A Disappointing First Day in Rome (Day 48 - GToE)

Greetings from Rome, The City of Seven Hills

This morning, I left behind a sleepy Florence to arrive at a bustling Rome. Which brings me to why my first day in Rome was disappointing. Let's start with the crowds. I suppose I've gotten used to everything being fairly empty as it has been for the past few weeks that when I wandered around Rome, I was shocked and crazed by the crowds of people who are everywhere!!! Maybe because it's a Sunday and it was 60 degrees and sunny that the hoards of people were out and about but if it remains like this for the next 2 days, I will be very unhappy. There is a reason why I prefer to travel in the off season - to avoid the crowds. Think I'm kidding about the crowds? Think again. I seriously thought it was summertime with the throng.

After dropping my bags at my hostel, I went back out figuring with the beautiful weather, I would take advantage of it and go see the Roman Forum and the Colesseum - all of the Roman ancient ruins. There was also a bonus because the Colesseum was free today (first Sunday of the month), so I figured it was a win-win situation - until I got off the metro around 11am and saw a shit ton of people. The line to get into the Colesseum was at least 2 hours long and the Forum was equally bad. I snapped a couple of photos but the crowd was making me insane so I left. I then decided that I would walk through the heart of Rome. There's a lovely walk in Rick Steves' travel guide that takes you through some of the best parts of Rome.

I started in Campo de' Fiori which was in ancient times an open meadow, but is now a bustling open air market selling everything from fruits and vegetables to hats and everything in between. It was just after noon so I stopped for a hearty lunch (bruschetta al pomodoro and a steak with roasted potatoes and a delicious Italian beer) and some people watching. 

I then walked over to the Piazza Navona, which used to be a racetrack in the first century. Now it's another bustling piazza where there were crowds of people hanging around and watching street performers and such. In the center of the square is the Four Rivers Fountain which represent the known four continents when it was constructed. The four river gods are the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube, and the Rio de la Plata (Uruguay). It's a favorite fountain of mine.

I left the Piazza Navona behind in order to walk over to the Pantheon. One of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, it was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". There are a few important people buried in the Pantheon: two kings of Italy - Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita. Plus, the great artist Raphael is interred here. Raphael's sarcophagus was given by Pope Gregory XVI, and its inscription reads ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI, meaning "Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die". Nice epigraph.

After battling the crowds in the Pantheon, I decided I was in the mood for some gelato and headed toward one of my favorite (and Rome's most famous) gelateria, Giolitti's, but the line was nine feet long and again I just didn't have it in me to battle through the crowd for gelato. Therefore, I decided to continue my walk by making my way past a couple of obelisks heading toward.... <GASP> ..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! An empty of water and covered with scaffolding Trevi Fountain! Mother F***er! One of the joys of coming to Rome is sitting by the Trevi Fountain. Apparently, the fountain is undergoing renovations which will take in total a year and half. But does the repair work stop the crowds of tourists? Nope, because you can walk across a temporary bridge to take a closer look at the fountain. It still sucks and I'm pissed!

Finally, I walked over to the Spanish Steps, which are named for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican located here for the past 300 years, only to find more hoards of people sitting on the steps and gathered around the lovely Sinking Boat Fountain.

All in all, my first day in Rome was not brilliant. While I still think Rome is an amazing city, but if the next two days are anything like this one, I will leave here severely disappointed. I'm going to try to visit the Roman Forum and Colesseum tomorrow - I just prepurchased my tickets so I can skip the ticket line (at an additional 2 euro cost). Hopefully with tomorrow being a Monday, the sites will not be as crowded. I'll be visiting the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday morning also with a prepurchased ticket with appointment time to get into the museum in order to avoid crowds.

Anyway, check out my Day 48 photos on my GToE photo site.