I arrived safely in Roma last night after a short 2 hour and 10 minute flight from England (can you believe how close it was?!?) and was met at the airport by the smiling Davide Castorina. While I'm in Roma I'm staying with Davide at his and his place in the middle of the city. They are family friends of Simon's and very kindly offered to host me while I'm in Rome. Unfortunately Te Ataahia (Davide's wife) returned home to New Zealand the day before I arrived so I never got to meet up with her. The streets were very quiet when I arrived so Davide drove me around to see the sights by night and this got me very excited for my first full day in this ancient city. We both decided we would set our alarms for 7.30am so that we could have an early start so I could make the most of my time in Roma. Needless to say, I had no trouble getting up because I couldn't wait to get started!
We set off on Davide's scooter (scooter is by far the best way to get around and dodge in and out or the crazy Roman traffic) just after 8.30am and our first stop was a bar to have a traditional Italian breakfast; cappuccino and pastry. I was quick to learn that in Italy you don't sit down to have your coffee but you instead stand at the bar and drink it there, hence the name 'bar'. Davide must have thought I was a bit odd just staring at my coffee on the counter unsure of what to do with myself. But now I know ;)
Davide's place overlooks St. Peter's Square so a quick stop at the square was next. It was very quiet there but you could already see the media starting to set up camp for the election of the new pope. It's going to be crazy here in a few weeks! I drunk from the fresh water spring in the square so hopefully that will bring me a bit of luck. I also stood on the very spot where you look out and can see all the columns perfectly in line so it only looks as if there is only one but when I turned around 180 degrees and looked to the other side I could see the rows of columns behind one another. I took a few pics to help illustrate this point. Davide went to a primary school literally right next to St. Peters because that's where his parents taught. He told me how because he saw it everyday he just got used to looking at it all the time. It's funny the things people get so used to they take it for granted, like us kiwis and the beautiful landscape :) I'm going back here on Thursday to do a half day tour so will have more to share about it then.
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| St. Peter's in the background |
We then went to Davide's favourite piazza (square) in Roma, Piazza Navona. But before we went there we walked through a market where there was the freshest of everything for sale. It was exactly what I thought a real Italian market would look like. I just wanted to eat all the food!
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| Fruit and veg |
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| Fresh flowers |
In the Piazza Navona there was a lot of art for sale and I bought a nice painting of Roma at night to hang on my wall when I get home. Davide also told me the story behind one of the fountains, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, in the square and how there was this battle for superiority between two sculptors, Bernini and Borromini. Borromini built the church and Bernini did the fountain outside it. One of the sculptures facing the church has his hands up guarding his face an the Romans have two explanations for this; the first that it is so hideous he is hiding it from his eyes and the second is that he has hands up to protect himself in case it were to fall on him. A very clever sculpture.
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| Shield my eyes! |
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| Ah! |
I then found myself outside the Pantheon. Finding words to describe how standing outside this felt are hard to find so just imagine my biggest, goofiest smile and that's the look I had on my face. Going inside I was even more lost for words. I've studied it extensively at university and knew I was going to be impressed but I wasn't prepared for the size and beauty of it. It was breath taking. I loved it and my mind still can't quite get around the great engineering that is behind its construction all those thousands of years ago. Those Romans were clever.
It was still only about 11am by this time and I was beginning to think what can be better than this but I'll tell you something for free, everybody needs their own Davide when visiting Roma because he knew the perfect thing to do after visiting the Pantheon; take me for the BEST ESPRESSO IN ITALY (according to Davide). You read that right, the best. It's so good and such a well guarded secret, the espresso, that the machine where the coffee is made is hidden. Apparently you know you've had an amazing espresso if the after taste sticks and man it had, I had that after taste for a long while. I truly do believe it is the best coffee I have ever had. Wow!!!
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| This is THE place to drink espresso |
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| Oh, I was impressed! |
We checked our watches and it was 11.27am so we had time to make the 12 noon cannon that they light on the Janiculum Hill, one of the hills of Roma. It's an amazing spot from where you can overlook the whole if Roma. Davide took me here the night I arrived and it was beautiful but do you know what makes a stunning view at night more beautiful? A cloudless day. The cannon gave me quite a shock because it was so loud but it was nice to be able to see one of the Roman traditions. They light the cannon everyday at 12noon to remember all their soldiers that have died. I felt privileged because apparently not many tourists get to go there because the roads are tricky to navigate and there is not much parking. Luckily for me though I was with a Roman and my Roman had a scooter :)
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| Now, that's a view! |
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| BOOM! |
We then went to another lookout on the other side of the river, again a spot many tourists miss out on at the Giardino delgi Aranci, the Garden of Orange Trees is the English translation. The best part about this was when Davide took me to a big locked gate and told me to look through the keyhole. I don't think I have ever seen anything more beautiful. Through the keyhole was perhaps the best view in Roma, I had to keep peeking through it and I tried to take a picture but no picture will ever be as beautiful as the real thing. You looked through to see a path, flanked by trees and at the end the beautiful dome of St. Peters. Truly a perfect image I will keep with me forever.
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| Another fountain this time with a wolf |
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| Beautiful! |
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| The walk to the lookout |
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| Imagine St. Peter's dome at the end |
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| All through this key hole |
We then zipped back home to get a set of keys for me and then Davide dropped me at the Colosseum and he went off to work. I booked a tour and it was alright, quite a lot of talking by the guide and I was just itching to get inside and have a look around. Again, the stunning day added to the beauty of this ancient site. Another amazing piece of engineering by the Romans. I won't bore you with facts but did you know that the Romans earthquake proofed the Colosseum? Yup, they inserted metal rods into the stone to help to move and withstand movement in the earth and the reason half of the Colosseum fell down is because in later years they started to remove the metal rods to use for other things. The half that still stands has not yet had the rods removed. Fascinating stuff.
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| Couldn't have asked for a better day |
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| Looking down from the second level |
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| The top and base of a column. To the right are the drums. |
This is what happiness looks like
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| Best tasting pixie caramel I've ever had! |
My tour was supposed to include the Roman Forum too but they let us go for 15 minutes on our own and told us to meet at a point but no one was at that point when I turned up. I wasn't late either. I hung around for a bit and then went to see if I could find them but they had disappeared. By the time I made it to the Forum it was 4.01pm and you guessed it, they closed the entry gate at 4pm and no matter how nicely I smiled they weren't going to let me in.
Davide recommended a visit to the church of San Clemente so that's where I walked to next. It was only about ten minutes away. This is a lovelt spot because although it just looks like one church from the outside it is actually two in one. One is underground and has been recently excavated. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures but I got a few goosebumps as I went underground into the old church. The old frescoes on the walls and stone work are so well preserved that it's hard to believe they are so old. I was glad for this recommendation.
I'm feeling very proud of myself because I managed to find my way back home by myself using both the metro and bus system where everything was in Italian. I must thank Davide later for his excellent directions ;)
Tonight I'm just going to relax and try get some sleep because I have a HUGE day ahead of me tomorrow. I'm heading to Naples and Pompeii for the day and then coming back to go out for dinner with Davide and some of his friends who know Simon. Can't wait to try some more delicious Italian cuisine and make some more friends.
So what has today taught me? Dream big because if you work hard enough they'll come true xox
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