Rome, Italy
Not sure what Rome street this is but I am sure I walked down it many, many times.
Well today was a real mix of business and pleasure. While I am attempting to be perfectly spontaneous while on this trip that part of me that needs to plan and be prepared is still much louder. So my first stop this morning was at Station Termi, which is the main train station here in Rome. I will be heading out of the city on Saturday and as I figure that will be a busy travel day I needed to be slightly prepared. I have myself a rail pass for Italy and Greece (when ever it is I make it there) but as European train travel is new to me (as is European travel in general) I thought I would stop by and make sure I knew what was going on. I did have to wait in line for a short while to get my pass validated.....and to find out that I don’t actually need to make a reservation to ride the train. Of course that is only on certain trains and I had to go somewhere else to figure out which ones…....and then they wanted to send me back to the ticket window to find out. I have found people in Rome pretty helpful and very nice...…until I went to the train station…..and then I found them annoyed by questions. Anyway, I think I have figured out which trains I can ride without a reservation or paying any extra money so I will hop on board sometime on Saturday and hopefully not get fined.
I then headed out to find the Pantheon. It is suppose to be one of the most recognizable buildings in the city….but of course I could not find it. I had highlighted out my route to the Pantheon…of course that was from my hotel and not the train station and thought I could make the adjustments…..but could not. I just cannot figure out which direction I am walking and even when you ask I can only get so far before I am completely disorientated (I am going to be in real trouble when I get to Venice I think).
Not the Pantheon but another random dome I found while walking.
Eventually I did find it and it was worth it. The Pantheon is actually now a church (it was originally built by the pagan Octavos so not always a church). It is now the acting Basilica di Santa Maria and Martyrs. Like most it has a very nice high dome ceiling but like not many others, that dome is open to the air.
That means that it rains in the church when it rains outside. There are 22 holes on the concave floor that drain any water away.
A couple of those 22 holes.
It also happens to be the oldest Christian Basilica. It is interesting to know that due to the design of the building the walls’ thickness actually gets less the higher the building gets.
There were a few people visiting the Pantheon while I was there but still managed to get a few pictures.
The front of the Pantheon.
The Basilica is also the home to the statue the Madonna of the Stone, which may mean nothing to most people (it certainly meant nothing to me) until you find out that this statue stands above the tomb of the artist Raphael. They needed to be sure though (because gossip said he wasn’t there), so the tomb actually was dug up and the contents confirmed.
All my wrong turns and walking in circles actually worked out good because I happened to be at the Pantheon the same time as one of the tour groups, which is not at all strange except that this tour group happened to include the Tse Family from Calgary. Some of you will have no idea who I am talking about but they have long been involved in Track and Field in Calgary and happened to belong to the same club as me…CALTAF. I have not seen Kim or Tim for a few years…...so it makes sense that I would run into them in Rome. Kim has been disconnected from Facebook for a few weeks…..which would explain why I did not know they were in the area as well. They had to leave quickly as their group was leaving, which reminded me again why I am doing this trip mostly on my own. I lingered a bit longer before trying to make my way back to Via Venento and my hotel.
My route took me past the infamous Fontana di Trevi. This of course is an amazing fountain and any movie you have seen set in Rome will have at least one shot of it. The story goes if you throw a coin in the fountain over your shoulder, you will return to Rome. I did not throw a coin in. If I want to return to Rome I will.
A few shots of the Fontana di Trevi
I also took the opportunity to stop in a few random churches along the way. So amazing because from the outside they all look old and bland but when you walk inside it is completely different. Amazing too because while they all have some sort of story behind their existence, they are still just churches….not basilicas not cathedrals. So well maintained and so amazing to look at.
The ceiling of one of those random churches.
My trip back to the hotel was actually really quick. I was able to follow my highlighted route on my map without issue. Maybe I am getting the hang of this city after all.
Some random old stuff just down the street from my hotel.
Julie
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