This blog started out as a log of my antics studying abroad in Rome, but has now morphed into the inevitable predicaments I find myself in while travelling in general.
Bethany came to visit last Wednesday, so I played the hostess with the mostess and took she and her friend from London to all the very touristy parts of Roma! We had a late start on Thursday because of having stayed out a bit late the night before, so we had to skip the Vatican Museum, but they still got to see St. Peter's Basilica and they climbed the cupola while I went to class. The next day we got up significantly earlier and were able to go to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and La Bocca della Verita. I'm thinking about setting up my own tour guide business. Saturday we spent the day lounging in the park which was a much needed rest after all the touring and Sunday we went to Porta Portese (because everyone should have to experience it) Actually this time is was better because there was a goodwill like vintage clothes tent which yielded some possible treasures, but not quite, and Bethany bought this beautiful pashmina so maybe that place isn't as bad as I make it seem. Then it was on to the delicious gelateria, the Jewish Ghetto, the Scalinata di Spagna, and finally H&M (what tourist weekend would be complete without it?) SO if you'll excuse me I'm going to go sleep for a few hours or 12.
Supposedly, Rome was founded by the 2 brothers, Romulus and Remus, after they were raised by a she wolf (possibly named Shakira). Eventually one killed the other as olden day brothers are want to do, but the city wasn't part of that. The Roman Forum was the original Rome when it was first starting it's building history 2800 years ago. (Now it is mostly ruins, but the structures would probably still be around today had the church not stolen all the marble to start to build St. Peter's during Medieval times when they had no money to import their own marble. Kind of selfish if you ask me.) Back in it's hay day it was a bustling chaotic place complete with food stalls, brothels, temples, small businesses, law courts, and the Senate House. Now it's just a pile of old marble.
Trajan's Market is just across the street (where there are no convenient pedestrian crosswalks and I might have died crossing it, but dodged the Fiat at the last minute, no big deal) Built in 107 AD by (who else?) Trajan to commemorate his final conquest of Dacia (which is now Romania). It was pretty much an Ancient Roman shopping mall with all sorts of shops, 2 libraries, a giant 98ft column (depicting scenes of the battles from the Dacian campaigns- I've heard Christiana Mall is coming out with a column depicting battle scenes from Black Friday)They even tiled their shop insides. Needless to say no one sells stuff there anymore, but it does make a lovely place to sit and eat a panino and get accosted by foreign men selling cheap sunglasses and putty heads that mold into different faces.
