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The high speed trains in Italy are really high speed. In just under 3 and a half hours, we had travelled half way across the country at an ear popping 250km/hr. The bed and breakfast we booked in Rome was about a 10 minute walk away from the Colosseum so after we checked in that night, we decided to head out for a walk. It was fun for me to revisit Rome and to actually know some of the sights before we arrived. It was Binnson’s first time to Rome and he was pumped to see the Colosseum and all of the old ruins laying around. We went for a huge walk that night, heading to the Trevi Fountain from the Colosseum and stopping to take pictures along the way. The weather was crazy hot and the humidity was making it seem even hotter, around 10pm it was still 30 degrees and the crowds outside of the Trevi were insane. We figured maybe it was also busy because it was Friday night and decided that we would come back on Monday night.
The next day we started out at the Il Vittoriano and went down to see the tomb of
the Unknown Soldier. There was a free museum inside- Museo Centrale del Risorgimento di Roma and we wandered around there seeking some shade and AC for a bit. Around the corner, we went to visit Museo Capitolini which happened to be displaying a temporary exhibition for Archimedes. Both us of were starving afterwards and we ducked into a tiny cafe on our way to the Pantheon. Moments after we sat down, the skies opened up and a huge thunderstorm let loose. We hung out in the cafe, eating some mediocre pizzas until we thought we were in the clear. As we stepped out, a huge crack of thunder and a sudden downpour ensued and the owners rushed us back into the cafe. “Sorry about the rain,” said the owner, “this is not normal”, “yes, AB-normal,” chimed in the guy behind the counter. There was an atmosphere about the place that I really enjoyed so I didn’t mind being trapped there for a little while longer, we grabbed some gelato from the counter and went back to our table.
The Pantheon was just closing for Saturday night mass when we got there, but the security guard said it would be
reopened to tourists in about an hour. We walked down to Plaza Navona and sat by a fountain while taking in some street performances, shaking our heads at people paying money to take pictures with the gold/silver/grey/purple/etc coloured man and attempting to photo-bomb some of their photos. After we finally made it in and out of the Pantheon, we walked to the Spanish steps and sat down by the fountain there. It was now apparent to us that Rome is just insanely busy during high tourist season as the steps were FULL of people. There was a line up of people to step onto the small platform in the fountain in front of us to have their picture taken drinking from the fountain or washing their face or doing whatever.
Sunday morning we headed straight for the Colosseum. We bought the Roma pass when we got to Rome, so we didn’t have to wait in any lines and basically shuffled right in. We spent the better half of our morning walking around the ruins while Binnson made every comparison that he could to the movie Gladiator, as if that was an accurate depiction of the history before him. The
combo ticket granted us access to the Palatino and the Roman Forum where we headed next. I couldn’t be less interested in these two things, walking around a bunch of rocks with no shade in 40 degree weather is just not as compelling to me as the other tourists who were excited to find Augusto’s casa. The skies started to cloud over and as a lightening show began, we popped into the museum at Palatino. Moments later it started raining HARD. The thunder shook the museum and the power flickered on and off as a ton of tourists ran inside to take shelter. We sat on some steps below a window for about 5 minutes until the rain poured in through the closed window and down the wall creating a big puddle right where we were sitting. The rain did not let up and the museum was not big, we opted for an angry birds tournament on my iPhone and then as the museum workers walked around jingling their keys signalling that it was closing, we pulled out our faithful green garbage bag poncho that had helped us in Milano before and our umbrella and headed back out. A few
minutes into the rain and it started to lighten up, we headed back to the Roman Forum for some pictures before walking to find Circus Maximo. This was my idea, not only did we get lost on the way there but when we did arrive, we renamed the place Crappinesss Maximus, there was nothing to see at all.
For our last day in Rome we went out to Vatican City. The night before we had made reservations for the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel for the afternoon and in the morning we went to St. Peter’s square and the St. Peter’s basilica with a quick stop to mail my Grandma a postcard from the smallest country in the world. The lines for the Vatican Museums were crazy long, it basically started as you walked out of St. Peter’s square and followed the entire length of the wall to the entrance, for only 4 euros/person our online reservation walked us right through the front doors with a quick flash of a cell phone ticket. The Museums were much too packed to really enjoy, but we were moved through the crowds for a couple of hours until we reached the end.
As the skies clouded up once again, we decided that it might actually be a great time to revisit the Trevi Fountain, surely the rain would deter some visitors and we could get some great pictures.
We squished beneath our tiny umbrella and walked in the light rain to the fountain, getting lost on the way- Binnson started to get irritated. After asking a couple of people for directions, we found our way and found a spot close to the front of a still completely crowded fountain in the rain. We sat there for a little while and as the rain came down a bit harder some of the tourists left for shelter and tourist groups departed. I told Binnson that I was ready to leave but he really wanted to get someone to take our picture in front of the fountain. We waited for a couple of poncho-ed tourists to clear the way and made our break to the front. I began feeling really nervous for some reason as Binnson went to ask a girl to take our picture; it just seemed to be taking too long - of course he would ask the only tourist who doesn’t
speak English. As she waved her friend over to help her, I stood in the rain soaking. Binnson finally ran back over and putting his hands around my waist leaned in close to tell me something. I interrupted him as the girl was waiting there and said, “Shouldn’t we smile for this picture already, it’s raining!” That’s when he said, “Cheryl, don’t freak out but I am about to ask you to marry me. We have been traveling the world together for 4 years and I can’t think of a better time to do this than now..." I, of course, freaked out. But he got on one knee and asked me to marry him in front of tons of strangers who of course clapped when I said yes. We freed the girl taking pictures and abandoned the most coveted spot in front of the fountain for shelter to take in what had just happened. Binnson had apparently been stressing out the entire trip about when to do it, I was oblivious with trip planning but I had noticed he was getting some extra white hairs :-). With that, we started our walk home and I had a celebratory glass of
wine. It was a great end to our stay in Rome.
Next stop, Florence.
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MOM and DAD
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Engagement
Congratulations!!!!