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Day Fifteen
27 February 2010
Location: Rome
Hotel: Hotel Apollo

I awoke fairly early today, exhausted from the sleepless night before and certainly not feeling all that excited about seeing Rome. Given the problems we had already had, minor as they might have been, and the fact that we were both still recovering from the food poisoning drama, I think my mood was already a bit down.

However, both Erin and I decided that today was a new day and both showered and dressed, hoping that our spirits would lift with the rising sun. I dressed and then nipped downstairs to speak to the clerk on the desk about changing rooms. Unfortunately the clerk turned out to be an older gentleman that should have been in bed himself, rather than working the morning shift at a busy hotel. I attempted to explain the problems we had experienced, but was unable to get any kind of positive response due to the language barrier.

I had a feeling that he really didn’t care about my problems and wasn’t interested in trying to help me. He simply stated “no more rooms” and that was clearly the end of the discussion. So far I was yet to meet any member of the staff that could provide even the smallest amount of friendliness or courtesy and was left once again fuming.

Anyway, enough on the hotel! I ran back upstairs to see if Erin was ready and we made our way out on to the streets of Rome. Upon arriving on the street outside the hotel, we found that the weather was much nicer than anticipated and questioned whether we would need our coats. We decided to keep them and ventured on.

Our hotel is situation about 300m from the Colosseum, and we could actually see it by poking our head out of our first floor window. Given our proximity to the structure, we thought it was a good idea to make that our first stop of the day. It didn’t hurt that it is without a doubt, the most prolific structure in Rome.

We made short work of the walk and were soon standing in the shadows of the ancient stadium. While Erin’s first impressions were quite positive, I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed. I’m still not sure whether it was because I was frustrated with our roman experience thus far or simply because I had seen so many wonderful things on the trip, that it now took a lot more than a crumbling, unrestored building to get my excitement up. In some respects, it was probably a combination of the two, but even recollecting that moment now, I’m still not convinced that the Colosseum was nearly as impressive as it’s made out to be.

As we moved around the main entrance of the building we noticed that the entrance line was excruciatingly long. Fortunately, we were quickly approach by one of the many people offering guided tours and were provided with a quick and inexpensive option for touring the Colosseum immediately. We paid and joined the group as it was forming and were on our way into the stadium.

Upon entering, we realised just how good our decision had been, as the line seemed even longer from within the building and the staff were not doing a good job our keeping the various lines in order. Luckily, our group skipped all the drama and was soon standing within the first level of the ancient oval.

At this point, we were handed radio receivers and were able to listen to our guide without her requiring a microphone. I quickly strapped the receiver to my collar so I could keep my hands free to film and take photos. After a few minutes, the bright sparks in our group realised what I had done and started to do the same.

We moved out into the main space of the stadium and marveled at open area. Actually, I should correct myself. Erin marveled, but the more I looked, the less impressed I became. Of course, I could appreciate the history that was carved into every inch of the stone surrounding us, but after looking around for a few minutes, I became more interested in looking at the area where the film “Jumper” had been shot. As I started to rattle off film trivia, Erin promptly whacked me and bought me back to the present.

The tour guide continued to talk, however by this stage most of the group was distracted with taking photos and looking around the area themselves. She certainly wasn’t endearing anyone to stay tuned into the talk given her lack of charisma or relevant knowledge. I was glad to be done with the tour a few minutes later so that Erin and I could go and tour the site ourselves.

We found our way upstairs to the second, and highest accessible level, and enjoyed the view of the site below. Once again, it was enjoyable to be at the Colosseum, but it just wasn’t that impressive. I honestly would have been more impressed if it had been fully restored into a working stadium (similar to what has happened with the Globe Theatre in London). What is left is a slowly decaying building that has been desecrated over thousands of years and has the remnants of failed restoration attempts scattered around its edges….much like the rest of Rome, but I’ll get to that later.

