Roman Holiday...

By the time we reached Rome, our jetlag was almost gone and we got up fairly early. Our hotel had a breakfast for 10 euros per person. But since we knew that we could get a fairly cheap dinner just outside our hotel, we skipped that. Once we stepped outside, we were hit what looked like a flea market, the oppressing heat was the other thing. It was hot and a little humid and it was not even 8 in the morning!!!!

We stepped into a coffee shop which was buzzing with activity. We tried to order cafe latte. However, the Starbucks training we get in US led us to ask us for Latte. The lady kept on repeating "latte latte??" and thought we kept on saying yes, she was asking again and again. Finally a guy who looked like an Asian, asked us if we wanted a latte and finally the lady shrugged a little and went into the kitchen. A little later she returned with two steaming glasses of milk and a big question mark on her face!! Latte really means milk in French (italian as well must be). Sheepishly, we drank the milk and stepped out.

We walked back to the train station and found hundreds of tourists, locals all waiting in a line for a hop on bus. We did not know what that was all about, so we thought we would be able to manage with a map and unlimited day pass like we did in Amsterdam. However, we were soon proven wrong. The chaos and the heat just did not make it worth it. We joined the several others and bought the day pass for the double-decker open bus. I think that was the wisest decision. They take you to the top 10 tourist destinations and you can hop on and off whenever you want.

The first few places were that we saw were the Piazza Venezia, another excavation site, an old market kind of building and then finally we reached the Colloseum. It was the one things that I was absolutely excited about being in Rome. You have to be aware of the several tourist guides who will try to get you to pay for the tours. We had to wait in the line to get in. People cut in the lines, and you just have to wait patiently. We got a guided tour where the guide rattled off how it used to be covered in marble, how there was hierarchical seating, where the clergy sat.

After that, we saw the king's palace, which is a bit of a let down and then headed towards Vatican city. It was amazing. No other word. Its beautiful and strangely peaceful. The only problem was that it was HOT. Fortunately the Romans made sure that there is fresh drinking water fountains. From there we went to the church with the face (remember Roman holiday?). But it was closed. I was not going to stick my hand in it anyways. :)

Finally we went to the Trevi Fountain which was breathtaking. After a very very long day, we found the perfect Italian cafe where we rested our tired legs. Finally we rushed to catch the last bus back and went to all the places again by sunset and night. The bus stopped at Vatican again and just waited there in the night..so peaceful!!

The next day, we stopped by the only thing we had missed, the Spanish Steps. It was okay. The thing that strikes you about Rome is how much its like India. Yet the charm that it exudes almost makes you think like you are a princess who has run away from home to have the time of your life....