This was the only full day in Rome, so Tony & Emily had a quick breakfast and set out to explore and take advantage of all that the capital city has to offer. We decided to join up with a bus tour both to see many of the famous sights and to have easy transportation around the city.
Our hotel was conveniently located mere blocks from the Colosseum and the Forum, so we strolled down there right after breakfast.
It was surreal to be in the midst of a modern city and to see ruins dating back thousands of years. The Colosseum and Forum (well, fora ... there are a couple ... learn more about them here!) were just sitting amongst avenues crowded with cars, scooters, and tourists. The way ancient architecture and art were mixed in with present day life was incredible.
After strolling around the ruins, Tony & Emily hopped on the tour bus to head toward the western part of the city. The views from the second open-air level of the bus were fabulous. We listened to the audioguide and made our way toward St. Peter's Piazza and Basilica. The piazza was a sight in itself. Expansive, with lovely fountains, a (stolen) obelisk, and neat archways, the piazza didn't feel crowded despite the hundreds of visitors in it. Certainly that is different during Easter and other major Catholic/papal events when thousands come to the square. We wandered around the piazza and then stood in line to see the basilica.
Once the largest cathedral in the world (now #2, with the largest built recently in Cote d'Ivoire), St. Peter's Basilica is a bit of an optical illusion- it seems somewhat big from the outside, but once on the inside it becomes apparent just how enormous it really is (i.e. letters in the dome as taller than Tony or Emily!). Full of papal graves, famous paintings and sculptures (la Pieta, etc), and ornate altars, there was much to take in as we made our way through the large church.
All this touring about and sight-seeing made T & E quite hungry. Following a tip from the Lonely Planet guide,
we headed to a restaurant just around the corner from Piazza Navona where the guide recommended we try the homemade pasta with a truffle cream sauce. People, we don't want to exaggerate here, but truffles just might be the best food. ever. Seriously though, our lunch was delicious. A fresh arugula + parmesan + pine nut salad followed by pasta carbonara and pasta tartufo ... plus a mezze of vino di tavola. We were in food heaven! While we both loved the meal, it did lead to Emily becoming obsessed with all things tartufo and constantly trying to eat at restaurants solely because they had truffles on the menu.
Well-fed and needing a little movement to work through the food coma, E & T walked through Piazza Navona (checking out the many lovely fountains) and over to the Pantheon. Quite possibly Emily's favorite building, the Pantheon is an amazing dome with its height equal to its diameter- plus it's over 2,000 years. and still standing!
Once used as a temple for all Roman gods (hence, pan meaning 'all' and theon from theos meaning 'gods'), it was later converted into a Catholic/Christian church. The simplicity of the architecture really caught our eyes- especially after seeing many ornate baroque structures- this dome was impressive without being showy.
We continued the bus/walking tour of Rome- highlights of which included: watching the sunset on the top of a double-decker bus, the Spanish Steps, seeing the city all a-glow at night,
and Trevi Fountain (where Tony and Emily followed tradition and each threw in a coin in the hopes of returning to Rome one day),
and more gelato naturally!
After seeing much of the city and realizing just how much more there was to see in Rome (spending a weekend is lovely but definitely not enough time in this impressive city), T&E decided to call it a night. They ended the evening splitting a pizza and people-watching at a sidewalk restaurant. Not a bad way to end the day. :)
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