Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice
English Translation: If you seek a monument, look around you.
There was a fun moment when Dallin and I were walking across a bridge and he turned to me and said, “Hey Elder!” It was a hysterical moment, but accurately portrayed what I think was on both of our minds. We were two guys in a foreign country that were absolutely exhausted from walking, but having an incredible time.
This morning we had a later start than yesterday since we were quite exhausted, but that didn’t stop us from jumping right into things. We grabbed some gelato for breakfast and went on our way. Lindsey has decided that we must each eat twenty helpings of gelato before the end of the week. I am absolutely loving the stuff, but I don’t think I will be having quite that much. That doesn’t mean I won’t be eating a lot though. We made good time this morning because Allie did a great job of mapping out our different destinations and writing out directions. Our first goal was to go to the Pantheon. It’s this huge structure that is absolutely beautiful. It has a large dome in the center, and the dome actually has a large hole in it that lets the sunlight shine in. The Pantheon was once a Roman building, but was later converted into Catholic Church. The outside structure has some typical Roman architecture with Corinthian columns, but the inside is decked out with catholic paintings and imagery. It was all so beautiful. I also discovered the tomb of Raphael. I had no idea it was there, so that was a fun thing to stumble upon.
Surprised at how many obelisks we see each day. This one is just outside the Pantheon
The fountain at the base of the obelisk
Jace Face and the Pantheon
A view from the inside
Raphael's tomb
It's funny how something so big can sneak up on you. "Oh my gosh! There it is!"
I'm a fan
My next attempt at Panoramic
Wish making and photo taking (I make a weird wish making face)
Our group at the fountain
After spending a good chunk of time at the Trevi Fountain we stopped for lunch at a café. I decided to go for pizza again, which was delicious and huge, as usual. A typical pizza plate here is beautifully large. Alli the navigator then guided us to our next destination, the Catacombs of Priscilla. The catacombs were previously the burial grounds for many different Christian peoples. The catacombs no longer have the bodies as they had been claimed by bandits, but they still feature old paintings and the original layout from the burials. We had quite the interesting experience, as the tour guide did not speak any English, and all the members of our tour group were English speakers. Usually they provide tours in English, but the one guide that actually speaks had an appointment to give the German tour at the same time. Instead they have an Italian guide show us through the catacombs while Jennifer read the guide’s script in English, and attempted to communicate with our tour guide in Italian. The catacombs were really great and between Jennifer’s basic Italian, as well as my own Spanish and the Italian of another woman in our tour group, I think we managed to figure out most of the tour. It was pretty creepy but simultaneously brilliant. Plus it was such a unique experience the way the language situation worked out. (No pictures allowed, unfortunately).
We stopped briefly for more gelato, as we have become quite fond of the stuff. It’s always fun to try and figure out the different flavors with the language barrier. Some are easy to figure out like chocolate, but then you start seeing things that you have no idea. I think I discovered hazelnut today!
Our final planned destination was the Spanish Steps. It’s a large staircase that is set on the slope between a piazza and the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The steps are beautiful, but the area is also pretty well known for the church at the top and the fountain at the bottom. The unfortunate thing for our adventure was that both the fountain and the church were under construction, so both were pretty obscured by scaffolding and metal. The view was still beautiful and I really enjoyed the steps. Since it was one of the typical tourist traps, we were assaulted on all sides by street vendors. We’ve learned very quickly that you just need to tell them no over and over because they will harass you for a while if you don’t. Like follow you around and try and force the items on you. Don’t ever accept anything, because the moment it is in your hand they will expect money in return. It’s fun stuff. I think I am far too smiley because they like chatting with me.
Still impressed with The Spanish Steps, despite the construction
By this point we had finished all our planned activities, but it was still pretty early (around five). We all had different ideas about what we wanted to do and some of the girls were pretty tired, so we decided to split up and do our own thing. Dallin and I decided to explore all over the place. I was actually pretty excited because I feel like the best way to get to know an area is to navigate it pretty blindly and attempt to find your way. We went all over the place and discovered some amazing new places. As we explored even more I could feel the different destinations clicking in my brain and suddenly I found myself navigating like a pro!
We found some pretty cool stuff too! I love the feeling of discovering new things that we may have missed otherwise. Dallin bought a really cool painting that we saw a man paint on the street. He was a spray paint artist, and it’s really cool to see the stuff they can create! We then went over and took pictures in front the Altare della Patria, a giant monument built in honor of the first King of Italy. This thing is massive! We often use the chariots that stand on either side of the building as landmarks to find other things! It is used for lots of stuff, like a museum and official state business I suppose. Next to that we found some ruins that once served as forum. We even discovered yet ANOTHER cat sanctuary. Apparently these are a big deal here! There are cats crawling over these ancient structures! It’s so weird!
Don't know quite what these are, but they look cool!
Altare della Patria
Roman ruins and amazing buildings
And......another cat sanctuary. So. Random.
Our next plan of action was to discover the Boca della Verita, (The Mouth of Truth). It’s an old Roman image carved in the shape of a face. The stories state that if you place your hand inside of the mouth and tell a lie, it will bite your hand off. Movie buffs or Audrey Hepburn fans may recall that it was feature in Roman Holiday. On our way there, we discovered a second colosseum. It’s much smaller than its more famous counterpart, but still incredibly impressive. Other discoveries include: bridges, sunsets, baby pantheons, fountains, riversides, and additional cat sanctuaries. We did eventually discover the Boca della Verita, but had not realized that the church courtyard where it resides closed at five! Poop! I did manage to snap a picture, though I really wanted to stick my hand in that mouth. As we were walking away the sun was setting and it was incredible! Dallin and I walked down some stone steps and walked along the Tiber River. It was so amazing. I told Dallin that sometime I would have to return, but with a special girl at my side. Such a romantic view, wasted on two guys. Bwhaha. We even had a man playing Italian music on the bridge! It was a movie! A FREAKING MOVIE!
Colosseum Junior
How cool is it when you can just stumble upon stuff like this?
Parthenon Junior
Sunset at the Piazza della Boca
No editing or anything. Just the sun and some beautiful artwork
Someday I will stick my hand in that
View of the river
Two Elders friends hanging out
Nighttime river walk
We had planned to meet up with the girls at Trevi Fountain, but it didn’t work out to well because we arrived a bit early and they arrived a little late. It was almost more amazing at night, and even more crowded! We sat and visited for a while as we waited, and I had one of those moments where I thought: “This is fantastic. I am in Rome.”
Despite a small hitch in the metro system (our train decided to fail), we found our way home and are now turning in for the night. Time to sleep so we can face another day of adventures!
Trevi Take II
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