Roma Termini

The cradle of civilisation... if you can call it civilisation

After bumping ourselves up to a later train at no extra cost, we boarded for Rome. This would be our last Continental stop, since we had booked a Ryanair flight back to Nottingham for the 23 May. This was 20 May so that gave us about a day and a half in Rome, which would prove to be about right for us.

When we stepped off the train at Rome Termini, we could tell the weather was even hotter than it had been in Florence, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to provide any intermittent relief. Our first task, as usual, was to find our accommodation. Again we chose camping. The place was a bit complicated to get to, but we followed the instructions in the email closely and found ourselves in the Rome Metro. Much like its other European counterparts, once you know where you're going, it's quite easy.

Our next step was to take a bus. We waited and it arrived, and we sat near the front to keep an eye out for the supermarket, where we would have to get off. While we were seated, a couple of fiftysomething Canadian guys asked us where we were from. "Saskatchewan," "Where?" "Weyburn." It turns out this guy lived in Vancouver but was originally from Kinderseley and played hockey against the Weyburn Red Wings, Notre Dame Hounds, etc. They informed us that they were going to the camp as well, so the pressure was off to watch for the stop. Once we got there we thanked our Canadian guides and began the walk through the overpass to the campground.

A bubbly Italian woman checked us in to our cabin, or bungalow as they call them. This one was a stand alone mobile unit with ensuite bathroom. Pretty luxurious for the price. The campground had the usual bar/restaurant, market and Internet place. This one also had a pool and a gelati stand. We acquainted ourselves with our surroundings and then got back on the bus to head into the city. After all we didn't have much time to spend.

We decided we'd just go straight to the Colosseum and poke around the Ancient City area. This required the bus ride and then two Metro rides ending at the stop called Colosseo. When we came out of the station, the ancient arena was right there in front of us. We crossed the road like chickens, Italian-style, and then looked around for a while. The admission to go inside was €11, so we decided to pass on it. We walked all the way around instead, and then headed past the Arch of Constantine to the ruins of the Forum, where we spent a good hour or so strolling around. This site was unearthed in the Nineteenth Century after centuries of being buried following the fall of the empire. From the state of it, one would guess the site was felled by a bombing campaign, with pieces of columns strewn about.

At Piazza Venezia stands the Victor Emmanuel Monument, which is, like many places this time of year, covered in scaffolding. Next to it we stopped briefly at the also-scaffold-clad Trajan's Column, a freestanding column with very intricatetly-carved spiralling relief. Next to it was Trajan's Forum, all part of the ancient city of Rome. Looking out beyond that, things started going a little more Anno Domini. We walked northward toward the site of the Pantheon, a Second Century Roman temple, now a Catholic church. We arrived just as they were closing the doors, so we decided we'd come back the following day to see its great dome topped by its open eye on the sky.

We made our way back to the campground via the Metro at the Spanish Steps, and once there sat down at the restaurant to enjoy a meal discounted by the coupon handed to us when we checked in. I got a pizza, the best I had had in Italy thus far (though I must say Italian-style pizza is not my favourite style), and Darryl got a lasagne. We relaxed a bit after that, and let the day sink while we thought about the next one. Vatican City was the main destination. Once we had been there, we would be satisfied enough with Rome.

More on Rome in the next post. Be sure to check out the video at Darryl's site.

Cheers.