Italy Trip 2004
(Sept 21st - Oct 3rd)
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2004
Today we covered east and central Rome.
Here's the street were our hotel is located.
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We started the day at Santa Maria Maggiore.
I didn't take many pictures inside, mainly because of multiple signs saying pictures were not allowed. But I couldn't leave without any pictures at all. While the church was large, it was smaller than the ones I saw during my trip to London.
Walked through a park area called Domus Aurea on the way to the Coliseum. Nothing really stood out there, but there was a nice view of a nearby street.
At the other end of the park, we were greeted with this view.
We decided to take a guided tour. The tour was quite short, but provided some interesting information about the area. We also learned that the Romans weren't discriminating against other religions when they killed people whose religion didn't agree with their beliefs. Ya .... didn't make much sense to us either. But it must be true, as the guide said so.
Apparently the Coliseum was built in 8 years. From the Coliseum, you can see Nero's residence
and Palatino.
The Arch of Constantine is in front of the Coliseum.
We walked through the Palatino ruins.
There was a great view of the Roman Forum.
The Arch of Titus is located at the west end of the forum.
The Victor Emmanuel Monument (first king of Italy) greeted us on the other side of forum.
Went to a small restaurant for lunch. I had spaghetti with bacon in a tomato sauce and creme caramel.
The traffic in Rome is crazy. But at least you can rely on drivers to not run you over. I won't even try to explain it in words. Here's a video.
After our near death experience, we found our way to Trevi Fountain. Never seen anything quite like it.
Our next stop was the Pantheon. On the way there, we came upon a fountain.
We sat around it for a while to relax. There was a large, unimpressive building next to the fountain which we chose to ignore. A few minutes after leaving the fountain area, we discovered that building was actually the Pantheon. We went back to look around.
We weren't completely sure what we were looking at inside. The guide books all had contradicting information.
Here's a cool picture I got while trying to photograph the exterior.
Walked over to Piazza Navona, which is a large square with street vendors.
While walking through Piazza Navona, two guys approached us and started tying colored string around our wrists. After finishing, they wanted us to pay for them. Sadly to say, we paid 15 Euro for both.
Went in to a church located in the area called San Luigi dei Francesi. Didn't take any pictures as it was rather small and unimpressive.
On many streets, you will find public water spouts. We've been told these provide very good quality water. You'll often see people filling up water bottles or washing their hands with them.
Walked over to the Tevere for a shortcut.
Palazzo Di Giustieria is located on the other side of the Tevere. No idea what it is.
We tried to find this thing called Mauseleo Di Augusto. Didn't know what is was, only that it was on the way to the Spanish Steps. Turned out to be nothing much of anything.
Got to the Spanish Steps. It was crowded as expected.
We didn't walk the steps as we were both tired. We'll come back another day.
This obelisk was located a block from the steps.
Using my "Top 10" book of Rome attractions, we tried to find the #3 Pizzeria on the list. When we got there, we found the restaurant had closed.
Went back to the hotel for a pit stop before dinner. Met two guys from La Spezia (near Cinque Terres). One of them was helping Adam learn Italian. I ordered pizza with salami and profitoroles.
Got some gelato and found an internet access point near the hotel before calling it a night.
