First Full Day in Rome

Originally Posted on Christopher's Mister Elsewhere blog.

I was restless last night, and couldn't fall asleep for an hour or so after lying down in bed. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, my bed is a capsule-type situation here in Rome, so I attribute some of the restlessness to the boxed-in feeling of my place of rest. Some of it was definitely due to sleep deprivation and travel's compounding effects on my nervous system. I also woke up in a half-sweat half of the way through my sleep. I only got about 5 hours total.

Even though I slept so much less than desired, I still overslept my original ideal wake-up time by about 45 minutes. When I opened the sliding door of my coffin-cubicle mattress holder, I saw a roommate compiling things in her suitcase. I'd only seen her the night prior, as she'd been drinking during the large tenants' party on the lobby floor of the hostel. Her name was Rocío and she was from Mexico City. It was her last day in Rome. We conversed in simple English and Spanish for a little bit before I quickly prepared myself for the day.

I began by walking to Piazza Vittorio Emanuelle II, a small park a few blocks from my hostel. (I had to skip my original plan of walking to Tempio di Minerva Medica, because my walking tour began at 10:00am and I was leaving at 8:30 instead of 7:30). At the entrance to the park, I stopped to buy an americano. It was at that moment that I realized, unfortunately, that I'd left my wallet in the hostel and only had a bunch of U.S. cash on my person. I cancelled the americano order and walked into the park.

It was small, only about the small of a square city block, but it was a beautiful little resting and walking area in the midst of the bustling city. There were trees (including palms), structures, benches, paved areas, and a few small trails.

Photos from Piazza Vittorio Emanuelle II.

I exited the far side of the park and continued my journey toward Piazza di Spagna, where I'd meet my group for my morning walking tour. I was also, due to my late start, unfortunately skipping my planned breakfast. I speed-walked to the piazza, receiving a text from my tour guide on the way saying she would be 5 minutes late. I took advantage of this by exchanging some currency in the piazza and entering a nearby café, the name of which I cannot recall.

I ordered a latte and a croissant. Both were good, though I didn't exactly pause to enjoy them. I was on a mission to halt my hunger before a 2-hour walking tour.

I found my group, and was the second-to-last straggler. We started 15 minutes late. The tour guide was licensed (Italy requires its tour guides to be licensed) and very knowledgeable. She was a native of Rome and had been "guiding" for 20 years. She took us to giant pillar, that had had a statue of Marcus Aurelius on top originally. This sculpture had been replaced by a metal figure of St. Peter at some point. The pillar's base had Latin etched around it in neat lines, the Latin all in capitals without punctuation. I knew this meant it was the real deal, as my Latin professor told me years ago that punctuation was an invention of the Medieval Scholastics.

We were then ferried through some streets flanked by towering apartment buildings and first-level stores, our tour guide telling us we were in a popular shopping area. High-end retailers' illuminated branding signs, ensconced by snaking ivy, popped out from every direction.

A slightly accented voice beside me said, "So you're here alone, yeah?" I turned and saw a blonde-haired man in Reeboks. "Yeah." "Good, cause I think everyone else here are couples." I looked about. The estimation seemed accurate. 

I never actually got the guy's name, but he was from Berlin. He had a week off and wanted to explore Rome. He'd been to Italy numerous times, but never been to Rome. He had spent a cumulative 3 weeks in Naples, Sicily, Milan, Pima, and Sienna. He told me that November was a good time to come to Italy, since it's avoided for the proverbial "cold." He laughed. "I don't know what it's like in Southern California, but when I left Berlin it was like 5 degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit). This is like summer." 

We emerged from the shopping area into a square. I saw a tall pillar before me. I turned to the left and saw the Pantheon. There was a giant line leading toward a sandwich shop. Must be amazing I thought to myself. That's when I noticed the line slinking away from the entrance of the sandwich shop at the last moment and turning to head back toward me. I followed it with my eyes: it was a snaking line to enter the Pantheon, about 200 people deep. I gave the sandwich shop a consolatory it's got great real estate in my mind. At this point we were gathering around the tour guide, who had halted at the stage-right side of the Pantheon, away from the massive line.

Images from Piazza Navona. The middle photos shows the Fiumi fountain.

She told me that the tall pillar was actually an Egyptian obelisk that predated the Roman Republic by 500 years. I stared at it closer, squinting, and could see hieroglyphic etchings in the stone.

By the time we reached the close of the tour, we'd seen the Pantheon, Fiumi fountain in Piazza Navona, part of an archeological dig (Rome is built on ruins and they're always finding new items, we were told), and the Mausoleum of Hadrian. I parted ways with everyone at the tour's conclusion, but not before learning the nationalities of everyone in the group. There were Germans, Australians, Lithuanians, Brazilians, Belgians, Americans, among others. The tour guide thanked us for coming to Rome and explained that the city and a lot of Italy's economy is built on tourism, imploring us to "please come back."

