Upon landing and taking the shuttle to the city, Leslie could not stop saying 'Matt! Look at the beautiful trees!'. Rome definitely, at least at the moment, has more green than Paris, but I kept mentioning that when it warms up, Paris will be one of the greenest. After being dropped off at the main train station, we walked over to our hostel, The Yellow, which was very conveniently placed in the city, near everything. It was definitely a great hostel. More like a hotel, but with the great prices and atmosphere of a hostel. Perfect combination! Kristin was not arriving until Friday (we flew in on Thursday) so Leslie and I took off for a relaxing jaunt through the city, making sure not to pay for any really important monuments or sites until Kristin arrived. Almost instantly the differences between Rome and Paris became quite apparent. First off, Rome is well, dirty. Trash practically everywhere, lots of smog and car pollution, poster advertisements glued on practically any free wall space, and just lots and lots of good ol' gypsies. Other than being dirty, you quickly get over it and start to notice the beautiful buildings with all their wonderfully warm Mediterranean colors: lots of brick reds, oranges, yellows, browns...all so very Italia! Though what I really enjoy about Paris is it really is a city of old, beautifully carved stone buildings and homes, all mostly uniform in architecture. I prefer Parisian architecture, but being able to look at Rome and find it beautiful in its own unique what counts.
Wandering around that afternoon became one of the wildest adventures of our first day. The amazing part about Rome is you will be walking along a buzzing street of cars, scooters, and modernity then all of a sudden you look up ahead of you and there is a massive clearing filled with ancient Roman ruins. So unreal. You walk around all these ancient monuments whether it be fallen pillars, old foundations, or the enormous Coloseum, your mind takes a moment to process that these structures are over 2,000-3,000 years old! All built by hand without any of the modern technologies we have today....and yet they still stand today. Really mind blowing. The first night in Rome, Leslie and I spent our evening with a bottle of wine and some dark chocolate at the beautiful Trevi Fountain. Nothing in the world like sitting with a friend, a bottle of wine, and something beautiful to look at. It really is my kind of ideal evening any day.
Kristin finally arrived the next morning and the trio was complete. We headed out to the city and took Rome by storm. We saw.....wow, I can't even begin to list all we saw but I will try: St. Therese in Extacy, tons of amazing fountains including the Trevi fountain (definitely threw a centime in it to ensure our return to Roma!), Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Forum ruins, Monument to the unknown soldier (and saw the guard change, very cool), monument of peace, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, The Pantheon, Jewish Ghetto, oh man, I cannot go on, pretty much we saw everrrrything. Five days in Rome is really perfect. I left Rome really feeling a sense of satisfaction and like I had really SEEN Rome.
The second night in Rome, the first with all three of us together, we decided to get some wine and head to the Spanish steps to have our first bottle, then the second at the Trevi Fountain. That way Kristin could get a great night time welcome to the city. Though, the BEST part about our wine nights at monuments was on the Spanish Steps. After our first bottle ran out, it was sitting next to Kristin and my feet and Leslie makes a big joking statement to move it to her side to make sure we dont kick it down the stairs. Then a group of REALLY OBNOXIOUS Spanish students started doing the Macarena (90's much?) and started a conga line up the stairs holding the Spanish flag...Leslie then proceeds to say with amazing sass 'This is ridiculous, let's protest this place!'...kicks up her leg to cross it and BAM!!! Kicks the wine bottle, sending it flying down the spanish steps...picture yourself there,,,,step by step...CLINK! CLANK! CLANK! SPIN! CRASSSSSHHHH! Bottle lands in the middle and smashes open with a loud crash! There was a short pause of EVERYONE on the steps and then a huge eruption of clapping and laughter. It was really a moment to remember, so hilarious! I still get laugh pains from it. I dont see Leslie too embarrassed that often, but that night was what we call, classic! How many people can say they got a round of applause on the Spanish Steps in Rome??? That's right, Leslie did =) And like the good Roman citizens we are, we went down and picked up the broken glass...then booked it to the Trevi Fountain haha.
(Us picking up the broken bottle!)
Our last full day in Rome we left the house around 10am and took the most amazing walk around the ENTIRE city, finally returning to the hostel bar at 1030pm....literally an almost 13 hour excursion! If it werent for all the Peronis, pizza, and gelatto we ate, our feet would have been really mad at us. But we saw so much of the city that day, got to experience the Rome marathon, see the rest of our monuments, walk along the river, go to Vatican city again, see old chariot racing grounds, and the Jewish Ghetto, which for us was the Italia we were looking for in Rome all along. Small streets that resemble Le Marais in Paris (also the Jewish/Gay Quartier) tall rustic apartment buildings, warm brick color paint, ivy growing all around, and laundry drying on strings between the buildings. It really was a very beautiful area. So worth the visit. The word ghetto actually originated from Rome as a name for the place the Jews lived in. Interesting huh? In the Jewish quarter we went to a restaurant that our hostel recommended which turned out to be really quite amazing, one of the best and reasonably priced full meals I have had in Italy. I had a fettuccine pasta with a very delicious rich tomato sauce and a braised ox tail plopped in the middle. One word: amazing. I look at pictures of our lunch and start to salivate. Though if you were to ask me which is better, French or Italian cuisine, I dont know if I woul be able to pick one or the other. They are both so distinct, regionally, and generally speaking, that they are both just so amazing in their own ways. I do love coming home to wonderful French restaurants here in Paris, you cant find them nearly as easily in Southern California. Sad sad missing detail in SD. If you ever want an amazing French dinner in San Diego, make reservations at 'Bleu Bohème' off of Adams in Kensington....I go there several times a year and have never been let down or served anything less than perfection.
All in all, I am in love with France, it is my home away from home, but Italy....Italy is my secret lover ;) always so great to visit. I highly recommend it.
Until we meet again Italy.
Ciao
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