Rome

As our final stop in Italy, Carrie and I left the beautiful Salento region and trained up to Rome. We love Rome and would like to have stayed and enjoyed all the city has to offer, but we were really just passing through on our way north. Rome is vibrant, noisy and packed with tourists, even late in October. There was not much intimacy here. We were just a part of the crowd. This is such a small world as twice on the same day we met families from Carmel, Indiana! One in a restaurant seated near enough to us that we heard them mention Carmel, and the others on our tour to the catacombs.

Carrie and I rented a nice suite in the Trastevere neighborhood, just across the Tiber River from all the main attractions in Rome. Our large flat gave us room to stretch out and relax, and contemplate the great fun we’ve had on our trip. We’ve realized that sometimes just a hotel room, with nowhere to sit and relax other than the bed is not enough for us. We strive to look for accommodations, in our price range, that offer a sofa or comfortable chairs, that give us more of a feeling of home.

Things alway change and at the same time they remain the same. The first time we were in Rome, we wandered a couple winding blocks from our hotel, and were astounded to meet the Pantheon, just standing there in the middle of a small square, where its been for a couple thousand years. It is still just as awe inspiring today. The only thing that has changed is that it costs several euros to walk in and see its glory now whereas it’s been free to do so for centuries. There was always a constant long line of tourists stretched out across the piazza waiting to enter. We also wandered by the Trevi Fountain site several times on our way around Rome, and are still amazed that it’s such a major tourist draw, when there are so many more interesting places to see here.

We only had a few days to enjoy Rome, so we joined a tour group that took us to several sites around the city that we had not seen before. One stop was at one of the many catacombs scattered around the city. It was quite impressive seeing bones and skulls used as decorations in some of the chambers. We wonder who thought that was a good idea! The tour also took us outside the city, along the ancient Appian Way, the road laid down by the Romans, to view one of the aqueducts, a marvel of Roman engineering.

We reluctantly said arrivederci to Rome and Italy after spending nearly a month here. The weather has been great, with mild temps and almost no rain while we’ve been here. We know that as we venture north we’ll be met with cooler days and rain, and we’ll probably have to get out the long pants and jackets that we’ve had packed away for this whole trip so far.