Rome Weekender 3

So my instinct was pushing me to explore more crowd-free Rome. I had the other side of an unexplored area in mind, Nero’s Palace…( Domus Aurea)! It was something I have not heard of anyone visiting in. We started walking in that opposite direction, entered the compound, climbed the hill, it was a beautiful, peaceful place to walk in. There was no tourist, some old people here and there, just in 200 meters of Colosseum’s crowd, there is absolute calmness!
I realized that it means there is no access the ‘palace’, and the compound belongs to the palace, is open for public…enjoying the evening Sun from that hill top…crossed over to the other gate of Domus Aurea…. lonely narrow streets, with walls of stone bricks on one side…it resembled to walking in the downtown areas of old Trivandrum( which is around the Padmanabha Swami temple), which will have either the high stone wall of the temple on one side, or the old wall made for the fortification of the downtown district itself…!
We got in to a main road, after another 10-15 mins of walk, now enough of peaceful streets… tried to see if we can get back to ‘site seeing’. Walked to the nearest bus stop, and saw two Indian faces…it is not only Indian…it is more specific…two priests(in ‘mufti’) from Kottayam…! Just said a Hi, and they were also happy to meet a mallu…they directed me to walk a little more to reach one of the three important Basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore . We decided to take their direction, and passing through the big Basilica, we walked to Termini.
We were pretty tired, it was around 5, the walking tour at 5 also is ruled out ! We went in to the mall incorporated with the Termini station, and had cappuccinos, and Gelato for Pranav. That resembled the bakeries with a small serving area, and a few table + 2 chair setup, in India, it was good and the rates were same as anywhere else in the city. Took a metro to Flaminio… to come out of the station and see Piazza del Popolo. It was already dark… and darkness was something my old cameras didn’t like…Now I think I am in a better position to click as usual increasing its ISO. Then walked through narrow crowded ‘Via del Babuino’ to Piazza de Spagna where you can see the Spanish Steps. This is said to be the widest staircase in Europe, built in warly 18th century, a century after the Fontana della Barcaccia ( Fountain of the Old Boat), seen at the bottom of the steps, was built !
Imagine a square and a fountain in 1627… and then a French diplomat building a broad step from it to the church above, in 1724! If it sounds interesting, you would like Rome. And 1724 is something very recent, comparing to the structures made dating to BC… so for Italians, for them, it is modern Rome!
Climbed the steps, up to the church on the top, went in, I wouldn’t say anything amazing, the structures are made long back, the place existed centuries ago, and most important, the crowd was appreciating it! The same thing as Mona Lisa J, either it is so, or I don’t have enough sense or knowledge to appreciate it.
Climbed down, after taking some pictures of the view from the top, started walking a bit through much more crowded ‘Via Condotti’; it was too much a crowd, so came back and decided to walk through Via Due Marcelli (meaning Marcelli 2nd Street) to Fontana del Tritone( Tritone Fountain) situated in Piazza Barberini.
This fountain was executed in travertine in 1642–43. At its centre rises an larger than lifesize muscular Triton, a minor sea god of ancient Greco-Roman legend, depicted as a merman kneeling on the sum of four dolphin tailfins. His head is thrown back and his arms raise a conch to his lips; from it a jet of water spurts, formerly rising dramatically higher than it does today. The Tritone, was erected to provide water from the Acqua Felice aqueduct( one of the springs which brough water to Rome) which Urban had restored, in a dramatic celebration. So the purpose was different; public fountains in the city of Rome had been passive basins for the reception of public water.
So, the water coming out of all these fountains are (still) drinkable…and it is not something which goes to be pumped again….
Time was nearing 7 PM, we had started this walk around 1:30! And, except for a small coffee break at Termini, we have not sat anywhere. The lunch was also that junk pizza, in standing mode. We decided to take metro from Barberini station to
Termini and walked back to the hotel around 7:30.
I was still in thrill to go to Colosseum and try a night shot with long exposure… asked Krithi about the idea…she looked at me and asked, ‘don’t you have a conscience!’ I got my message and immediately dropped the plan. She had been a patient companion for my voyages (I remember even my classmates never use to come with me if I say ‘for a walk’). She, even while 4 months pregnant, had dared to come sitting in overnight train, and two full days of mountain drives and then return journey also overnight sitting… in Australia !
An hour of rest, we found a small restaurant around the corner for dinner… it was a very good pick, though random. We enjoyed a wonderful Penne Arabiatta, grilled vegetables seasoned with morzerella, and Pranav also quickly became a pet for the two servers… we really enjoyed the meal, and ended our first day in Rome.

