You all have surely heard the expression “Rome was not built in a day..” there is a good reason for that. They probably could not find there way to the construction sites! Romans don’t really believe in road signs. There were almost none as I toured around. You were supposed to navigate by landmarks I guess. I don’t think I did too bad though, I only had to ask were I was twice.
Coming out of the train station from Castel Gondolfo, The first thing I happened upon is Liberty International plaza, with this fountain in it,
To get there, I had to cross a busy roundabout. Roman driving is terrible, but I managed to survive. You really just jump out and dash when it looks mostly clear and cut your way across roads, it took a bit to get used too.
I set off toward the colosseum, later to find out that I was off by a little ways, but still came across this amazing church,
I must say the attitude in Italy is weird, they seem to love americans, at least everyone got on wonderfully with me and the few others I saw, but they seem to not like our president. How could I tell you ask? There were subtle clues about,
I wandered down many roads on my way to the colosseum. It is just a fantastic city. New York has nothing on this place. A random street shot,
I walk for several more blocks down narrow streets, they all seem to be narrow, and finally it popes out of no were,
The place is HUGE. And quite amazing. You could feel the weight of age, and the genius of the builders there. These next few shots are from the coliseum and the surrounding palaces and structures.
I next set off for the pantheon. It was positively breathtaking. Although smaller than the colosseum, It was much more aw inspiring. For the colosseum is in ruins, the pantheon is in perfect condition. It gives a since of what the whole city must have once looked like.
By this time I was getting quite hungry. To the advice of Anne Marie I decided I would try Mc Donald’s there. Apparently It is a tradition to go to one In every country you go to. It was quite splendid and not like the ones we have here. Sure the food was about the same. The coke was better, as it is everywhere in Europe, but the inside was crazy,
After this I killed a few hours by walking though shops. I wanted to see the Trevi Fountain at night, It is supposed to be fantastic, and it was. Everything I expected and more.
At this point, I though I better be heading back, there were only two more trains home that evening. I get to the train station, which is a bit confusing on its own, and especially if you do not understand the language. The train to go home was not on the same track as coming, and there were weird platforms staggered everywhere. I tried to ask someone wether I was on the right train, and I though they indicated yes, but they were actually telling me the right train to get on. I got on the wrong train, which took the same course for the first half. By the time I realized I was on the wrong train and made it back the last train home had left already.I must say being lost in a foreign country when you do not speak the language is a bit frustrating but not much you can do in that point. I was back in Rome and I though “when in Rome…” and got a hotel room after wandering around to find a good price and enjoyed a couple hours outside and went to bed. Here is my illustrious hotel room,
After getting up in the morning I headed to the train station and went home, one adventure down, maybe a few more to go.
