The morning started early, and unlike the day before, I went out right after I woke up. The morning is considerably cooler and more inviting for exploration. My destination was the Pantheon.
I rounded a corner from some small street and the Pantheon appeared right in front of me, that's how it works in Rome. I was in the rear so I walked lazily to the entrance, taking my time to absorb any antiquity that it might exude...I don't know if I did get anything in the end.
Inside I expected statues of Roman gods, at least one or two to betray it's roots. I didn't find any, instead seeing busts and paintings of Maries and Jesi. While not enrapt by the innards, the entranceway was quite the place to be, a cool breeze came off and on, and the great columns offered a seat, if a hard one still. I sat and was relaxed, watching passerbys mozying or drifting, eating or talking, watching or waiting. A man, I assumed Italian from his lack of baggage of any sort, sat across from me, and I had a great time imagining he was one of the famed pickpockets of Rome, well, he might really have been but I didn't bother to ask.
Altogether I stared and osmozed for almost 3 or 4 hours; if
anything I was trying to keep fro, sweating since tonight would be a nighttrain sans proper shower (yum!). Eventually I walked up to go get a capuccino from Caffé Sant-Eustachio; really good! I then wandered back to the Pantheon for more sitting action. By this time I had already hit all the places I had wanted to. I stared at the moldy-white beams above and got lost in the pidgeon action. One of them puffed himself up and chased others away, but he couldn't get at the big piece of bread. He actually kept dropping the crumbs and not seeing, pieces which were deftly snatched up by the others.
I finally got up to go see another sight that was in the area since I didn't have much to do. This was the
Trevi Fountain. Wowsers! just about sums it up. I tossed in my coin, and the next time I come back, I want to see it at night. The architecture didn't wow me, rather, it was the fresh spring water flying all over and gathering into a crystal clear pool. The sun had gotten to me a little bit, so I washed my arms and face in its waters like so many others around there. In the direct sunlight, I couldn't stay long so I headed to the Piazza di Spagna.
On my way I stopped for some honey sorbet, also a great Italian snack. At the steps there is another fountain of much smaller scale, but partially in the shade. I made a round around the block and sat down and plunged my feet into the super cool spring water for 5 minutes before people on the opposite side were shooed to take their stank feet out of the water so I followed suit, not needing a direct berating.
The shade slowly crept away as the sun headed west, so I emptied my water bottle and washed it out a little before refilling it with the Roman spring water. It tastes better than any Fiji/Evian I've ever had
. I later added tea leaves to the cool water and the flavor of real spring water with good tea is something you must try first hand to taste the true sweetness of an excellent tea (yes, it was not brewed perse, but it was still great!).
After that I headed back to the hostel to while away sometime. I had to go to N's recommended restaurant tonight, but nothing opens earlier than 6. I finally made my way down Urbana to see that the ristorante was closed. Bugger. N will just have to show me there herself someday when we take a day trip from our French Riviera condos in the future.
I went to another restaurant and ordered tripe and some chicory on the side. It was good. I also wanted wine, so when I asked the waiter about the prices, he said the lower price was for a small glass. I thought, what the hell, lemme splurge for my last night in Rome and get a large glass. I came back from the restroom to a normal sized bottle of wine and eyes wide open, suck it up Jason! I finished the whole bottle and spoke with an Australian girl also dining alone. I made her promise to go see the Trevi fountain later on that night, and she was more than happy to oblige since that was also her main reason for coming back to Rome. I left Rome happy and high, and also with a deeper understanding of what 750 ml really means... :)
I rounded a corner from some small street and the Pantheon appeared right in front of me, that's how it works in Rome. I was in the rear so I walked lazily to the entrance, taking my time to absorb any antiquity that it might exude...I don't know if I did get anything in the end.
Inside I expected statues of Roman gods, at least one or two to betray it's roots. I didn't find any, instead seeing busts and paintings of Maries and Jesi. While not enrapt by the innards, the entranceway was quite the place to be, a cool breeze came off and on, and the great columns offered a seat, if a hard one still. I sat and was relaxed, watching passerbys mozying or drifting, eating or talking, watching or waiting. A man, I assumed Italian from his lack of baggage of any sort, sat across from me, and I had a great time imagining he was one of the famed pickpockets of Rome, well, he might really have been but I didn't bother to ask.
Altogether I stared and osmozed for almost 3 or 4 hours; if
anything I was trying to keep fro, sweating since tonight would be a nighttrain sans proper shower (yum!). Eventually I walked up to go get a capuccino from Caffé Sant-Eustachio; really good! I then wandered back to the Pantheon for more sitting action. By this time I had already hit all the places I had wanted to. I stared at the moldy-white beams above and got lost in the pidgeon action. One of them puffed himself up and chased others away, but he couldn't get at the big piece of bread. He actually kept dropping the crumbs and not seeing, pieces which were deftly snatched up by the others.I finally got up to go see another sight that was in the area since I didn't have much to do. This was the
Trevi Fountain. Wowsers! just about sums it up. I tossed in my coin, and the next time I come back, I want to see it at night. The architecture didn't wow me, rather, it was the fresh spring water flying all over and gathering into a crystal clear pool. The sun had gotten to me a little bit, so I washed my arms and face in its waters like so many others around there. In the direct sunlight, I couldn't stay long so I headed to the Piazza di Spagna.On my way I stopped for some honey sorbet, also a great Italian snack. At the steps there is another fountain of much smaller scale, but partially in the shade. I made a round around the block and sat down and plunged my feet into the super cool spring water for 5 minutes before people on the opposite side were shooed to take their stank feet out of the water so I followed suit, not needing a direct berating.
The shade slowly crept away as the sun headed west, so I emptied my water bottle and washed it out a little before refilling it with the Roman spring water. It tastes better than any Fiji/Evian I've ever had
. I later added tea leaves to the cool water and the flavor of real spring water with good tea is something you must try first hand to taste the true sweetness of an excellent tea (yes, it was not brewed perse, but it was still great!).After that I headed back to the hostel to while away sometime. I had to go to N's recommended restaurant tonight, but nothing opens earlier than 6. I finally made my way down Urbana to see that the ristorante was closed. Bugger. N will just have to show me there herself someday when we take a day trip from our French Riviera condos in the future.
I went to another restaurant and ordered tripe and some chicory on the side. It was good. I also wanted wine, so when I asked the waiter about the prices, he said the lower price was for a small glass. I thought, what the hell, lemme splurge for my last night in Rome and get a large glass. I came back from the restroom to a normal sized bottle of wine and eyes wide open, suck it up Jason! I finished the whole bottle and spoke with an Australian girl also dining alone. I made her promise to go see the Trevi fountain later on that night, and she was more than happy to oblige since that was also her main reason for coming back to Rome. I left Rome happy and high, and also with a deeper understanding of what 750 ml really means... :)
2 comments:
I commiserate fully with you over the restaurant.
yes, it was such a pain and bore to eat and drink to my fullest pleasure... ho hum... such is life...
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