for our first up close experience, the size of it is quite overwhelming ! We could have caught the underground metro or a bus but the decision was to walk back 4 Km in the rain.
Another big day's walk, some disappointments, but some great moments as well !
Day 78 Thursday 2nd November 2023 - Rome - Day 3
Today we had booked a tour of the Colosseum, but it wasn't until 11:30 so we had time to check out something beforehand. We decided to head back the Testaccio Market, which was closed yesterday due to the public holiday. We had checked the forecast last night and it said clear skies until around 11:00, but when we woke it was raining ! Not to be dis-spirited, we grabbed our umbrellas and goretex jackets and headed off. We caught a Metro to the Pyramide stop and walked about 10 mins to the market. Again it was a little disappointing, with not all the stalls open, and what was there was nothing to rave about. We didn't spend as much time there as we had planned and headed back early toward (via the Metro) to the meeting point for our tour, very near the Colosseum. As we were early we had time to sit and have a coffee at the Roma Cafe, being right next to the Colosseum they could charge exorbitant prices, so we had a 4.5€ latte macchiatto, at least it was nice and hot. We had learned the phrase 'molto caldo' for when we ordered our coffees ! Of course, it didn't mean they would take any notice of us !
We were assigned to the yellow group for our tour, which started at the Roman Forum and worked our way back to the Colosseum. Amazing that so much history can be presented in the one tour. The Roman Forum was in use for 1400 years during the golden period of the Roman Empire, it saw many emperors from Romulus to Titus to Caesar to Nero walking the streets here. People like Marc Antony, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius and Quintilian delivered speeches here ! A fun fact - the Roman Forum was built over a sewage system ! Also, it is the place where Julius Caesar's ashes were laid to rest.
Onto the Colosseum, wow what a building ! It is huge when you get up close. It took 8 years to construct, and seated 65,000 people, They could flood the arena and turn it into a lake for boat battles ! The entire roof could be covered, or not and the sub-arena floor was a mechanical masterpiece. It is the largest amphitheatre ever built, and still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world.
After the end of our tour, we made our way to the Vittorio Emanuele 11 monument (aka Altar of the Fatherland or 'the wedding cake'), constructed post WWI and features a grave of the unknown soldier with an eternal flame (2 in fact) burning.
Then walked our way back through the city to our apartment, stopping off at the Galleria di Storia, which was on our check list of things to view.
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