Although that is a beautiful way to spend some well-earned vaca, we decided to challenge ourselves with some slightly more difficult and spectacularly more beautiful hiking into the hills surrounding the five coastal villages. But more on that later.
Day 1
Rome!
And how much more Italian can it get than a building-sized picture of Cristiano Ronaldo -- except that he's Portuguese and plays for a Spanish team and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. But whatever. He's the most well-paid player of all time. The Italian part is that it's football and we're in Rome. So just go with it. O.K? Truly a shame about his beer belly.
Just to be clear -- this photo was taken specifically for my youngest daughter who is a HUGE soccer fan. It has nothing to do with eye candy for her menopausal Momma. Uh uh. Not for me at all.
I'm actually just trying to make up for the photo of her older sister with Figo, whom she caught up with in a clothing store in Milan a few years back. And for the record, the older sister couldn't give a rat's patoot about soccer. But to drive her sister crazy . . . she wangled a photo with Mr. Figo. And yes I know he's not Mr. Figo. Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo was also Portuguese who also played for the Spanish team Ronaldo now plays for. Poor Emma.
Oh . . . another thing about the older sister who really isn't into sports . . .
That's her front row and centre at the final men's hockey game of the 2006 Winter Olympics between Finland and Sweden. And not only was she in the front row, her beautiful mug was caught on the jumbotron. As I watched the game from home, I saw this appear on the screen and was jumping up and down like a lunatic, yelling that's Hana. That's Hana. OMG -- that's Hana on the jumbotron. I was alone at the time. Lunatic? Yup. Pretty much. But within minutes, the family she was staying with had managed to send me the image. The Dad's company was the agency for the telecommunications company that has covered this and many other Olympics. So he had the technology. Needless to say, she was on the phone moments later. So damn good thing I was watching or I would have been chopped liver . . . foriver.
So I digress . . . back to Rome.
Cathy and I were pretty pooped, given that we arrived in Rome around noon which was 6 a.m. our time. But after getting to our hotel and having a wee hour-long rest, we were off to explore the sights of Rome. Can't waste a day away! And so Ronaldo helped ease our tired bones and sent us marching on to our first tourist destination -- Trevi fountain. Sounds simple enough.
And with a few stops to check maps . . .
Receive a few blessings . . .
. . . for protection from the crazy drivers and even crazier Vespa riders . . .
. . . we were doing well. A stop here and there for the odd photo
. . . learn to cross streets like the Romans -- which means follow the locals, don't look at the traffic and for God's sake, don't make eye contact with the drivers. Oh . . . and just remember Vespas are not bound by the normal rules of traffic such as stop signs and red lights and they have absolutely no obligation to yield to pedestrians. Yes! Find a local and just go! When in Rome . . .
Safely, we reached our destination -- Trevi Fountain.
Trevi fountain is at the junction of three roads and marks the terminal point of ond of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to Rome, a critical factor in the success of the hub of the ancient Roman Empire. Roman engineering is nothing short of amazing and the aqueduct is one of their finest tributes to western culture. Water meant survival -- survival of the race. And water meant power -- power of the empire. The source of this aqueduct, some 13 km from the city centre, served the ancient Romans for more than four hundred years before they were destroyed by enemies of the Empire some time in the 5th century. When that happened, Romans were reduced to drawing water from the Tiber River -- ahem -- which was also used as a sewer. Yup. Raw sewage was dumped in the Tiber.
The fountain was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII and was begun by Bernini with a sketch. Pope Urban VIII died and the project was abandoned. A bunch of other Baroque artists competed for the project later and in 1730, it was granted to Nicola Salvi -- a Florentine. What a disgrace! A Florentine won . . . not a Roman. Anyway, he started the project a few years later but croaked in 1751 with the project only half finished. The fountain was eventually completed in 1762 by Pannini. I get a kick out of the history, the politics, the antics and the "Hollywood" ethic that existed way back then. Fleeting popularity until . . . you do something that causes a fall from grace . . . or you die.
Visitors to Rome have a tradition of tossing a coin into Trevi Fountain as a wish or insurance that they will one day return to the historic centre of the Roman Empire. It's more complicated than that though. Two coins and you'll meet a new squeeze. Three coins and you'll either marry or divorce. However you interpret it, there are more than 3,000 Euros thrown into the damn thing every day! If I were homeless in Rome, I know what I'd do.
And while I love traditions, I passed on the opportunity because . . .
I don't do particularly well in crowds.
My kids will tell you that's a bit of an understatement. I deplore crowds and go . . . well . . . a bit bonkers actually. I'm not much for noise either but more on that later.
After checking Trevi Fountain off our 'must see' sights, we were off through the meandering streets of Rome once again to find the Spanish Steps.
I'm so confused. Why are there Spanish Steps in Rome? Why aren't they called Italian Steps. And even more confusing is the fact that this stairway -- the longest and widest staircase in Europe -- was built with money from a French diplomat in the early 1700's. So why aren't they French Steps. And why would there be French Steps in Rome. It's a long story and I'm not a history buff, so I don't get any of it. But for the purposes of this goofy tourist blog, this is clear. The big, tall, over-populated-with-rose-seller steps connect the Piazza di Spagna to the Piazza Trinità dei Monti but most importantly, the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, a church in Rome. No. Really. A church in Rome.
[insert Cathy's rose pictures too]
So the end of Day 1 approaches. And we make our way back to our quaint little hotel on Via Boncompagni . . . we take a picture along the way. And while it looks like a tower, it's actually the opposite. This is the view of a well-lit street from a bridge above. Those are street lights receding into the distance. It was a gorgeous evening in Rome.
And we arrived once again at our charming little Hotel Oxford.
