Rome, Day 2

Sunday, 8 July 2012

After an exhaustingly productive first day in Rome, we decided to take it a bit easier on day two, mainly to give our aching feet a chance to rest. We got up a bit later than we had been so we could catch up on some much needed sleep – I haven’t gotten to sleep much since leaving America. Our bus tour tickets were still valid, so we used that to get around the city, thus eliminating the need for walking from place to place.

St. Peter's Basilica

The first place we headed Sunday morning was the Vatican to see St. Peter’s Basilica. But we didn’t go in. The girl I’m traveling with isn’t religious. I’ve seen the Vatican once, and I’m not Catholic, so seeing it again isn’t something major. So we just got off to take pictures and walk around the square in front of the basilica. That didn’t take all that long though because it was so hot, so all we wanted to do was get back in the shade. So we stood in the shade waiting for the next bus, getting harassed by street vendors and beggars. That is one thing I’m not going to miss about Europe: getting things shoved in my face or feeling bad because I don’t have change to give to the beggar women.

At the Trevi Fountain

Finally, the bus came and we were able to escape from the street hawkers. Unfortunately, the bus didn’t have air conditioning, so it was even hotter inside the bus than it was outside. But we endured the heat inside because, at that point, it was better than walking through the blistering heat outside. We got off the bus at the Trevi Fountain so that we could see it in the daylight. It was just as crowded as it was the day before. We got close enough to take more pictures, but we still didn’t throw in our coins because we weren’t sure how much more cash we were going to need for the day.

At the top of the Spanish Steps

From the Trevi Fountain, we made the short walk up the road to the Piazza di Spagna to see the Spanish Steps in the daylight. Unlike the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps aren’t a huge tourist attraction, so while there were a lot of people there, it wasn’t so crowded it was hard to move. Not only did we get pictures of the steps in the daylight, but we also climbed to the top. I really like the view from the top of the steps because you can see straight down the street leading up to it. It also is a good place to get a decent view of Rome because it is one of the taller points in the city.

After a late start, but a semi-productive morning, we decided to take a break for lunch and then an hour or so break inside an air conditioned McDonald’s, which is one of the only places in Europe that is consistently air conditioned. During the summer in Rome, it gets really hot, especially in the afternoon. Sunday, the high was supposed to be at least 95˚ F. After spending six weeks in London, where the norm was in the high 60s, low 70s, that kind of heat was not at all welcome. Because it does get so in the summer in Rome, Romans normally get up early in the morning and get some things accomplished before it gets too hot. Around lunch time, they take an afternoon break, emerging in the late afternoon/early evening to resume their activities as the day begins to cool down. And that’s basically what we did. By the time we were done with lunch and our break, it was quite a bit cooler than it had been earlier in the day.

Circus Maximus

The McDonald’s we took refuge in was right next to a bus stop, so we were able to walk right out of the air conditioning and onto an un-air conditioned bus. We then rode the bus a few stops to see the Circo Massimo, or as English speakers call it, the Circus Maximus. According to the audio on the bus tour the day before, we passed the Circus Maximus, but neither of us saw it when we were driving by. It turns out that we really did see it. We just didn’t realize that that’s what it was. Most of the ruins of ancient Rome are recognizable as such. They have been preserved and restored, so it’s pretty obvious when something is an ancient Roman ruin. But the Circus Maximus was a bit of a let down. It really hasn’t been restored or kept up all that well, so it really just looks like a rocky pit in the middle of a field. That, plus all the construction fences and other materials made it look morel like a construction site than a Roman ruin. I don’t really know what I as expecting, but that was not it, so I was kind of disappointed.

After that, we were going to go see the catacombs and Via Appia Antica (an ancient Roman road), but when I was planning out our activities, I misread the map. I though that Via Appia Antica was right next to the Circus Maximus. However, when I looked at the map again to navigate us from the Circus Maximus to the catacombs, I realized that while the figure on the map is indeed a circus, it is not the Circus Maximus. Once I came to that conclusion, we had to give up on going to see the ancient road and the catacombs because we had no idea where they were, how far away they were, or how to get there. But by then, we were so tired and ready to be home that we weren’t too disappointed about having to skip those things.

Last time at the Trevi Fountain

By then, we were getting pretty hungry, so we headed back to the Trevi Fountain area to get something to eat. We ate outside on the terrace of the restaurant, which was fun because we got to people watch. The only thing bad about it was that, since the area we were in is a big tourist area, there were a lot of street performers. Just while we were eating, two separate accordion players passed by our table. That can get annoying, especially when you just want to eat in peace without people harassing you for your spare change.

Finally, when we finished eating, we headed back to the Trevi Fountain for a third a final time. Since we had less than twelve hours left in the EU by that time, we decided it was okay to go ahead and throw our left over change in. For those who don’t know, the legend behind the Trevi Fountain is that if you throw a coin in backwards over your shoulder, you’ll come back to Rome someday. And it must work, because I threw a coin in last time I was in Rome, and there I was, back in Rome again. Or at least, that’s the most common legend. The first time I was in Rome, I heard a slightly different, but much more unlikely, story. The tour guide then told us that if you threw a coin in the fountain backwards, you might be transported back in time. So highly unlikely, but still humorous nonetheless.

With all our spare change gone, we walked through the Piazza di Spagna one last time to get on the metro to go back to the hotel. Then it was a feat to pack everything I bought while in Spain and Italy into one suitcase. But I managed it.