Sunday in Rome

I could have gone to see the pope in St. Peter’s Square but I wasn’t up for that. Instead, I took the metro train to the Trevi Fountain station.

I had seen the fountain briefly on my Vespa tour, but just wanted to see it again on this beautiful sunny day.

I decided to follow the crowds from the station, and ended up at the Spanish steps instead. The Spanish steps aren’t Spanish, they just used to lead to the Spanish embassy.

At the base of the steps is the Via Condosi, a famous street full of mostly high-end shops. Some of the shops had lineups outside due to covid limitations.

I wandered around there for a while then retraced my steps and found the Trevi Fountain. The first time I saw it I had raced down to throw a coin backward over my shoulder into the fountain so didn’t need to do it again. But maybe I should have! The coin toss is supposed to ensure that you return, and there I was back again the next day.

I found an outdoor table for a meal and was charged a 10% service fee, plus 2.50 euros for water. They say no tipping in Italy, but they’ve got that covered anyway I would say.

I like to try to find my way on my own, but gave in and used google maps on my phone to make my way back through the curved streets to the metro station.

That night I met with my G Adventures group. We are 11, plus our Italian tour leader, and the age range is 25 to 84! We went for dinner of a Roman style pizza (rice is included in the dough, making it really dense). Since our hotel was nowhere near anything, we had to search to find any after dinner entertainment. A few of us went for a hike across train tracks and through the ancient city wall to find a cool row of outdoor bars.

The next morning we set off on a “migrant tour”. It was meant to be led by an immigrant to Italy, to show the city from their perspective. It was a bit of a fail since the tour was led by an Italian – covid staffing problems. But we walked around a gritty area of the city I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

The best part of the walking tour was a Piazza Vittorio, a square around some rundown ancient ruins. There is a feral cat colony here where volunteers care for stray cats.

Cats are protected by law in Rome, and the feral colonies are tended by locals given the name “gattore”. The most famous “cat lady” was one of the most famous Italian actresses ever, Anna Magnani. I didn’t know at the time, but close by this colony is the most well-known feral cat colony, Largo di Torre Argentina. That square holds ruins including the building where Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE!

After the morning tour, I found a hop-on hop-off bus tour taking me around some of the major sights of the city. I had seen some of them at ground level but wanted the bigger picture, and I find these bus tours are great for that!

That evening we went for a set dinner of three traditional Roman pastas. One was cacio e pepe (much like kraft dinner), one was carbonara (made with very fatty pork cheeks) and the third was amalcitrana (with tomato sauce and pork cheeks). I have to say I’m not impressed with the pizza and pasta so far!