Rome Weekender 2

Day 1: The condition in Brussels was bad, with all roads full of snow…the traffic was moving slow… the snow still falling down… I called up the taxi guy and preponed the booking by an hour. So, we were to leave by 4:30.
I was already excited because it was 9-14˚C in Rome, compared to my -4˚ to -6˚ and full of snow ! But I was still visualizing me stuck in the middle of the trip with my wallet gone… and still working out how to minimize the risk! Anyway, looked at my debit card, credit card (like I may not see them again) ! Believe me, that is the impression I have got about Rome from the time I am seeing people who visited it and even what , website, and therefore most of the people as well say....
So, our day started at 3:30. The airport is 60 kms from here. The driver promptly rang our bell at 4:15. And we were off…
He dropped us at the Charleroi Airport around 5:30… and he was speaking English !
The airport was crowded… 6 long queues( I would compare it to same as Chennai central station general ticket queue), we were just wondering how to fit in….and then, an announcement came saying the systems are down and move to counters 1-12, which were already crowded. Everyone pushed to crowd around that…. Good that I didn’t understand the announcement, went near to check what is happening … the system came back to normal again and we skipped the lines …. !!!
So I, who feared would miss the flight due to this crowd, got almost the security seal on my boarding pass almost immediately.
The security check gave us the first surprise – they asked us to remove the small water bottle, Pranav’s sipper, our moisturizer creams, all to be dumped as no liquids allowed ! I knew this law, but overlooked unopened Nivea pack going to dump ! Atlast they agreed to return the sipper after emptying it !
Then there was another queue to board the flight, and as no seats reserved on boarding pass, it is the same run to catch our intercity-interstate buses… it is a run because from the gate to the flight, there is about 100 metres in the open! And in the cold, we ran to get in to the flight and got a window seat. Now, it was a bus! Everyone trying to put the luggage in the top rack, push everyone else to get a better seat… holding seats with handkerchiefs … and shouting from one end to another!
The stewards, patiently watching, and at times loosing their temper trying to not show it in their words…
The boarding pass, which we have to print 10 days before doing an online checkin, said that the gates will close at 8:30… but I think it just opened at 8:30 ! But the packing in to the flight was quick… The good part was we got one window seat, and obviously Pranav took it over... only to just continue his sleep as soon as the flight took off !
It took off on time, and landed as well on time! I think for 20 Euros, I should not ask for more! The flight was not peaceful – the stewards were selling breakfast, some books, and were making sure no one sleeps, whether people buy or not!
Rome was proving easy… the desk at the exit was selling the ticket for the bus to termini, and the metro passes too. Pranav was free (unlike Paris), he was not happy with the situation though ! He was insisting on having a ticket…complaining ‘you are not even buying a ticket for me’ J!
The one hour journey to Termini gave me the same feel as being in Malaysia or Mexico… and at times somewhere in North India… - the moist air, non-photogenic scenaries (mainly because the greenery is covered with dust), old buildings here and there, rusted-and-dusted Hotel boards… an overall the real tropical feel!
We got down in front of the Termini station, walked a little here and there to figure out with my map where we are and then go the road, to walk to our hotel, a 10 mins walk away. I could see old pieces of broken walls all around….between the new buildings. The road which I have to take itself was covered with a huge wall and I thought that it is some old premises, where the wall ended around the corner!
It was 10:40. The hotel checkin time was 2PM. We were planning to leave the luggage there and go. But the hotel was fine we checking in after 15 mins. So we left the luggage, and walked back to a park which we saw on our way. Krithi had made idlis and packed at 3:30! We sat on the bench and had the breakfast :) ! First thing to do in Rome(picture)!
After checking in, we proceeded to take the first metro to Colosseo( the station for Colosseum). I was extra cautious inside the metro area, it was crowded, and Termini metro station was confusing as well! There were only 2 lines( A and B), but still the confusion is because of a lot of temporary structures made for repair work or reconstruction.
To get out of the station and see Colosseum just in front was stunning! The Sun was also playing hide-and-seek, and giving a good challenge for me to click when He is on…
We walked through the crowd in to the ‘what-I-thought-would-be’ centre of tourist Rome! But except the long queue for the Colosseum entry, some postcard-sovenir shops, and a couple of mobile pizza-panini-other junks shops, I couldn’t find anything(picture).
Pranav immediately sensed that it is all old junk around, and he has nothing to enjoy in it. He started putting his demands, from the pop corn packets to the balloons and whatever he could see!
We walked along the road in between the Old Rome ruins, and Colosseum, to what is shown in map as Circus Maximus …It took almost 15-20 mins walk to reach there and it was like a plain ground covered around with tin sheets so that none sees it! I could not see a single human being also around. I looked at the map, it matches the place! And as in the map, there is the metro station as well, ‘Circus Maximus’( Picture)! I think it was me who overestimated Circus Maximus… Astrix influence :) ! (Later back home, I realized that it is now a ground just used occasionally for some concerts)
I was a bit upset with my expectations shattered…took metro back to Colosseo from Circus Maximus. It was 3 PM already. We have started feeling hungry… The station had a couple of shops, and just outside that station there was another ‘small restaurant’( the Italian version of our thattu kada/kayyendi bhavan)… but I (wrongly) chose to try the mobile shop pizza. They cost 3 Euros each, a sheet of cheese sandwiched between two semi-circular bread bases with a splash of tomato sauce. He warmed it and gave…served by a Bengladeshi (obviously acting as if he met his lost Indian brother and eagerly trying to convey that he is also from India J to sell this damn piece of…..), an Italian lady (owner) sitting supervising ! It is a wonder how the little van is accommodating all this! I would just say that the ‘pizza’ lunch was a mistake… would suggest none ever try it !
Now my stomach also joined Pranav rejecting whatever I give, and asking for something I can’t.
In the plan, I had put 3 walking tours to be taken up on day 1. Now, we have missed the two walking tours at 11AM and 2PM. The 11’s one was tough arriving at 10:30. And the 2PM’s, we missed with my Maximus ‘Circus’( translated as maximum goof-up). Now, we finishing the lunch by 4, we could have rushed up for 5PM ’s walking tour.
But as always for me… all plans, strategies stop the moment the actual journey begins, and then I follow my instincts :)( that means I do whatever I like at that time according to what we feel). That makes any trip more exciting and with a lot of surprises (all preparations and homework is to make sure some of the obvious unpleasant surprises are avoided)…..