I won’t go into the history of Rome since most/all of you are quite familiar with it, at least for the ancient part. If you are planning to go to Rome to frolick among the Roman ruins and love losing your time in them, then either go while you are single, go without your significant other, or hope that your significant other will tolerate your obsession with Roman ruins. I was traveling with my mother, and she had enough Roman ruins by 12:30 For €12, you get access to both the Colosseum and the HUGE archaeological area. I only saw maybe half of it after nearly 3 hours of walking around. There are other Roman ruins spattered around the city, but they are not too difficult to spot (a funny story about that later). If you are wise and plan to stay in Rome for more than one day, I highly recommend getting a Roma pass or a tourist bus pass. They give you unlimited access to the metro system, bus system, and tram system, and some passes give you access to the sights in Rome. They can only be bought at metro stations (cash only, usually!) or train stations. There are kiosks at some tram stops, but they only take coins, so they are impractical unless you have overly-copious amounts of change. The public transportation stinks, but it is what it is. Anyway, here are the pictures I promised:
And here is a random coin minted in Rome to make this thread legal. Post your pictures and coins from Rome!
And the funny thing I promised: There was an intersection near where I was staying that was built completely around an aqueduct. I felt I was risking my life every time I was getting through this intersection. Thus I was inspired to write this little bit of wittisicm. Conversation between two DOT civil engineers in Rome: #1: we need an 8-lane road here. #2: but there is a Roman aqueduct there. #1: exactly. How can we make this work? #2: have cars merge into one-lane passages beneath the arches and expand back into 8 lanes? #1: how the heck will that process be safe and orderly? #2: cars have horns. #1: you are a GENIUS!!!
I'll be spending the summer there (with my daughters and my mother hopefully) in 3 years when I'm on sabbatical. I am looking forward to enjoying the art, history and food. My daughters are looking forward to seeing cats in the Colosseum. Did you see many cats?
I still remember stepping out of the metro and seeing the Colosseum for the first time. Funny how the metro is so close to the major tourist attraction. Hopefully I'll go back there someday!
After my wife and I, with another couple, visited Italy in late 2016, I wrote a series of "trip reports" for my friends and siblings. We had spent four days in Rome, and at the end of that segment of our trip, I summarized my observations with the following note: Random thoughts and observations about Rome I would never want to drive a car in Rome. The fundamental anarchy of Roman drivers reduces all traffic laws to mere suggestions, although I observed surprisingly little horn-honking and road rage. If Google, Tesla, et al. think they’re ever going to get driverless cars to work in Rome, my advice to them is: Guess again, guys. Not gonna happen. Many of the Romans seemed to appreciate the little Italian we knew. Our Colosseum guide would say “Perfetto” every time we used an Italian phrase correctly. Our Catacombs and Crypts guide was momentarily speechless when I replied “Mia moglie non e qui” after she asked if everyone had returned from a bathroom break. I don’t think she thought an American could say “My wife isn’t here” in Italian, although she recovered quickly and said to me “perfetto” (although I might have I heard a muttered “idiota” following “perfetto”). While some of the Romans didn’t appear to even acknowledge our efforts at Italian (or answered in English), others would respond by conversing in Italian far beyond my comprehension level, as when I asked the owner of a shop selling Murano glass “Quanto costa” and she responded with what sound like a couple paragraphs describing the Murano factory from which she bought the glass and how long they had been in business. Very little of it was coherent to me. Using the Rome Metro made me feel a lot more like a traveler rather than just a tourist. I grew to like that, despite the crowded trains and concern about pickpockets. It’s faster to take the Metro and walk to your destination than to take a car or a cab, and you experience a certain amount of freedom knowing you’re not always obligated to a taxi or car service to move around the city. The tap water in Rome was incredibly good — better, in my opinion, than the tap water in [my home town]. Rome prides itself on its tap water and with good reason (in my experience). Our hotel’s breakfasts were the best we experienced — just about everything you could want (scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, hash browns, cheese, fruit, pastry, croissants, cereal... the list is endless). I stopped eating lunch since I was so stuffed after breakfast. This kind of buffet breakfast would cost $40 or more in most major cities. We didn’t eat at fancy restaurants, but the food was good although a little pricey for the portions. My wife had trouble finding dishes without cheese (she's lactose intolerant), so meat-sauce and pasta ended up being a staple. Most restaurants added a “coperto” -- a euphemism for “tip” that translates as “cover charge” in Italian. Depending on the cost of the meal, the coperto amounted to 12% - 18% and we only added more tip if we especially liked the waiter or the food. We tried to sample each restaurant’s tiramisu, and they varied a lot; one night we had an astonishingly good tiramisu, while at the same restaurant the following night, it wasn’t quite as good. But that’s what you get when the restaurant makes a new batch of dessert every day. Still don’t understand why hotels bother with bidets in the bathrooms. Bigger showers and double sinks would be a lot more useful. We had visited Ostia on our last day. Some of my favorite recollections of that visit: An ancient local restaurant's menu in Ostia, and the dishwashing area: Ancient lore has it that the proprietor was named Macrinus Donaldus and boasted of “Over MMMMMDDDDDCCCCXII served” in a sign above the restaurant. And, of course, Ostia's mosaics and public toilets:
My thoughts as well. And crosswalks only give you significant legal leverage if a car hits you. They are not at all safe (crosswalks said walk when the traffic light was green, etc.). How to drive in Naples or Rome: Lanes? Never heard of ‘em. Pedestrians? They deserve to be hit. Right of way? My horn is louder. One-way street? Optional. Need to stop? Park in the middle of the road. Traffic lights? Optional if you are in a hurry. Riding a scooter? Do whatever the %#@& you want.
Where our apartment was, nobody really spoke any English. I was overjoyed at finding out that a man who ran a fish shop across the street from us spoke some English that I promptly talked his ear off. After that first encounter, I would stop in every once in a while. When my cousin went back to Rome on a second trip a couple of years ago, apparently the man who ran the fish shop remembered me, so at least I made an impression. I still remember the nasoni that was on the street corner next to our apartment. Such good water. My family also visited Ostia. I loved it. Unfortunately, I did not have a phone at the time, and thus I have no photos at hand. Some of my relatives do though (and a photo of some aurei and aes grave! I am so happy that photograph was taken because otherwise I would've forgotten about which coins were there completely).
Imperial architecture is impressive, massive, and makes quite the statement. Compare it all to this Temple and narrow street built around 100 years before Imperial times. Its not what you'd expect the capital of the world to look like....small and rather conservative architecture, unorganized streets with buildings cutting through part of the road, buildings with stone facades instead of marble, unleveled streets full of bumps and holes, etc. This is the only picture I took of this dig, which was uncovered in the 1930s, though it is an entire street of Republic era buildings, and all look so small and simple compared to the imperial stuff we are used to. I'm regretting not taking pictures of the entire thing, but I was half drunk and in a hurry to get to a pizza place.
Hilarious but true. Everyone was crossing the street at will no matter if cars were coming. I remember one time everyone was patiently waiting while the light was red and contemplated just crossing the street until I saw a Carabinieri just standing there itching to give someone a ticket if they dare cross while red. While I visited a small town I decided to stop to get groceries and the closest parking was in front of a park that had no parking signs posted. I decided to risk it as the entire street was full of cars with only one little spot open, and I was only going to be a few minutes. After I came back (maybe 5 minutes later) every single car on that street was gone except for mine which of course had a ticket on the windshield.
Was there visiting my daughter for 8 weeks. Seen alot of IV drug useage around tourist routes and along water fronts. Was sadden with the carefree drug acceptence
