On this day, I opted for a walking tour of the city center
and see all the public monuments in Rome. The goals for the day were to see the
Spanish Steps, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain. After grabbing morning
breakfast, one person of the group decided to opt out and stay in. The rest of
the group headed out via bus to the city center. The first stop was the
Pantheon. Of course, with these locations located in the CBD, we stopped
along the way and perused the many shops and coffee houses while walking to the
Pantheon. Once we arrived in Piazza della Rotonda, the Pantheon was an
impressive building structure. I have found that the Italians like really large
building structures even though the streets are narrow. Walking inside, you
will find a constant recorded message of being quiet inside as a sign of
respect as it is used as a church. The
architecture and age of the building is quite impressive.
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| Pantheon |
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| Pantheon interior |
Afterwards, we wandered in the city center to do some high
end window shopping. If I was of the mindset of looking at high end Italian
designers, I might have been persuaded to purchase a purse or satchel. There
were a lot of street hawkers pitching fake purses. I was surprised that they
were that bold in front of the very stores they were imitating. I also came
across the first
McDonald’s in Rome,
Italy. I will say that the McDonald’s ambiance is very different, it is almost
Starbuck’s like with lots of woods and spacious seating areas. The menu was
basic and featured a focaccia burger. I’m not sure if Italians are impressed by
a focaccia burger but I suppose McDonald’s knows what they are doing. I did
order a “share box” which is an assortment of croquettes of parmigiana spinach
and brie with chicken nuggets. It was interesting mix but I don’t know if I
would go get another. I also noticed that there were no pies on the menu, just
ice cream - lots of sundae variations. I will add that the McCafe’s were really
good here, the desserts offered were high quality like the tiramisu.
Pressing on, we walked over to
Fontana di Trevi. Used in movie
backdrops, the fountain was massively crowded when we came upon the plaza. It
was so crowded that we opted to stay near the shops and enjoy the architecture
from a distance. In looking at the history of this fountain, an article popped
up about how much money is thrown in annually on the myth that one will return
to Rome. I suppose I am fated to not return since I did not throw any euros in.
Although I did read that many people do some money fishing in the fountain to
supplement their personal expenses.
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| Fontana di Trevi |
One of the many things you will find in Rome is gelaterias. I
am amazed that Italians are not fatter or diabetic with the amount of bakeries
and gelaterias per square mile. Hopped into Valentino Gelateria on Via del
Lavatore 96, 00187 Roma for a quick rest before heading out to the Spanish Steps.
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| Spanish Steps |
Once we came to the Piazza di Spagna, the crowds had not
dissipated but it was much more manageable to actually get near the steps.
Another famous movie backdrop location, it was a very picturesque area with the
church at the top of the steps and the Fontana della Barcaccia at the bottom of
the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps). The fountain is not
pretty but seemed popular with people. Another behavior I noticed is that there
are many fountains where people will get water to drink from. It didn’t seem
sanitary to me but it must be safe since there were many individuals refilling
their bottles with water.
After a long day of walking the streets, headed back to the
hotel to freshen up for dinner. Sticking close to the hotel, we wandered over
to
Taverna Rossini. We tried an
assortment of pasta dishes and pizzas in the quest for good Italian food. It
was not found here but the meal was fine. We were still trying to figure out
how not to get charged for bread as I’ve found the bread options not very good
at the restaurants especially for 1.5 euros per basket. I will say that the
desserts were very good!
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