Someone didn't want us to go to Rome. First I heard about a train strike which was going to affect Dwi's journey, and we were worried. But trenitalia assured her it would be fine. Then, thursday night, we get an email from British Airways telling us that our flight has been canceled because Air Traffic Control is on strike and we've been rebooked on one 5 hours later from a different airport. Well, at least we don't have to get up early? So we get to the airport, go through security, chill at the Harrod's in the airport for a bit, and then wait to board. And wait. And wait. It was never "officially" delayed, but we boarded 45 minutes late. Then we sat on the runway for another hour while waiting to take off. All very frustrating when you're meeting someone on the other end of your journey and aren't allowed to use a cell phone!
My first view of Rome! These are mountains of some sort but I'm not sure which ones. Any geography experts should feel free to chime in.
Our cute hotel, from the outside. It's called Rome Hotel Pinewood, and is a great B&B out by the Cornelia metro station, which is nigh at the end of one of the metro lines (but there are only 2). Definitely not taken on the day we arrived as it was pitch black by then. Love navigating in the dark!
Lobby shot!
Another lobby shot!
Having arrived at the hotel so late, there wasn't much we could do the first day. So we caught a bus to Piazza Cavour, walked to Piazza Navona, and then found our way to the Pantheon from there. Unfortunately it was closed by then, so we just marveled at the outside and ate crepes. Boo yah.
The view from the bridge (of another bridge!) that connects Piazza Navona and Piazza Cavour. That's the Tiber river there.
The next day, after our Roman ruins outing, we went on a free tour sponsored by, ironically enough, Rome Free Tours. The guides are all local college students who work on a tips-only basis, and our guide, Simone, was both informative and, well, nice to look at. Rome is full of basilisks (read: solitary tall columns) and here are three that we passed on our walk.
We also went to the Trevi Fountain for the first time while on the tour...it was a magnificent display of white marble and jets of water. We vowed to revisit during the daytime, though.
A Rome metro car. This is why I liked the Paris metro more than most people: the metro in Rome has two lines that overlap at just ONE POINT and it's rather dirty (though cheap). Paris's metro is slightly cleaner and far more extensive, which I greatly appreciated. London's metro is head and shoulders above the rest of the world, but is so darn expensive!
Dwi and I spent the better part of one afternoon wandering along the Tiber, because that's what we like to do.
More from our wanderings. I loved that the green still came through in the reflection!
Loved this painter. I kind of wanted to buy what he was working on right there--a shot of St. Peter's with the bridge and Tiber in the foreground...it was rather magnificent.
Entirety of the Trevi fountain at night...
And a portion of it during the day! I threw in one coin just to return because I wasn't sure if the three for marrying an Italian meant one originally from there...I have my Italian already! (Legend goes: 1 coin--will return to Rome; 2 coins--will fall in love with an Italian; 3 coins--will marry an Italian).
Piazza Navona's central fountain. We met up with a friend who lived on our freshman year floor here...out of the 27 of us, there were 4 who made it here on the same night!
The "ugly boat" of Piazza Spagna. Simone told us that when the Tiber flooded, an ugly boat ended up in the centre of the piazza, and so they built a fountain to commemorate it. Go figure.
Random arch in the Villa Borghese park. We wandered around in this huge park for about an hour and a half, enjoying the fresh air (you think Londoners smoke? go to Rome!) and meeting all the dogs in the park!
Also in Villa Borghese park. No sign, though, so no idea what these columns represented...
It's time to play..."what's wrong with this picture?" If you're wondering why I have a picture of the Globe in the Rome post, check out the flag...we were wandering through, saw this, and were very confused, as we've all been to the semi-real Globe (the original was destroyed by fire) in London. Evidently the Romans love Shakespeare so much they wanted one of their own.
Really cool (well, warm) sunlight we saw on our way out of the park. We danced in its magical beams.
We attempted to go to the Boca but we got there just as it was closing, alas, and even when we pleaded in Italian we were turned away. Supposedly if you put your hand in and tell a lie, the mouth bites you! See Roman Holiday for details...or just watch it, 'cause Audrey's my girl.
Thus concludes our adventure in Rome! Our last day, Dwi and I had a late flight so we slept in, got breakfast, went to the Vatican markets, went to a grocery store, and then headed back to the hotel to get our luggage and then begin the trek to the airport (walk to metro, take metro to train station, take train to airport, take plane to London). But Paris is still my favorite! =p
No comments:
Post a Comment