The week before we traveled to Ghana, we stayed in Rome. It began as a layover to aclimate to the time change so we wouldn't be exhausted in Africa. It turned into a life-changing trip. It was only recently when I mentioned casually that we had wandered the streets, schedule-free for 7 days, that I was made aware of how rare it is to get to see Rome in that way. Rome, like Paris should be savored, digested. Not gulped and slurped. But there is so much to do and travel is expensive, so too often we over-book wherever we go.
It got me to thinking about the wonders that we had so wonderfully enjoyed.
Memories of Rome in the Fall of 2010:
Cool night air
Sleeping in the taxi from the airport to the hotel
Orange sun on Angie's sleeping face
Cobblestones
Ancient, painted wooden doors
Strange door-knockers
Cats in ruins
Strange sounds in the dark
Passionate lovers in the streets
Wine
Noisy fountains
Fall evening in the park
Shady characters causing fear
Electric buses
Gelato
The watch-makers shop
The smell of moss
Indian Rose-sellers
Street Musicians
Futball match at Miscellanea
The handsome waiter
Dotti di Poggi (200 yr old art store)
Tie seller at Trevi Foutain
Having too much wine
Love on the balcony
Sunday Morning Church Bells
Breakfast at Hotel Santa Chiara
Spartan Hotel room
Morning Strolls
Being called Harry Potter
Buying print of The Pantheon
Here is a smattering of the pages from the week there. Some decent, some scrawl.
Walking back from the Mouth of Truth, we stopped to rest. Across the street was this 500 year old apartment building.
I made a lot of random notes about the people we met.
Many comments on travel conditions.
One of my favorite things about nice hotels is the breakfast. Mmmmm, the Santa Chiara was no different. One of my favorite things to do when we travel is to pull stickers from public surfaces. The street art scene is so varied when it comes to style and content. But it's pathetically consistent in form (stickers in EVERY city we've been to).
The Galleria Borghese. No photos allowed inside, which is probably why we'd never heard of it until we got there.
I'm not sure how Bill Watterson figures into the trip. But Calvin and Hobbes make an appearance.
More Galleria Borghese subjects and a Swedish sticker.
One of the greatest places to eat was Miscellanea. I have to agree with Lonely Planet here, "... and a dingy, informal atmosphere, with conviviality fueled by reasonably priced beer and cheap dishes and pizzas (€6)." There was a wonderful collection of locals there the night we dined which made for excellent people-watching. Enhanced, mind you, by an marvelous bottle of wine.
Rome wouldn't be what it is without the 30 feet of ruins that lie beneath the entire city. All over town are these huge excavations where archeologists are digging out the past. Largo Argentina was just down the block from our hotel.
An Indian vendor sold some kind of roasted nut as the sun set. He was jacking electricity from a lamp-post nearby.
One of the trip hilights for me was discovering Ditta G. Poggi. An art store that had been open down the street from the Pantheon for 175 years!!!!
Trevi! It was packed all the time, despite being there in the dead of winter (Fall technically).
The sculptures are quite amazing. The water really brings them to life.
These pages are from our last night in the city. We spent it on the Piazza in front of the Pantheon drinking wine and savoring the splendid cuisine. You can see the full spread of pages from Rome if you are so inclined on my flickr feed.