When in Rome…
We arrived in Rome around noon yesterday and quickly realized how difficult it is to drag two 38+ pound suitcases through cobblestone streets. Our apartment was only a 5ish minute walk from a nearby metro stop, but we had to climb what we now refer to as the mountain of stairs. With our bags. On cobblestone. Finally making it to the apartment, we reconvened and headed out to our first must-see of Rome: the Colosseum.
We stood overlooking the main area of the Colosseum for about 10 minutes, taking in the size and trying to figure out how big it was in terms of football fields, basketball courts and other relative measures of size that we were familiar with (we’re still not sure because metric to US unit conversions are hard, and ovals are weird). It was amazing to look around and try to imagine the stadium completely full of people in its heyday.
Unfortunately, the tunnels underneath what used to be the Colosseum floor were being restored, so no groups could go down. It was probably for the best anyways, as we noticed so few things were signposted in the Colosseum, and we probably wouldn’t have totally known what we were looking at anyways. Also not well signposted, the exit. We probably circled the Colosseum twice before finding the exit, but hey, when in Rome!
Today, we tackled more history at the Roman Forum. Although we weren’t always sure what we were looking at, again due to the lack of signs (but Apple maps and the internet were helpful here), we really enjoyed the views from the Palatine Hill, allowing us to see the entire Forum from above.
I also found a spot my mom clued me in on called the Rostra. This was a large platform where many historical figures we learned about in school gave speeches to the public. Most notably, it was where Marc Anthony gave his “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” speech at Caesar’s funeral. Also, Emma found something she (and probably some of you, too) had never seen — orange trees! We had a lot of fun running around the Palatine Hill trying to find the best orange tree to take her picture with. The winner is pictured below along with a picture from the overlook on the hill. It does a nice job of showing the view of the Forum in the direction that looks towards the Colosseum.
Feeling ambitious in what we could tackle today, we then made our way towards the Spanish Steps via the Trevi Fountain. I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but we are so thankful that the winter season in Europe means fewer people and shorter lines. This really proved to be useful at the Trevi Fountain, where everyone was fighting for a spot to get their picture taken and to throw a coin in. Emma and I looked up the proper coin-throwing technique at lunch (hold the coin in your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder) and were prepared! We did it three times specifically so we could get a photo individually, a video individually and a video together, but apparently we also fulfilled the number of coin throws that legends suggest. One throw to ensure a return to Rome someday, two to ensure a new romance and three to ensure marriage. Stay tuned on how those turn out!
After the fountain, we headed towards the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps are cool for a number of reasons, but one of the main ones is that they are super irregular in design. There is a mix of curves, straight and flat areas, terraces and vistas. They’re really quite stunning whether you look from the bottom or look from the top. Emma and I were also lucky to find a nice British couple to take our picture at the top of the lower portion of the stairs.
To end the day, we went to Babington’s Tea Room, a traditional English tea room right at the foot of the Spanish Steps. We had researched this and a famous coffee shop (which we will mention in another post once we go back to it) because both have been around for years and years. In the case of Babington’s, it has been in business for 125 years and has been run by the same family for that same length of time. They have served foreign dignitaries, celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and even the Queen of England! She even has her own special black tea blend that they created for her visit.
Also on their menu were The 7 Teas of Rome, a tea list with seven blends inspired by the atmosphere and energy of different places in Rome. Among others, there was a white tea inspired by the water of the Trevi Fountain and desire to return to Rome one day and an oolong inspired by the colors and vibrancy of the Sistine Chapel. We ordered their afternoon tea (no surprise there) and really appreciated the warm drinks and yummy tea biscuits after a jam-packed day full of sightseeing. Emma had Earl Grey Imperial Blend, and I had White Passion, a white tea with citrus fruits.
We ended the day warm, happy and utterly in awe of all the history Rome has to offer.
