Day 4: Roman Antiquity

Our first day in Rome, we began our day with the usual italian breakfast (cappuccino and croissant) at Jerri's Bar next door. The locals would come in, stand at the counter, order their espresso, knock it back and be out in an instant. I guess that is the italian version of "to-go". Afterwards we headed to Campo d. Fiori to check out some of the local produce and put together a picnic for later on that day. The produce was vibrant and fresh, but the picnic didn't so much happen. We picked up some fruits and washed it at the 'il nasone' which are running public fountains all over the city, with clean water you can use to refill you water. They definitely came in handy, as it was going to be a very hot day.

Artichoke Romanesca

Fiori di Zucca

After the market, we made our way across the Tiber river to the Trastevere neighbourhood. Trastevere literally means "across the river", and many of the locals are fiercely proud of their neighbourhood and of being "Trasvererian" not Roman. The Trastevere has maintained much of its character, a credit to its cobbled streets lined by midieval homes. It's quite the colourful neighbourhood, and slightly more gritty being across the river.

The Colourful Trastevere

At lunch we stumbled upon the neatest little pizzeria and local lunch spot. You'd order your pizza by the gram (in very spotty italian) and they'd serve it up to you on a piece of paper. It was such a neat atmosphere and excellent food. You could tell the locals enjoyed it because the tables were stuffed with local business men and neighbours gathering for lunch. Eating is serious business in Italy. After lunch we made our way back over the river, through the Jewish Quarter and onto the Roman Forum where we were to meet up with Icon Tours and have a tour of the Roman Forum and Colosseum.

The Jewish Quarter and the Teatro de Marcello (a Roman theater built right into the midieval roman street). The Roman way of doing things, "history in layers" where they just continue to build modern structures using remanants of ancient architecture is absolutely fascinating. We loved how if you just turned the corner, you never knew what you would see.

This was one of my favourite places in Rome. I loved the Roman Forum. Just imagining how 2000 years ago this place was just as busy and packed with toga wearing Romans was mind boggling. The Roman Forum was the center around which ancient Rome built its empire. Hearing the stories of ancient emporers building gratuitous temples to honour every god they could thing of, of the gladiators that fought in the colloseum for entertainment and how opulent the Roman culture grew to be was absolutely fascinating. The colloseum itself, seeing it in person, is a moment i'll never forget. Standing inside and thinking of the slave-power and the barbaric events that took place in this structure that we admire today in modern society was very sobering. We were lucky to get there at the end of the day, when it was not busy at all and we were amongst a few other small groups wanting to explore. We really got to spend a lot of time there and fully enjoyed the day. As the sun set, we sat at a cafe across the street, enjoyed the view of this ancient wonder and drank our birra de pression while munching on peanuts.

Forum Roma

The Colosseum

Wandering back that night through the heart of Rome we returned to my favourite Piazza Rotunda next to the Pantheon, ambled through the quiet cobblestone alleyways, caught an incredible view of St. Peter's over the Tiber river, floodlit by the city lights and enjoyed a late dinner of caprese salad on Campo d. Fiori.