Five times to Italy but only once to Rome, part four

It's a Friday morning in Rome.  We woke up early, rode the train from Umbria, dropped our bags off at the hotel and hit the ground running.  We have two days before we fly home.  Rome is busy, crowded and wonderful. We've downloaded specialized maps and follow live, blinking blue dots on our phones.  For the heck of it, we trail behind a Japanese tour group.  And there it is, the Pantheon.

The Roman Pantheon

We pass though sixteen mammoth, single-piece Corinthian columns and walk inside.  Rebuilt in 126 AD, it's been in continuous use ever since.  Above us is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome with its oculus.

Of course it's crowded, but it's cool, dark and beautiful and I could stay here all day if I wasn't ready to eat lunch.

The oculus

Inside the Pantheon

Five times to Italy but only once to Rome, part three

At the top of the Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are beautiful at the top and crowded at the bottom.  It was morning and from what I understand, the worse time to sight see because the tour buses come, drop people off and collect them after lunch.  But we had things to see and we were out there with them.

I'd have stuck my head in the Camper shoe store in the Piazza di Spagna, but I was thirsty and thinking about the fresh-squeezed orange juice available in every street café.  Unfortunately we sat down outside a place on the main route to the Trevi Fountain and paid €6.

David's photo of the Trevi Fountain looking
like a scene from Mystery Science Theater 

It's pretty, but the crowd at the fountain was so dense we left, promising ourselves to come back after dark.  We snapped a few pictures and moved on to the Pantheon via the Piazza Colonna.  The Column of Marcus Aurelius (sometimes called the Colonna Antonina) is magnificent!

Marble victory column of Marcus
Aurelius at the Piazza Colonna

Giuseppe Vasi's 1752 etching of the
Piazza Colonna 

Five times to Italy but only once to Rome, part two

And back to Roma...
At this point on our September 2012 trip, we left Rome and headed for Umbria.  We stayed in Bevagna for about two weeks - I'll go into that later - and came back to Rome for two nights before flying home.

I asked a friend who knows Rome well what neighborhood he thought would be good for us.  He suggested the Spanish Steps or Piazza Barberini, to be close to sites we could see quickly and check off our list.

This is not the way we usually do it.  We like a small hotel in an area with residential amenities like markets and laundromats and we don't usually do the whirl-wind tour.  But we just had two days.  I was willing to take his advice.  I searched on Venere, cross referenced TripAdvisor and decided on La Piccola Maison near Piazza Barberini.

We left Bevagna and arrived in Rome after an hour and twenty minute train ride. Per instructions, we emailed the hotel to tell them we had arrived.  They answered right away.  Our room wouldn't be ready until after lunch but we could come now and drop off our luggage.  Again we left the train station, pulling our rolling bags behind us. It was a beautiful, sunny day.  The hotel was a 15 or 20 minute walk from the station and easy to find.  

We could have taken the Metro or a cab but we like to walk.  We learn our way around faster that way, plus it allows me to sit down in front of a plate of ravioli with a somewhat clear conscience.

La Piccola Maison

 After being buzzed into what looked like an apartment building, we headed up the stairs and were met on the first landing by our host, the charming Georgio.  There was a tiny lift for the luggage.  We continued up to the third floor.  There were no public areas, just a stairway and a hallway of doors.  The management sat in a small office.   We left our luggage and headed out.

The area immediately surrounding La Piccola Maison has hotels, apartment buildings and at least one embassy, but no real neighborhood feel or amenities.  There's a Metro station a block away and a handsome 17th century Bernini fountain in the piazza.  Using Google Maps on our phone, we walked around the corner, up a hill and found ourselves at the top of the Spanish Steps.

Roesler Franz's 1880 painting of the Piazza Barberini

Five times to Italy but only once to Rome

On our September 2012 trip to Umbria, we flew in and out of Rome.  We took the Leonardo Express train from the airport and had several hours to kill before boarding the train to Foligno.  We planned to check our luggage at the train station and get lunch.

The baggage check line was too long so we took off down the street pulling our carry-on rolling bags behind us.  We had Rick Steves' map of restaurants near the train station on our Kindle and within five or ten minutes found a spot we liked and sat down outside with some other tourists and had lunch.  
Target Ristorante via Torino, 33 00187 Rome 

Rome is full of American tourists.  They are everywhere.  Don't let this deter you, they aren't all Bermuda shorts and flip-flop wearing loud mouths.  Some are.

Roma Termini looking south from the Baths
of Diocletian

The train station is big and thick with friendly people wanting to help.  Don't be put off, just ignore them - unless you want to give them money.  If you hesitate and look puzzled trying to get your train ticket from the vending machine, a nice man will appear out of nowhere, show you how to do it and expect compensation.  It's a living.

Like any big airport or train station, Roma Termini is full of shops and restaurants.  Restrooms are on the lower level.  You'll need coins.  And there's a store downstairs where I bought some good Swiss shampoo.

I should tell you this right now, if you're buying coffee in a coffee bar or café, get in line and pay at the register, then take your receipt and go stand at the bar.   They'll sit the little cup right in front of you. It won't be "to go."

Our travel agenda is always simple.  We never try to do too much in one day, we are on vacation, after all.  The best thing is to tell yourself you're coming back.  You will be, won't you?