All roads lead to Rome

Apparently in every Italian city there are one or more gates, usually built during the ancient Roman days or rebuilt after the war, that indeed lead to the capital. Alex pointed out two Roman gates in Milan saying that you could follow a road straight down from these gates to Rome if you wanted to. He knows some people who have biked it. But I took the road that started from the Venetian gate. Rome is one of those places we all know as cemented in history. Rome was the center of the world. So much of our separate cultures in the west are related somehow to those started in Rome. I could not be more excited to explore this ancient of ancient cities.

Repubblica Teatro dell'Opera, a fountain I walked past

I don't know what this building is yet, but it looked really impressive, off of Via Plebiscito

I know it’s not a good habit to get your history lessons from HBO but a few years ago the television channel created a mini series simply called, “Rome” that followed the unorthodox story of a Roman soldier and at the same time portrayed the history of the Roman empire as it is passed through the hands of Julius Caesar after his victory over Pompey, and then his ultimate fall to the bloody hands of the Senators that betrayed him, to the epic battles between Mark Antony and Octavius afterwards as the empire slowly stabilizes. It’s not for kids, but it is one of my favorite mini series and really does romanticize (and doesn’t at the same time) the time period. Being in Rome at that time was like watching civilization evolve.

I woke up a little early because I wanted the chance to walk around Venice a little in the wee hours of morning, unencumbered by my camera and day pack, before I had to check out. I strolled through the quiet alleys, watching the actual Venetian residents doing much of the same thing. Shop keepers were setting up their displays, restaurant employees were writing the daily specials on their windows or chalkboards. I passed through a little neighborhood I hadn’t explored the day before. I stumbled upon a small grocery store, a local one by the look of it, and bought some peach juice, making my way out of the Venetian labyrinth and out towards the harbor. It was another gloriously sunny and warm day. I sipped my juice and sat on a bench in the sun, watching the boats roll around and the tourists start to awake from slumber. People watching here in Venice is kind of entertaining because everyone is a tourist doing touristy things like wiping sunscreen on the faces of squirming children, looking at maps, snapping photos. That and the scenery. There’s a lot to take in.

I made my way back to the hostel, thanked the owner, and checked out. I decided to walk through the city to the train station, no easy task (this city is very difficult to get around if you have a place to be. Since the alleyways are so narrow and the tourists numbers that fill them are so vast, you have to dodge people left and right as tourists tend to walk slowly and stop without warning as they glaze over windows of shops and get distracted by the smell of pizza and spaghetti in nearby trattorias and cafes), and eventually got to the station about an hour and a half earlier than the time my train was supposed to depart. I took a seat on the steps that lead out to the canal near the expensive and fancy water taxi stand and watched awhile as people hopped on and off. Eventually I made my way onto the train, took my seat in first class (this eurail pass is awesome) and watched out the window as the train rolled on. Our route on this incredibly high speed train took us through Bologna and Florence, both places I’d like to see if I’d have more time, and then ultimately to Roma Termini, Rome’s central station, but not before passing through beautiful Tuscan vineyards and countryside. I am still in shock and have been since the day I got off the train in Italy, about how absolutely beautiful everything is. Even the countryside is gorgeous. The southern, Mediterranean plant life is so drastically different to all other places I have been to on this trip, or ever. Everything is so green and alive here.

I rolled into the train station at about 5 in the afternoon. We’re in the south now so the sun stays up a bit later. My hostel is located just two blocks from the station, not a great area says a Firenzian I met in Venice. But, walking around the neighborhood, I saw nothing to be afraid of, this neighborhood is just another pleasant place, just nearer to the train station, a bit grittier perhaps and tends to be where the immigrants congregate. My hostel is located well above the street level in an apartment block it shares with local residents. The hostel is huge, clean, convenient, I can access internet everywhere, and its cheap. All of these things are tempting me to stay awhile longer. I quickly checked in, set up and settled in, and then headed right back out. I wanted to explore a neighborhood before settling down for the night. I chose to explore Trastavere, an area in the city’s southwestern corner. This area is supposed to be one of the more picturesque areas of the city and comes alive at night with locals. The alleyways here are filled with bars and restaurants, and a lively little plaza. I hopped the metro and got off as close as I could to Trastevere. I had to walk a decent distance but I didn’t mind, I wanted to get a sense of the city anyway. It’s definitely warmer here. People are now wearing shorts and flip flops as opposed to jackets and scarves. I wound my way across the Tiber River and into the heart of the neighborhood and to the plaza that centered around another old Roman fountain. People had gathered to sit in the sun and around the steps leading up to the fountain. I did the same. Then I noticed a church nestled into one of the corners of the plaza off to my left. I had read a little about it beforehand. It is the oldest church in Rome named after the Mother Mary, built in the 12th century. I went inside to have a look and realized that they were about to start an evening Sunday mass. I walked in and headed to the back where most of the tourists observing were. I took a seat in one of the back pews and attended the mass. The church was massive, much larger than it looked from the outside, and consisted of one large block held together by two lines of pillars that followed along the sides of the pews up toward the altar. There was a choir, a gorgeous choir, that sung nearly constantly throughout the entire mass, the priest from time to time talked over the choir. It was a cool effect. The mass was in Italian but I got the gist.

I don't know what this was either, but everything in Rome is picture worthy

A fine example of southern European plant life

After mass the sun had set and I was hungry. I wandered around Trastavere awhile and came upon a pizza shop that had a line out the door. I thought that was a good sign so I hopped in line to see what the fuss was about. The line eventually led to a counter where one woman was working serving out pizzas on display. They weren’t the typical round pizzas but huge sheets of pizzas, all different kinds, where the woman cut off chunks and people paid by the kilogram. I took a big slice from a pizza with some sort of mozzarella cheese, artichokes, green olives, and Italian ham, a thin coating of tomato sauce, and baked in olive oil. This was, hands down, the best pizza I had ever eaten. There is much debate, apparently, about whose pizza is better, pizza from the US or pizza from Italy. I think they both have their strengths. But what made this particular pizza the best I have ever tried was the freshness of the ingredients. The sheer Italian-ness of the flavors, the olives, oil, fresh vegetables, excellent dough, was probably why the line was so long. I don’t think it would be possible even to recreate this pizza in the US because we don’t have access to such Italian ingredients, at least ones so fresh.

I was satisfied with the meal and headed out to continue wandering. I found a small bar on a busy side street that was airing a Serie A league match between AC Milan and Napoli. I stayed for a beer and watched the first half of the match, tied 1-1 at halftime, and then headed out to walk back towards the hostel. I took the long way, a nice evening stroll, through the center of the city, up streets like Via del Plebiscito and Via Nazionale, passed by some really amazing things even though I have no idea what they are yet, I’ll be seeing them again in daylight I imagine, and eventually made my way back to the train station and to the hostel. An incredible day.

It’s now early morning on Monday. I plan to spend the day in and around the Vatican City. There is lot’s to see here!