Walkabout in Rome

When we planned the trip we had intended to accommodate the jet lag on our first day in Rome. We certainly didn't plan on getting up and walking nearly the entire ancient section of the city! Now I don't want to lie, I may have slept in a little past my normal time (*cough11:30cough*), but we still got into the street by 12:30.

Our first stop was the Piazza del Popolo, mostly because the directions from our hotel were "walk out front. turn right". The name translated into English means Plaza of the People. I think - I don't speak Italian, though I'm learning. It was originally the northern gate of Rome and is built right up against the Roman Wall. We spent about an hour here while we adjusted the light levels (it seems brighter here) and fiddled with the camera trying to get some good pictures.

After a while, we went down Via del Ripetta towards Piazza Novona. Our original intent was to build up an appetite on the walk and have lunch down there, but no matter much we walked we just weren't getting hungry so we decided to skip it and go back on the night walking tour recommended by our tour book. So instead, we turned right to visit the Pantheon.

You know those dramatic reveal shots in movies where some epic building comes into view as you round a corner? I've never experienced that in the United States, but I had four or five today. The first was the Pantheon. The building is ancient, massive, and caused me to catch my breath the first time I saw it. We took an alleyway between two streets... alley's in Rome are not alley's in the US, they have stuff in them... and when I came around the corner from the alley it was like having water dumped on your head. Shocking. On the way inside Steph spotted a "Gladiator" taking a break from "warfare". She gets a giggle out of this photo.

From the Pantheon we walked to the Trevi Fountain. I'd give you a history lesson here too, but all I know is it was built by a Pope in the 18th or 19th century. But it's very pretty. After all this time we were finally hungry so we stopped and got the best sandwich I've ever had: italian bread, mozzarella, tomato, basil and olive oil. Yes, we could make that at home. It would not be as good. Curse you Customs! I want to bring home good tomato plants!

We then made a valiant effort to walk down to the Colosseum, but exhaustion and rain forced us indoors and back to the hotel. I've posted a bunch of pictures on Picasa for everyone to look at (one the left hand side), and several of them I've embedded in this blog. To view them simply go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/khariq/Rome919#

If that link doesn't work, please let me know in the comments.