Rome #4, The City, Italy 1/2014
There are a few Cities in the World that truly stand out; San Francisco, Istanbul, Beijing, London, St. Petersburg. Rome, living, breathing and constantly changing, saturated with history, much of it dating BC, is surely among them, but after the Coliseum, the Forum and the Vatican, there is the City itself.
It was sound advice to absolutely NOT drive in Rome, so our trusty Garmin routed us through the narrowest, most congested, most chaotic part of the city it could find during the height of rush hour. At some length, we arrived at a safe RV parking facility just across the street from tram and bus lines, and we never moved. Drivers in Rome are even a bit humorous in their unconventional maneuvers and parking. Add to that thousands of Vespas and their clones and mix in a few hundred big bikes, 1200 cc “fat-tire” “crotch rockets” and it’s a real show.
Fortunately, the center of the city is walkable, and narrow alleys wind around sidewalk cafes and end up at beautiful plazas with spectacular fountains, including the most famous, the Trevi Fountain. If you throw a coin in, it guarantees that you will return. We did. Others, like the Fountain of the Four Rivers and Trione Fountain were positively amazing. How could these solid marble works of art be created with a chisel and a hammer? Often they were even more striking at night. Venders roasted chestnuts and street musicians entertained us.
As the saying goes, “Rome! A lifetime!” Indeed, three or four days gave us only a taste. We will come back someday.
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- This clean RV campground kept us out of Rome’s chaotic traffic.
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- The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument was one of the more impressive buildings in the Center of the City, topped by two chariots pulled by four galloping horses.
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- The magnificent Fontana del Trione by Gian Lorenza Bernini built in 1643-1643 intrigued us.
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- One of our favorites was the amazing Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) in the Piazza Navona, created in 1651.
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- The Fontana del Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Roman Pantheon featured a six-meter tall obelisk and was a favorite gathering place among locals and tourists alike. (1575)
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- The famous 18th century Fontana di Trevi was a Must See. It is the largest Baroque fountain in Rome and one of the most famous in the World.
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- We both threw in coin into the Trevi fountain to assure our return to Rome someday.
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- Parking a SmartCar was no problem. Just back in next to the motorcycles.
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- The smell of roasting chestnuts filled the streets.
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- This was Monika’s idea. How could I resist?
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- Street musicians entertained us as we wandered from piazza to piazza.
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- Being a tourist is hard work, so we had to sample some of Italy’s excellent wine along the way.
There are a few Cities in the World that truly stand out; San Francisco, Istanbul, Beijing, London, St…. http://t.co/8rzb8Kgeh9