Honeymoon 04 - June 10, A Roman Honeymoon

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we checked-out of the wellington hotel at half-past three in the morning and trudged the paved streets of vincent square to london-victoria bus station. it was still dark outside and the inert air was very cold. good thing we layered our coats but our toes froze to popsicles after a few minutes. i wondered on how could i ever want to live in a cold country like this. but still, it would be nice to walk the streets in those knee-length high-heeled boots, multihued scarves and black trench coats and look like kate beckinsale with snowflakes on my nose.

my legs are feeling much better now and i decided not to use the damn insoles lest another drama ensues. on our walk to the bus station, we saw a lot of people sleeping on the doorsteps of the office buildings with only a box and sleeping bags to shelter them from the wintry weather. they were most likely backpackers who didn't want to spend precious pounds for hotel rooms as they didn't look like the down-and-out kind.

i could no longer feel my nose when we reached the station but it didn't take long before we found our terminal. while waiting for the bus to arrive, a group of loud singaporean uni-students from a few feet away entertained themselves with stories about home, proudly spoken in their familiar singlish twang. darwin and i exchanged glances and secretly hoped they're boarding a different bus. the bus ride is a little more than an hour and it would be nice to sleep in the hush.

at exactly 4:10 am, the national express bus arrived and people formed a queue to board. we disappointingly noted that the singaporean girls, who were still talking about annoying mothers, boarded the same bus and worse, seated themselves at the next row. but as soon as the bus moved, we were fast into dreamland and their voices faded in my sleep. i would wake up intermittently and see wide sleepy meadows covered in fog. the sun was just about to rise and it looked frosty outside.

we woke up when the bus entered the stansted airport grounds. after a quick check-in at the easyjet counter, we had a light breakfast at starbucks. the airport was smaller compared to heathrow but more alive and youthful because of the profusion of young backpackers walking around. we took an unmanned train to the boarding gate and waited for another half hour before we embarked the easyjet plane at seven in the morning.

the budget plane looked like a more reliable and cleaner version of the domestic planes in the philippines. the attendants were dressed casually in orange easyjet jackets. no food was served as expected but we had with us the raisin loaf we bought from the grocery last night.

we planned on sleeping throughout the whole three-hour plane ride to rome but forgot about it when we passed by switzerland and saw the grandiose alps connecting some european countries. it was a sight to behold! the snow-capped mountains were as white as the clouds and glistened with the sun, which was rising steadily as we approached rome. we felt lightheaded and ecstatic.

we finally arrived in rome at 11am (rome time) and stepped out of the plane to a blinding sun! it was hot but not scorching, the breeze fresh but not cold. after we got our luggage, we took a bus to the stazione termini (the central train station) as the hotel we booked through the internet is around the area. we were seated next to a young american girl who was complaining on the phone about a lost luggage. darwin and i looked at each other with empathy.

we passed by several quiet localities with untended fields and from afar we can see the ancient buildings on top of the hills of rome. we were wide-eyed and quiet the whole ride but i would excitedly point some italian pines and ruins to darwin once in a while and we would look at each other like we owned the world. it looked scorching hot outside but after spending two cold days in london, we longed for the sun.

after thirty minutes of narrow and crowded back streets, our bus finally reached the familiar stazione termini. hello again, rome!

the big train station was bustling with activity. nothing much has changed since four years ago. there is still the dunkin donuts stall filled with filipinos, the souvenir shops selling miniature coliseums, the pizzeria, the cafe, the rotating billboards, the locals on scooters. the color of the sun was even the same shade of yellow! it’s amazing!

we had lunch at a restaurant inside the train station and seated ourselves to the first available table we saw in front of the pizzeria. loud italian bon-giournos with wide toothed smiles greeted me each time i move to another stall. i picked up a tray at the cafe and got a big serving of pasta for darwin and a slice of roasted meat for me. we already had our first bite when a waiter approached us and said something in italian. darwin (who thankfully speaks some spanish) thought it sounded like "this table is reserved for our customers", which i doubted at first but we embarrassingly moved to the back when a second waiter said the same thing. we realized that the front tables belong to the pizzeria and the dining area at the back belongs to the café where we got our food.

