When in Rome

Over the first few days in Italy, I've seen many things that kind of confirm some preconceptions I'd had. The police drive Alpha Romeos and wear designer uniforms. The food is freaking amazing. Street vendors tout handbags and purses. The street vendors are great to watch actually. They lay their bags out in a slow, methodical manner. They then stand over them, making small presentational tweaks to their stock, while keeping a keen eye out for potential buyers (and I assume the police). They are true professionals. I didn't see a single one of them make a sale.

On our arrival, we went for a wander through the city. It may have something to do with the (incredibly) cheap wine, but my jaw was scraping the pavement as I walked around. Rome is beautiful. It's not just the Colosseum - there seems to be stunning buildings, sculptures and fountains all over the place. The whole city is surrounded by history, stories and brilliant architecture.


The Colosseum was still the clear highlight. Much of it has decayed, but you can see where the hidden pits that lions and tigers used to spring up from were kept. The shape slightly threw me - it's oval rather than round, although that hardly matters. The place also seems to be a romantic hotspot. By this, I mean we saw a good half dozen newly wedded couples turn up for a romantic photo-shoot. It does kind of raise the question of how special your special day can be when you see other couples doing the exact same thing, but they seemed happy enough so I didn't mention it directly to them.


Another highlight was the Trevi fountain. It's slightly hidden away, but needs to be seen for you to appreciate it's complete insanity. Coming out the side of a large building, the fountain features god-like men and giant galloping horses, all spurting water out in a rage. We left here in a daze for the Spanish steps - a famous meeting point for lovers. It became pretty apparent that turning up here without one left you looking a bit stupid.



Rome made for a nice start to the trip. We were heading deep into renaissance territory afterwards, so it was good to start out with some old Roman stuff. Having said that, it was quite wierd seeing loads of stuff related to Hadrian. If you're not aware, I grew up near Hadrian's wall, so it was quite surreal seeing statues about a guy who had such a big impact on my local area so far away from home...