Saturday, June 23, 2012

Overwhelming day & evening: Thurs, June 21, 2012

Imagine entering a foreign city with the hustle and bustle of NYC but only half understanding the language. That's what it's like arriving at Termini station or Stazione Roma Termini on the Leonardo Express. Bags in hand, we set off to find our destination...

The hotel is funny and quirky, to be honest. Ernie got the biggest room, but one that the A/C works the least in... That made me LOL. Him, not so much.

Yesterday, once we were settled, we took off to adventure the city with the Omnia Vaticana pass that we had purchased. We hopped on the Roma Christiana open top touring bus.

We saw the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum from the bus. We definitely wanted to see more. We decided to hop-off and explore the Piazza Navona (it is famous, after all), but first, a beer in the Campo de Fiori area. They were cold, large and cheaper than NYC.

We set off to the Piazza and Nelson found the Davinci Museum. We found a trough for the guys to use and probably the cleanest toilettes in the city. Once the mini trip was up, it was on to the Piazza Navona!

The hustle and bustle of the piazza was alive with people sitting, and watching and photographers each with their own level of expertise in capturing the perfect photo and the masses of bystanders watching life pass by, moving at whatever pace people chose to move. it was breathtaking to see and experience. Berninis Four Rivers Fountain was something to admire. People from all walks of life were in the Piazza. We will definitely return to participate again..

After a cold sip of water from the fountain. We veered off on a side street and found one of the marvels of Rome... The Pantheon. Definitely something to marvel at.

To think that this building is one of the oldest yet still preserved to mimic its former glory. The oculus shone the light in to illuminate the interior in all of its splendor. The tomb of Vittorio Emanuele stood along the back wall as ominous as the leader's reputation. Every inch of the Pantheon was thoroughly enjoyed. I have so many pictures, that I was reminded of my Father's love of photography and how I surely inherited that gene...
We walked down a couple of streets and heard the massive Fontana di Trevi before we actually set eyes on it. My breath caught as I turned the corner and the massive structure lay before us. I shudder to think that I almost went into a coffee shop seconds prior to coming up on the fountain simply because I was attracted by the sight of the salumeria. Don't get me wrong, after oohing and ahhing, we went back to the Deli and had our big ass beers to go, but after purchasing our refreshments, we were free to return to the visage of Trevi.

After the magic of Trevi, back to the hotel we ventured on the Metro. Nelson actually used the famous "Metro?" question to lead us in the right direction. Ernie battled a supposed pickpocket who was very upset that Ernie (who was 2 feet taller than him) slapped his map away and at me, who thought I had taken his picture, although the subject of my photo was Ernie, who I thought was quite amused by the entire thing.

After a quick relaxation, we headed to dinner at about 8pm. (remember for us, it was 2pm after not sleeping the night before). Nelson found this quaint wine bar that looked like the menu was very good. We decided to risk it and sat down. Delicioso for the first real Roman meal, is all I have to say... I will let the pictures say it all.










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Location:Piazza Navona-Pantheon

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