I wandered off, using my GlocalMe wifi to look up the directions to Easy Bike Rent Rome. I debated with myself whether the rental fee would be worth taking two-thirds off my walking time. (Spoiler: I'm seriously glad I rented a bike for a few reasons, which I'll explain a bit later.) It took me a good 25 minutes to get to the shop on foot. It was a little hole-in-the-wall between two restaurants on a one-way road.

I asked the owner for the cheapest bike possible. He brought out a no-frills street bike with fenders. It would be 40 Euros for 5 days, he said. Lock included. He asked me for a credit card to hold, but I'd forgotten my wallet. He allowed it to slide after a few moments of awkwardness. (I've got the bike locked up in the backyard of the hostel, which should be plenty safe!)

I rode away on my new bicycle, going back to my hostel. I'd forgotten where I was supposed to go for lunch, and my itinerary was only on my laptop. (I've decided to email myself my itinerary every morning from now on.) I realized then that riding a bike in Rome was not unlike riding a bike in Chiang Mai, Thailand. People drive differently in Rome, or possibly Italy in general (we'll see once I moved cities). I was told people drive crazy here, but I'd have to say that it's nowhere near as crazy as driving in Tijuana, Mexico. And also nowhere near as crazy as most places in Thailand, where they ignore lanes completely, squeezing 6 vehicles onto 4-lane highways. 

This is just to say that I actually enjoyed the thrill on riding along with the motorists through Rome, and I noticed that most people are paying attention and are attentive to you as a cyclist on the road. I also noticed that people expect you to cycle on the road and not the street.

The second major realization I had was that renting a bike was a great idea to help me burn off all of the high-calorie pasta, pizza, and baked goods I was consuming. Rome has some legitimately long and steep hills, and they are sometimes the fastest route from point A to B. I biked about 30 miles in total today, which was completely unexpected and insane. My legs hurt, but it was really fun and exciting. I also covered a ton of ground travelling this way through the city, and glimpsed a lot of things I wouldn't have if travelling by foot (mainly because I would've only covered a third of the ground in the same amount of time).

I arrived at my hostel sweating. My laptop told me that I was supposed to go to Pane e Salame, a highly regarded sandwich shop, for lunch. When I arrived, I could read nothing on the menu, as they gave no English equivalents for a lot of the items. The restaurant was also extremely busy, so there wasn't really any time to ask when ordering for take away. What I ended up with was sautéed zucchini, brie, and turkey on French bread. I rode away from the bustle to a set of stone steps a block or so away. I sat down and began eating.

The sandwich was really good, despite my hesitations about the zucchini. I mean, it was really good. The bread was really nice, crisp, and fresh. The zucchini and brie mixed really well and had a great overall flavor. The turkey was very tasty as well. While I was eating, three Italian girls were posing for Instagram photos next to me in front of a giant, dark blue door.

I decided that I needed a coffee and remembered that there was a café next door to Pane e Salame. I went back and got an americano and decided to also have a strawberry gelato. Both were excellent and concluded the lunch well.

I was behind schedule, but I decided to check out the Prati a little bit anyways, even though my phone was dying and I'd be unable to catch very much. I rode through the streets and found a nice roundabout with a park and a central statue in the middle of it. I rode around and around a few times and then rode down a major street that was overhung by large trees with autumn foliage. In the shopping area of the Prati, I passed merchants selling cashmere, some large sweets stores, and more. I noticed my phone was at 1% and decided to head back to my hostel to recharge before getting completely lost halfway across the city.

At the hostel, I recharged all of my electronics, drank some water, and did a bit of work. I joined my team meeting at work and chatted with everyone for a little while. When the meeting ended, I took off on my bike again, heading to La Soffitta Renovatio in Piazza del Risorgimento. There I was greeted by the restaurant manager (or owner?), and older gentleman named "Maximino." He was the first person in Italy to check my vaccination card, which I actually really appreciated after such an anti-climactic experience entering the country. He was a really nice guy whose banter was sincere.

I ordered a caprese salad with "creamed basil" and ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach. The creamed basil was incredible. It was one of the best basil-items I've ever had. It went so well with the tomatoes and cheese. The pasta was delectable. The best I've had in Rome thus far. It was super flavorful, perfectly balanced, and the cheese sauce it was in was subtle-yet-powerful. The waitress convinced me to order a coconut cake for desert with my decaf americano. The cake was also very subtle, but it was refreshing. I've never really hard a refreshing piece of cake before, so this was new for me.

After paying and leaving, I hit my original dessert plan on the way back home. The place is called Two Sizes, and it is a highly rated tiramisu spot. Finding Two Sizes also made me aware of a highly, highly trafficked dinner alley: Via del Governo Vecchio. I might need to come back here, as I saw numerous restaurants with large lines outside of them. I should at least look them up? Anyways, the Nutella cake item I bought alongside the tiramisu at Two Sizes ended up being better than the tiramisu, in my opinion. It was actually kind of insanely good. It was topped with white chocolate flakes.

I did one final bike ride back to my hostel, locked the bike up, and worked for about an hour and a half. I'm going to sleep now! I think I'll actually get a real night of rest! Finally!