Eternal Rome

What surprised me most about archeological Italy is the fact that everything is 'hands on'. You can literally walk in the footsteps of ancient Rome. You have to be careful not to stumble over the many remains of ancient buildings. Everywhere you can touch pillars or piles of rubble that once belonged to a temple or villa. It's a stark contrast to the glass display cases featured in many museums, and therefor much more attractive.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Discover Rome on foot: many archeological and other sights are within walking distance from each other. But be careful! Crossing the road in this busy city is like playing Russian roulette, even on the pedestrian crossways. The best tricks to get to the other side safely? Wait for a Roman citizen to cross and follow close on his heels, or latch on to a guided group when the guide stops traffic.

Public transport: Rome has 2 metro lines that cross at the Central Station. Though it is fast, the metro is usually overcrowded and not the most comfortable way to get around. Rome also has an extensive system of buses, even through the night.

The Kennedy Hotel is a smallish, family type hotel, located a few blocks from the main railway station, on a fairly quiet street. The rooms are decent-sized, especially for a major city, and have both a/c and heating. The shower stall could be bigger, but the bathroom comes equipped with all important comforts. Breakfast is served buffet-style. The hotel can also arrange for sightseeing tours. Staff is friendly and helpful. Though not located in the old city center, the nearby presence of both of Rome's metro lines (at the Central Station) helps to get around. Colosseum and Forum Romanum are within walking distance.

For more information, visit the hotel website at www.hotelkennedy.net.

When searching for a restaurant to eat lunch in the vicinity of the Colosseum, we almost accidentally stumble down the steps into the Ristorante Al Cardello. This small but renowned restaurant can seat perhaps up to 20 people. Since it is a Monday and off season, we find ourselves the only guests.

The restaurant staff speaks a few words of English, and we can barely manage a few words of Italian. So we let them decide what we should eat.

A few minutes later the proprietess comes along with a plate filled with tasty marinated vegetables, like cooked onions, potatoes, mushrooms and peppers. When we are finished with the antipasti, the cook himself, an older man with a stained apron (conforming to the typical "Italian Papa" image), comes to inform us that the next course should be fettuccini. He promises us: "Fettucini, nice". We agree to the pasta and are served shortly with a plate filled with fettuccini, sauce and Parmesan cheese.

We finish the meal with the main course, chicken. Not used to such a big lunch, we decide to skip dessert and have a cappucino instead.

Famous all over the world as the Spanish Steps, the Scalinata della Trinita' dei Monti are a must-see for any first time visitor to Rome.

We arrive at the Piazza di Spagna after a short but not very comfortable ride on the Rome subway. At the foot of the stairs, dozens of tourgroups are already gathered, although it is not yet 10.30 am. The stairs themselves are exactly like in the many photos we have seen, with the Trinita' dei Monti-church hovering over them. We take a couple of pics and begin to climb the stairs. Funnily enough, the look down is one I have never seen before on any picture.

Once we reach the church at the top of the stairs, we turn left on the road, and as crowded as it was at the foot of the steps, as quiet it is up here. We find ourselves suddenly almost alone. A few hundred meters further to the left, along the road, we discover a look out point with a grandiose view across Rome. In the distance shimmers the dome of the San Pietro church and the Vatican.

The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) is located at the crossroads of several narrow roads in the old center of Rome. When we turn the corner, we stop in shock. The fountain is located at a piazza that is far too small to accommodate the many international visitors. But fortunately several guided tours are about to depart and with the departure of so many people at once, it turns out not to be that crowded at all.

We can take our pictures at leisure and admire the young bride and groom that have their wedding photo taken at the ultimate picture spot in a town full of romantic locations.

Though it used to be customary to throw coins into the water to assure a return to Rome in the future, this is no longer allowed.

We approach the famous Colosseum from the Monte Esquilino by walking through the Parco Traiano. After a few minutes the pitted walls of the Colosseum shimmer among the trees. We are on the same level as the top of the structure and as we get closer we realize how big it really is. Hard to imagine that 2000 years ago people could build structures this big (the Colosseum is 50 meters high and offered seating to 55.000 people), that still stand today. I have yet to see a football stadium achieve the same...

The grounds around the Colosseum are filled with milling crowds, many clustered in groups that follow a guide who holds up a colorful banner to show them where to go. Hawkers are selling knickknacks (sunglasses, jewelry, carvings etc.). Wandering among the crowds are 'real Romans', dressed like Roman soldiers. Too bad that some are wearing sneakers beneath their costume, or watches. I spot even one 'Roman' wearing a Harley Davidson T-shirt underneath his tunic! But the ones that are dressed to the nines do add to the 'coleur locale'.

We join the queue for tickets to enter the Colosseum when a young woman asks if we speak English. She invites us to join a guided tour so we won't have to stand in line. The tour will cost us EUR 15.-, which is EUR 7.- above the individual fee. After a moment's hesitation and another look at the slow-moving line ahead, we decide to take a chance and agree to her offer. We're not sorry. After a short waiting time a group of 26 people has formed. Francesca will be our guide. She is a certified guide and buys the ticket for the whole group, so we can enter quickly.

Francesca explains that part of the reason for designing the Colosseum was to erase all traces of the cruel emperor Nero. But she warns us not to believe everything we hear about him. A lot of the badmouthing, she says, was done for political reasons. The Colosseum's official name is the Amphiteater Flavium, named after its builders. It was finished in 80 AD. Not all we can see today is original, some restorations have been made. It is obvious from the type of bricks used what is old and what isn't. People scavenging the building for the metal connectors that kept the large marble blocks together made the many pockmarks we can see today.

Entry to the Forum Romanum is free. It is situated next to the Colosseum and is impressive in its simplicity. Two main streets, lined with many temples and other buildings, dedicated to both the ancient gods and Christianity.

Some of the ancient temples are nothing but a couple of blocks of stone, and require a lot of imagination. But others still have many pillars left, such as the Tempio di Saturni.

During the day, especially in the high season (spring and fall) it will be very crowded in and around the Forum Romanum. After our visit to the Colosseum we decided to have lunch first and returned around 4 pm. It turned out to be much more pleasant a little later in the day.

The Monumento a Vittorio Emanuelle II has to be the ugliest building in Rome! Wherever we turn, the immense white marble structure looms on the horizon. Construction started in 1885 and the Monumento was inaugurated in 1925. It is dedicated to honor Italy's first King. It is impressive in its ugliness and clashes with the more sedate ruins of ancient Rome nearby. Entry is free, though, and the wide gallery at the top offers some incredible views across Rome.