a diner volunteered to play the piano at a table near us, probably because next to us was a table occupied by four beautiful girls. other diners were having pasta drenched in olive oil and drinking wine in the middle of the day. darwin tried the olive oil from the condiment section of the cafe, loved it and got obsessed with everything olive since then.

we picked up a map from the tourist information booth and looked for the location of our hotel. it didn't look far so we walked with our luggage tailing us. the sun was blinding, the streets were crowded, cars and pedestrians fight for the way. we had a difficult time rolling our luggage through the cobblestones but after ten minutes or so, we finally reached our hotel. darwin found out later that the small wheels of his luggage busted under the weight and over the stones.

hotel texas is inside a charming compound with a small dry stone well at the center of the courtyard. we noted gratefully that the building has an antique classic lift to the third floor where the reception counter is located. the receptionist was a nice gay-ish man dressed in tight pants, a polo shirt with a small scarf tied around his neck and introduced himself as raoul. he asked how long will we be staying and we answered "two days", to which he sadly replied "do you have a helicopter to tour around rome?" we mollified his italian pride and told him its because we'd be spending a week in other parts of italy and he sounded happy afterwards.

our room was on the side of the building and overlooks a small charming garden. the ceiling was very high, the room was well-ventilated. on the sink and on the shower are two separate water faucets for hot and cold water. the bed looked inviting and we were feeling a little sleepy after that heavy meal, but the glory of rome is waiting so after freshening up, we gathered our cameras and walked to the direction of our first stop.

the basilica santa maria maggiore was just a 15-minute walk from the hotel. the road leading to the chapel was filled with shops selling italian bags, leather jackets and shoes. we brandished under the high sun, walked noisily on the cobblestones, joined the chaos of vespas, mini cars and pedestrians on the streets and were overwhelmed when we caught a glimpse of the basilica at a distance. the basilica is a baroque-style ancient chapel. darwin and i stayed for a while to admire the view and take pictures.

it was already past 12 noon, a time for siesta, and there weren't much locals or tourists walking around. we had the road the ourselves and to a few tourists soaking under the sun. we passed by a nearby gelateria and we couldn't resist the wide array of gelati on display. darwin and i shared a smooth double scoop of strawberry gelati and stayed under a shade. it was delicious, it was light on the tongue and not overly sweet. it was definitely heaven on earth!

the breeze was gentle, the neighborhood was quite and i felt like sleeping but we walked on.

our next stop was the church of san pietro in vincoli. i have not been to this church before and we would have missed it if not for raoul's suggested walking tour. the steps leading to the church were steep and cave-like. several priests dressed in their black habits and leather slippers were walking around the courtyard. the altar houses the chains that bound st peter in a prison in jerusalem and on the right of the altar is michael angelo's second-famous sculpture, a horned moses (first famous sculpture is the statue of david in florence). the ceilings are covered with paintings, probably from great artists too but as time is of the essence, we regretfully did not take the time to sit down and read.

we followed the map and continued our walk to the coliseum. i've been here four years ago but the sight of the massive arena was still arresting! it never failed to take my breath away! no words, no pictures or no film clips can ever capture the beauty of this ruins! we spent a few moments just looking at the sight from a distance, took pictures and when we had enough, decided to come closer.

just below the steps from where we came is a water fountain. the alpine water was surprisingly cold and fresh despite the hot sun! darwin and i took our turns drinking and documenting our first experience of a roman aqueduct.

we crossed the street and were now face to face with the imposing ruin. we were speechless for a moment and moved as if in daze. it was beautiful at a distance and even more so now that we're closer. centuries after, it continues to evoke the greatness and brutality of a once glorious rome. like a softened sorrow, as dickens said.

a group of young tourists were taking pictures with several men in gladiator costumes. darwin and i took pictures from different angles and continued our walk through foro romani, an archeological park that holds the ruins of the roman forum and home to many triumphal arches, temples for the gods, palaces of the caesars and burial spots of the great. this stretch is filled with history and even the smallest remains of a fallen column is important. a few towering columns and some ruined walls dwarf the tourists and are the only standing remains of the eternal city.

