Travel Day 9 – The Other Side

After travelling around Rome for yet another day it was time to see the other side of Rome. After today we will have literally walked all of Rome (or well most) on foot. Just to give you a frame of reference it was approximately 80,000 steps walking the main attractions and the city itself. Every step was worth it, and I have the pictures to prove so (unfortunately 80% are on my camera and I got just a few on my phone to show off).

To begin the day, Dean had the glorious (and I actually mean glorious) idea to sleep in. After the meal we had the night before I had no complaints whatsoever in that decision so I got up around 9:00 to shower and get breakfast and woke Dean up before I went down. We are and as Dean went up to shower and get ready for the day I started talking to a lady named Hillary who’d just come from Istanbul, Israel. It has actually been amazing some of the wonderful people we have met here, their tales of adventure and their wonderful takes on life. After Dean and I were ready we set off at about 11:00 to experience the day. Yes it was much later than previous days, but as I said thank goodness for Dean and all his wisdom in sleeping in (my feet have thanked you ever since).

We set off to head North as we explored the Ponte Sisto, Campo de’ Fiori, St. Angelo Bridge, Castle St. Angelo and Piazza Navona before lunch. Dean made a great itinerary for the morning fun and we travelled to some really incredible places. The bridges were very nice, but not as luxurious as some of the others we’ve seen. The Campo de’ Fiori, while a bustling miniature city market, is nothing to really run through unless you’re looking for some great produce or cheap trinkets. Also, while the castle is a mark on the water I feel unless you traverse up it (which we didn’t) you won’t truly know what it feels to be a king. Finally the Piazza Navona is always a bustling rush of tourists.

While I glanced over what we did, really it was just sightseeing at its finest. We took pictures, ate some gelato and browsed the city before we made it to more spectacles. We ate lunch in the piazza, and the food was adequate at the restaurant I can’t remember the name of, but we had a great view of the piazza and the crowd of tourists hurriedly running from one spot to the next. After lunch (we ate late at about 14:00 as we had left later than we do) we made our way over to the big sights of the day: the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and finally the Spanish Steps.

Each of these masterpieces yet again astonished me. The Pantheon for the sheer glory of its design is always my favourite. The semi-circular dome that rests at its peak, housing the tomb of the great Raphael and an outstanding church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs.

The Trevi Fountain is pristine and an enormous tourist hot spot, both at night and during the day. It’s a fight to get to the front to toss your coin in (lucky I did it at night promising to once again come back to Rome) so Dean and I made our way for him to toss his. We both howled at how great this shot is of him tossing his coin and I hope you have a chuckle too as he gives a thumbs up to the camera.

Note: If you zoom in just above his head to the left you can see the coin mid flip. It’s hard as it is horizontal to the camera but it’s there.

Finally the Spanish Steps were also luxurious. While we didn’t stick around long, we took some pictures and began the ascent to the top where we got some amazing pictures of the cityscape. The view after climbing is gorgeous, but if you continue to climb some more afterwards you can find better and better views. After climbing make your way over to Park Villa Borghese. This giant park not far from the steps was the last stop of the day. Dean and I with our parks I swear they have been just as much if not more so the better parts of our journey. I plead you to visit if you get the chance as this is a monstrous park filled with a grandeur of trees and grassy fields for civilians to stroll across or relax on.

Each and every place in Rome has been magnificent and I am sad to go to Florence tomorrow but also excited. Once more we get to find new slightly touched tourist spots as we walk every inch of the city we can, and I hope I can give you all some more useful places to visit. Till then!

~Spencer