One wet, grey day in Rome

Monday 25th Sept 6.10pm

Thank you for the best wishes that my second visit to Rome would be better than the first. I am pleased to say it was. But unfortunately not by much. It was cheaper though.

It was sprinkling this morning when I emerged from under the covers but a little rain couldnt dampen my spirits. I was in Rome, home of the Emperors and where all the roads of the world lead to. So when in Rome....

I met an Australian on the train from the airport last night, Deanna from Adelaide and we chatted and agreed to meet up and sightsee together as we are both travelling alone. I wandered the streets of Rome to Deannas hotel and admired the view. There are ruins scattered around the city, one every time you thought a street was just a street.
I was beginning to feel like the trip was being wasted on me because I didnt whip my camera out at the first church and Roman ruins I saw. It was like the grandeur and importance, I took for granted. But then I began to notice of other things. My attention was drawn instead to the people. Their language, their colour, their energy. Rome has an amazing history but is also a home. Being a tourist with a sightseeing itinerary you can forget that. But now I notice mundane things like a motorbike repair shop, people leaning out of their shuttered windows watching the morning traffic and a little kid riding a scooter with his dad, holding tight as if it is his gravity.
I feel like an outsider looking in, but one with the privillege of doing so. Travelling is not just about what i see but what I hear, what I feel, what I smell. Its not about taking a photo to remember. But stopping and taking a breath. Then I will always remember.

Deanna and my first tourist location was the Colleseum. We decided to go inside and shared an audio guide. It was interesting and we both had the movie Gladiator in our minds as we imagined what it would have been like in 240 A.D. Deanna told me about snippets of conversations she heard while waiting for me to finish with the guide. One couple went past and said how amazing it would have been to hear the roar of 5000 people. Another said that seeing lions and bears exit out of the bowels of the arena to charge at the gladiators would be mesmorizing and a young girl walked past and said, my hair is getting wet.
(I am embellishing what the first two said because I cant remember exact words but have put bits of Colleseum trivia - but unfortunately I didnt make up the last part)
And I thought the trip was wasted on me!!!

It started to rain harder and we were fighting to stay dry but went hard and went onto the next place. We walked among the ruins of the palace and then headed to a spot in Deannas guide book about a cool view from a keyhole of a church. Intrigued, we wandereed the streets looking for the place mentioned. I didnt dare ask anyone in case we were arrested as peeping toms. Deanna asked a policeman and I was ready to bolt with the cry of "never met her, dont know who she is" but they knew exactly where to go. The view was good, worth the hunt and so we photographed and went to the Trevi fountain via the Metro because we were getting really wet.

It would have been more worth our while to watch the streets of Rome because they were flooded and flowing like a fountain. By the time we reached the fountain we were absolutely soaked (knickers and all). My plastic poncho (thanks nan - a lifesaver) was protecting my bag and I was walking through ankle deep water like I was wearing gumboots instead of leather slippers. We took a quick photo of us in front of the fountain (my camera under someones umbrella) and decided we'd had enough. We saw what we thought was a pickpocket or closer to a snatch and grab but as they were chinese tourists we couldn't understand if anything was stolen. We made sure our bags were held very close after that. He was dressed in a blue "Rome, Italy" poncho they sell to tourists which I thought was tricky. If you chased him around a corner you'd lose him in the throng of people braving the rain to see the sights.

Deanna and I parted and I went back to my hostel, dripping water all the way. It was a relief to get into a warm shower as it was almost a thunderstorm by the time I got to my room. My things are still dripping and I don't think they will be close to dry when I leave tomorrow.

Well time is short and my words are long so farewell from Italy. Tomorrow, hello Greece.

Will blog again soon.

Kym