we took the time and trekked through the dusty trail, sometimes seating on a stone marble that must have been a witness to a grandeur that was. red poppies were everywhere, joining the mountainous heap of ruins. a water fountain can be found in every shady corner, tourists are filling up their bottles with the fresh alpine water. darwin and i looked at each other, smiled and kissed. we're here in rome! and we're at the middle of a whole stretch of splendor. glory and brutality in its creation, magnificence in its ruin.

at the end of the stretch is the piazza venezia. the square is highlighted by the magnificent monolithic monstrosity of the vittorio emmanuele monument, a big reminder of the grandeur of the imperial rome. the colossal marble structure of altare della patria at the center resembles a giant white typewriter (and i thought so too four years ago) but fresh from our own wedding, i thought it looked more like a wedding cake this time around. several roads lead to this piazza and they were all filled with yellow busses, locals on vespas and wide-eyed tourists on foot! everything was so grand! i felt grand! darwin, when asked what he thought of the place, remained speechless. we took a lot of pictures and rested for a moment at a shady garden in the middle of the piazza.

we continued our walk along the via del corso. we passed by obelisks, gigantic houses, theatres, ornate porticos, columns and ancient buildings that are undoubtedly filled with history. many of rome's greatest must have lived in these areas and walked on these streets. it was overwhelming!

after a few turns, we found bernini's fontana de trevi, without doubt the most famous fountain in rome. the area was filled with tourist taking pleasure in the watery beauty in front of them. the design of the fountain is theatrical and imaginative. the palace of neptune dominates the scene and at the centre is an imposing figure of neptune himself on a chariot. we took a few pictures and promised to come back later for a night shot.

it was time for dinner and the trattoria that raoul suggested was just near the trevi area. we knocked on a heavy wooden door, a friendly waiter welcomed us in and lead us down several steps to a dimly-lit romantic restaurant. we had trouble communicating with the waiter and was rescued by a beautiful english-speaking waitress. we both had a big plate of delicious italian pasta and two big glasses of red vino.

it was already dark when we finished dinner and a few blocks from where we are is the scalinata di spagna (the spanish steps). we strolled hand in hand through the cobbled streets. the breeze was getting cold, the streets slowly lighted with dim incandescent bulbs. it was romantic, it was perfect!

we arrived on top of the spanish steps and marveled at the beauty below us. the whole area was filled with young people, some were playing percussions, others were singing. at the bottom of the steps is the famous boat-shaped fountain called barcaccia and around it the french church trinità dei monti, the villa medici and the memorial house for the poets keats and shelley. it was beautiful! the only thing funny about the whole scene were the asian vendors peddling fake antique chinese scrolls (why would you buy a chinese souvenir in italy?) and plastic toys which looked totally out of place. we stayed for a while, took pictures and basked in the scenery.

we took a different path on our way back to fontana di trevi and again passed through several important-looking monuments. we found the fountain now lighted in green, lovers were walking hand in hand and several vendors were peddling red roses. there's a practice done here to ensure good fortune and a speedy return to rome. two coins are tossed separately over the shoulder while standing with the back to the fountain. the first coin is for your wish and the second coin is to ensure your return to rome.

four years ago, i tossed two coins and both my wishes came true - i married my true love and i am back again in rome. hopefully, this second set of wishes will again come true. darwin tossed two coins but forgot to make a wish before throwing the first one. talk about dazed! or drunk? when it was my turn, i whispered my first wish and hoped that the second coin will again bring us back to rome's glorious arms soon.

we walked back to our hotel and looked forward to a vatican adventure the next day. it was a great day and we still couldn't believe that wishes upon wishes are finally coming true for us.

Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live. - Audrey Hepburn’s character as Princess Ann in the movie Roman Holiday

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our rome honeymoon pictures can be found here.

coming up next ...
Honeymoon 05 - The Vatican and The Leaning Tower of Pisa

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