We slowly wandered the site and took some pictures and finally found our way to the exit and down to the ground level. We decided to leave the area immediately as the crowds and hustlers were becoming annoying. As we were in close approximation to our hotel, we decided to nip back and drop our coats.

Upon departing the hotel again, we decided to stroll through the city and simply just find things as we went. Rome didn’t hold many “must see” attractions or activities for us, so we thought it would be nice to simply stroll through the many streets and walkways and experience the Rome we had heard about.

We had a map with us, and quickly plotted out a course to a number of sites we wanted to visit. However, navigating central Rome is a lot harder than any other city I have experienced. I had to keep reminding myself that the city is thousands and years old and doesn’t have the structure that you would normally expect from a modern city. As a result, we often had to stop and review the map. I even pulled out my iPhone on occasion to check with the compass that we were going in the right direction. If you’re not map-savvy, then Rome is not the place for you!

We wandered up one of the main streets and soon came to the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) - also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This huge building sits at the intersection of a number of main streets (much like the Arc de Triomphe). It sits impressively in the middle of the intersecting roads and towers above the other buildings around it. While we didn’t know much about the building, it was certainly amazing to see and we stopped for a few minutes to admire the architecture and surrounding area.

We then continued to stroll through a number of tiny streets and plaza’s until we came to the Pantheon. Situated in the heart of a busy plaza, the 2000 year old building stands powerfully in the centre. The columns of the front entrance reinforce is stature and the central rotunda looks like it could stand for another 2000 years without hesitation.

Unfortunately, the view from the exterior wasn’t as good as it should have been as restoration work was being completed and there was quite a bit of scaffolding erected around some of the columns. Notwithstanding, we wandered inside and beheld the magnificent space within.

Immediately my attention went to the top of the famous rotunda to view the oculus I had read about a number of times. The oculus is a 2-3m round hole cut into the very centre of the domed roof. It allows the only light into the central chamber and yes, if it’s raining, you are likely to get wet (as we noticed upon returning a few days later). It creates a stunning affect as the light from the sun moves around the chamber as the sun moves throughout the day.

We wandered around the building for a period of time before exiting the plaza and heading east, to the Trevi Fountain. Along the way, we passed through a number of tight alleyways and plazas and each one had another piece of incredible architecture to offer. Whether it is a large statue, a solitary carved column, or a series of old buildings, each one is unique and distinct from the next.

We soon made our way to the fountain and upon entering the plaza where the fountain sits (past a Ferrari store I might add) you are instantly whisked into another world. The Fountain is simply massive and sits against a backdrop of stone figures (one of which is Neptune) gazing down on the many onlookers. Surrounding the fountain is a set of steps that are constantly inhabited by tourists and locals alike.

We strolled around to the centre of the fountain and took in the site. However, we were soon overwhelmed with the sheer number of people present in the plaza, and given our tiring states, we decided to leave and return another time. I also didn’t have my video camera on me, so we wanted to return and make sure we could capture the fountain in all its glory.

Having wandered quite far into the city by this stage, we slowly made our way back towards our hotel in a roundabout sort of way. Rome’s streets have a way of quickly turning you around; so we walked the longer way via the main streets to ensure we wouldn’t get lost. By the time we arrived back at the hotel, we were absolutely knackered and ready to kick of our shoes for the day.

It was late afternoon, so we grabbed a few slices of pizza from a pizzeria near our hotel and snacked on that. We spent the evening in the hotel and I’m happy to say that the garbage trucks did not return. I definitely got a better nights sleep, but I think that is was mainly due to my exhausted state.

Overall, our first day in Rome had been good, but not great. My expectations of Rome were certainly different to what I actually experienced and I wasn’t sure if things would improve. Luckily, Erin was thoroughly enjoying herself and was looking forward to the next day.

Paul & Erin (though the thoughts and feelings towards Rome expressed in this blog are more mine than Erin's :p)

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