Iowa Girl on the Go

I loved Rome the first time I was here, but I sort of felt like I’d already “done” the city before, so honestly I wasn’t all that excited about coming back. But today reminded me of what I really love about the city. It’s just such a wonderful mix of ancient history, art and culture, in a vibrant living environment. And, also, gelato.

We started our morning with a really thorough tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. I had been to these sites before on a guided tour, but it paled in comparison to today’s tour. Our guide took us through the Coliseum, walked us through the Forum, and led us up to Capitol Hill. All the while she told us great stories about the history of each of the places we were visiting. My grasp of history is, admittedly, not the best, but I was happy to be along for the ride.

After we finished the tour of ancient/pagan Rome we encountered a huge parade – I’m assuming it had something to do with Palm Sunday but it’s hard to know for sure. At any rate, our group of 25 parted ways at that point; most took the tour bus back to the hotel, some stayed in the area, and nine of us headed off to Isla Tiberina and points beyond.

This was an area of Rome I hadn’t seen before and our guide had mentioned it was an area he enjoys (he lives in Rome when he’s not giving tours to the likes of us). So we walked there and had lunch and a beer and then meandered through the area. Eventually one couple decided to head back to the hotel, so then it was just seven of us.

We spent some time in Campo de Fiori – at least, that’s where I think we were. There was some sort of farmers’ market / flea market going on there. It appeared that there was a nice mix of tourists and locals.

And then we walked to the place that was my favorite last time I was in Rome: The Piazza Navona. It was in full splendor today, with its cafes and artists and spectacular fountains surrounded by lovely architecture on all four sides. It is an absolute treasure, and it reminds me of one of the things I enjoy most about Europe: the city centers. Most cities and even small towns have these plazas or squares around which you’ll find little shops and cafes and places to sit and meet people. In America, we tend to have strip malls.

So I took my time there taking lots of pictures, and we ate gelato, and it was just lovely.

Afterwards, it started raining a bit so we picked up the pace. We didn’t linger at the Pantheon – of the seven of us remaining, none of us know the significance of the place so we just shrugged and moved on.

I’m back in my hotel now and rumor had it I could connect to the Internet if I went down to the bar, er, lobby, so that’s where I am right now. Not a bad place to be.

Ciao!

Today we left behind the stunning Amalfi coastline and headed toward our second overnight location: Rome.

But first, we stopped for a visit at the Montecassino Abbey. A German stronghold during World War II, the hilltop Abbey was destroyed by Allied bombing and then rebuilt after the war just as it had been in the 17^th century. Amazing! And just as amazing as the Abbey itself (still home to 20 Benedictine monks) were the views of the valley below.

And then: Rome.

Rome holds a special place in my heart. It was my first European destination, back in 2001. There, I saw (and fell in love with) my first Smart car and tasted my first gelato. I can still remember waking up in this city the first morning at exactly 5:20 a.m. Rome time – the same time as my alarm was set back home. I looked at the clock and said to myself, “I am a freak of nature.”

I remember getting lost within the first three or four blocks away from my hotel on the first day. After that, before I left the hotel, I carefully planned my route on the map and highlighted it with a marker. It worked! I walked all over the city.

This afternoon, I revisited the Spanish Steps, whose mass appeal baffled me before and baffles me still. There were thousands of people there. Why? And then I walked to the Trevi Fountain. Now this I understand. The fountain is gorgeous and very famous. Just as I had 10 years ago, I threw a coin in the fountain just like in the movie.

All the crowds and walking and coin-tossing made me hungry and thirsty so I had a pizza and a beer at a restaurant near my hotel.

Here are a couple more photos I like:

I learned a great deal today about Pompeii, perhaps the world’s most famous archeological site. For instance: I did not know that all the people of the town were suffocated by the ash and gas spewing from Mt. Vesuvius. I always thought it was lava that buried them alive. I also didn’t know that there were actually four other towns that were similarly buried when the mighty volcano erupted in 79AD, but they were never excavated. We spent several hours with a local guide there. I was most impressed with the bathhouse because of the ornate carvings and preserved frescoes. I was somewhat annoyed by the presence of groups of rowdy Italian teenagers and other tour groups; that’s the bad thing about doing touristy things – there are always tourists there.

After Pompeii I had my first real Italian pizza on this trip, followed in a few hours by my first gelato in Sorrento. Sorrento is a larger city on the Amalfi coast than the ones we visited yesterday. I loved the orange trees and gardens and, of course, the gelato. I learned to love gelato on my first trip to Italy about 10 years ago, and I’ve never had gelato in the U.S. that rivaled my first taste in Rome. The gelato here, made from the local lemons (and in about 100 other flavors) was, how you say, bellisimo!

After Sorrento, the rest of the afternoon was pretty much just spent driving on the parts of the Amalfi Coast Road that I hadn’t seen before, and it was spectacular. We drove through Positano, and I just kept hearing that song from Nine: “Cinema Italiano.” The Amalfi Coast Road would be so much fun to drive on in a little red sports car with the top down…if there were NO OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD, especially tour buses.

Tomorrow: Rome!