Un Giorno Facile

Today was an easy day - easier than I expected, anyway. And it's not over yet. I don't expect too many surprises to come, but you never know.

Today we went to the Colosseum, and because they're all next to each other, and on a similar theme, it was also the day to see the Forum and the Palatine Hill too. The sightseeing itself was not the problem, but the sightseers. Six million people a year, TV pictures of the crowds at places like this, advice and warnings about pickpockets and Italian chaos... It was a daunting prospect, and we wanted to get there early to avoid as much of the above as possible.

We both woke up early (I was the sleeper-inner, by waking up at 6.30) but breakfast here does not officially start till 8.30. So we took to the books, and read a bit more about what to do and where to go and how to get there. We heard Martina in the dining room at about 8.15 so we went in then, and she was ready for us, but we had stuff to do after breakfast that delayed us a little: we had laundry to take up the road a couple of blocks, and we popped into a tourist kiosk to see if they could help with our Vodafone problems. The girl there was very good - all I needed to do was turn my phone off and on again (of course - the IT equivalent of duct tape. Why didn't I think of that?) but she couldn't help Stephen find out his phone number. She and Martina both suggested he call them to see what number registered on their phones, but the calls just cut out. (If anyone is reading this and has any ideas, please send us an email. The problem is still not fixed.) Anyway, I also realised I wasn't wearing my sturdy walking shoes, and I popped back to the room to change those.

And finally we were on our way. We had a 7-minute walk down to a nearby piazza to catch a bus, and that was pleasant enough, but after we'd waited there for some time, our bus was still 14 minutes away. Given the compactness of central Rome, a taxi there couldn't be too expensive, so we found one and took it.  One bonus of that trip was to vindicate Stephen for a decision made a couple of nights ago: we were quoted a "fixed price" of 15 euros to go from town to Circo Massimo, but Stephen didn't like the look of the driver or the cab, so we ended up walking all the way. And indeed, there are no fixed prices inside the city, only to the airports, so that was good.  And the conversations we had with the driver today, about that and other stuff were half-and-half in broken English and broken Italian, and it was great!  I love using Italian - you just say the words with what seems like a fake, over-the-top, uppy-downy Italian accent, but it comes out really well!

And now here we were, at the Colosseum. We were let out at the side, and the driver told us to walk around and go down the steps, and then we had to keep walking around the outside. It wasn't too crowded really, but it was a bit difficult to find where the Roma Pass holders went in. But it was gratifying to see that the Pass really did save us a lot of queuing time. We got ourselves a video/audio guide, and then joined the milling throng inside. But it wasn't uncomfortable. There were a couple of times we had to wait to get a photo from the front of a viewing area, but that was all.  Perhaps we did pick a good time of year to come, rather than high summer.  A lot of the Colosseum is under repair all the time, and some of the repairs from the past are just wrong, but it remains an awesome piece of architecture. It would be nice if, maybe in the next century or so (no pressure), they could reconstruct even just one sliver of seating for the full height, because the hollowed-out interior makes it difficult to imagine what it would have been like. When you look at Wembley Stadium or Eden Park, you have to imagine the corridors and rooms below the seating area, but here you have to imagine the seating on top of the corridors and rooms, and it's difficult without something to base your imaginings on.

Palatine ruins

We probably didn't do the place justice, but an hour and a half was enough, and we exited to go to the next part of the day. We headed across to the Forum, but while we were waiting in line there, a man came over and suggested that Roma Pass holders might like to go to another entrance a couple of minutes' walk away, where there was no queue. So we did. (It was more like 5 minutes' walk. Hmph.) There was indeed no queue, but it turned out to be the entrance for a walk around the Palatine, a hill where the Roman aristocracy had lived since forever (or about 300BC if you want to be precise.) There were plenty of informative signposts along the path, not just about the buildings and ruins, but also about the flora. On a warm sunny day, the smell of the grasses and herbs was gorgeous.

Roman Forum

That walk wound along and around the hill and took about 40 minutes, I suppose, before we found ourselves at the Forum. Here it was the background knowledge and imaginings that made it interesting - the odd column and broken plinths and pedestals on their own tell the merest hints of the story of the past.  But I'm very glad to have seen it. It makes my 3rd and 4th form Latin almost worthwhile!

We had lunch at a café nearby (not too near - not too obviously touristy) and then went back to the Vodafone shop where we'd bought the SIM cards. There they were able to give us both our phone numbers, but although I now had no problems left, Stephen's phone still doesn't call out. I can call him, and he can text me, but not call.

From there we came back to the B & B, and almost straight away fell asleep. It was about 3.30. I woke up and wrote much of the above, but finally I woke Stephen at 6 . We still had places to go and things to see.

The plan for tonight was to visit an area called Trastevere. We thought we'd pick up some cash from an ATM along the way, so we just started walking along a main road that taxis have brought us along to come home. Worryingly, however, the first ones we tried wouldn't give us any money.  We figured it was because our VNese Visa cards are lo-tech non-chip ones, and those machines couldn't handle it. We decided we'd come back with our Australian cards and use that money instead, or go into a bank and get money out manually. But it meant we were facing an evening out with only about 60 euros, of which we would be paying for taxis there and back. But the card could still pay for dinner, so that should be okay.

Rome from Gianicolo Hill, Trastevere

Anyway, Trastevere is a part of the city famous for its lovely little winding, cobbled streets. I had found a website that outlined a self-guided walking tour, so we followed that by having the taxi drop us at the top of a hill, then walking downwards. (We considered going by bus, but it was too complicated for that time of night.) The drop-off point might have been a good lookout point, but it was all overgrown in front, and you could only look over the city in narrow segments, through the trees and weeds. But as we walked, there were a few more lookouts that weren't quite so frustrating. The sun was setting, the light was beautifully tinted, and there were big blooming Canaletto clouds over the city. Perfetto!

There were a few more sights on the way down. This hill was the final bastion for Garibaldi, and there were monuments to him and his wife and other revolutionaries, as well as information about when the French laid siege to Rome in an attempt to restore the stability of a Papal regime, around 1849, instead of letting them establish a united republic. Although greatly outnumbered, apparently the Italians won, although the hilltop church retains some of its battle scars, as well as being adorned with a cannon ball that was found during renovations.

Trastevere street

A few more steep flights of steps, and we were in the right neck of the woods. There were lots of people wandering through the lanes, lots of restaurants with tables outside, and a few musicians entertaining diners. It was extremely pleasant. A lot of the upper windows had shutters open and lights on, and you could see some nice wooden ceilings; there was one family with their front door wide open, showing them at table in their dining room, chatting and watching TV.

We found a restaurant and had a good meal, not particularly pricy,

Trastevere street

but rather than have dessert there, we resolved to find a gelateria, as we hadn't yet had a gelato, and we really needed to. It wasn't difficult to find an ice cream shop, but it was difficult to choose what to have. I finally had coconut, and Stephen went with passionfruit. They were good! Not like what I thought gelato was - not icy at all, and yet not like the cheap thin milky ice cream that you get in VN either.  Maybe we made a mistake, and it was an ice cream shop after all? I don't know. We'll have to have another one, or several, to make sure.

A little more street wandering, then home again. We were back before 10. It was a delightful evening.