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Published: September 11th 2012
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Our apartment was located in Testaccio, a neighbourhood to the south of the Centro Storico. We chose the area as it was walking distance to the centre, yet hopefully would be off the normal tourist trail. It also had the added bonus of a neighbourhood square/playground which, as it turned out, proved to be a social hub for the area without tour buses, photo clicking tourists (well maybe just 3) or the crazy hustle/bustle that would otherwise define our time in Rome. Testaccio turned out to be our little oasis in the Eternal City, and provided some much needed downtime to recharge from the sensory overload that is Rome.
The apartment was quite spacious and well equipped and provided all that we needed. The only downside was that Rome was still very hot, and our apartment opened to an internal courtyard. The upshot was that it was very quiet, but also hot with no real breeze reaching our first level. Kohen got to enjoy "Geronimo Stilton" on television each morning. Whilst he has a number of the books in Australia, he has never seen the TV show as it originates in Italy, and the TV show is only in Italian.
Old & Very Old
Remains of Ponte Rotto in front of Ponte Palatino We spent our first day picking up some groceries from the local Supermercato, and, in my case, stocking up on Birra Moretti and Peroni - nice big 660ml stubbies. In the afternoon we ventured out towards the city, and true to my flaneur roots, with no particular plan or destination in mind. We found ourselves crossing over the Isola Tiberina, and being swallowed up into the mixture of ancient and really ancient original urban jungle. We didn't realise it at the time, but we had landed smack bang into the old Jewish Quarter or ghetto. Interestingly, the word ghetto derives from the Italian "borghetto" meaning Little Borgo which was a grouping of homes/buildings often outside Italian city walls, to describe an area where Jews or other groups were compelled to live. We came face-to-face with the first of our Roman ruins in the Portico d'Ottavia. Apparently, it was later incorporated into a Christian church, and here the Jewish population was forced to listen to sermons. Nothing quite like having religion stuffed down your throat.
From there we found a spot in the shade of the Teatro di Marcello to stop and enjoy lunch (and a Moretti). This was
great to see as the base is much like a smaller version of the Colosseum, but over time, the waste-not, want-not Romans have built apartments on top of the original structure - testament to the ingenuity and skill of the ancient craftsmen that these centuries old structures can form part of a (well, sort of) modern building. It was also great to catch some shade as Rome was sweltering in these last few days of summer.
We eventually made our way up Capitol Hill to see the Michelangelo designed square (Campidoglio) and a much needed water bottle refill at the "il nasone" - the big nose. At this point I should explain the water fountain situation to those who have not visited Rome. The ancient Romans prided themselves on a number of civil infrastructure feats which were well ahead of their time from hot and cold running water, sewerage systems to road networks (and accompanying tolls).Today, in the same tradition, Rome is littered with public water fountains with potable water flowing 24/7. Every fountain we found always had icy cold water which was a definite necessity at this time of year.
We completed the day with our first
look over the Roman Forum, and the walk home again. Kohen was a bit tired but soldiered through quite a bit of walking and extreme heat. To be honest though, we were all pretty well stuffed, and Kohen and I still didn't have the body clock in sync waking up at sparrow fart the first few mornings in Rome.
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