May 8, 2011 - Rome, Italy

Lisa and I arrived in Rome today for vacation.  Flew from BWI, connecting in Philadelphia, which was actually cheaper than booking the flight out of Philly...

Landed in Rome about 8.30 AM local time.  Got to the hotel around 10.15-10.30.  Had to leave our bags as the room was not ready yet, but when we got back in the afternoon they had already taken our bags up.

Our hotel, Hotel San Carlo, is nice.  The room is not as small as we are used to in Europe.  There is a room with a king size bed and another smaller room with a single bed, as well as the bathroom.  Staff have been very courteous and speak English.

In general, we have not run into a language barrier.  We were in touristy areas all day and everyone seemed to speak English and we were given English menus.  I'll be curious to see if things are are any different when we go to Florence later in the week.

We've only been here about 13 hours, but so far, I love Rome.  It has all the vibe and hum of a big city like London or New York, but there is a certain quaintness too with narrow cobblestone streets at bizarre angles that meander here and there, like in Prague, Venice, or Rhodes.  Unlike Venice, much of which is now abandoned, even the side streets in Rome bustle with activity.  While in Venice the small side street might open into an empty and abandoned piazza with a non-functional fountain, the side street and little piazza will contain shops, cafes, gelatorias, and/or restaurants.  I've truly never seen a higher density of restaurants anywhere in my life.  Only the French Quarter in New Orleans comes close, and not really.  Every few feet, at least in the area around the Spanish Steps and the area around the Pantheon, there is a restaurant (or 2, or 3) and they are all serving food, with gracious service, that looks absolutely wonderful.  I think you could spend all day in Rome eating!

After dropping off our bags, we walked over to the Spanish Steps (so named because they were in proximity to the Spanish embassy to the Vatican).  The steps were pretty, dotted with azaleas that were just starting to bloom and packed with tourists.  We had cappucino and a croissant at a small, busy, cafe near the Spanish steps.  There is also a splash of England by the steps: a tea room called Babington's and a museum to Keats, apparently in a house in which he died.

From the Spanish steps, we walked to the Trevi fountain, a truly stunning fountain fed by the end of an old Roman aqueduct and made famous in film.  We each tossed a coin backwards into the fountain, which is supposed to guarantee a return trip to Rome someday.  The Trevi fountain was completely mobbed with tourists, reminiscent of the Charles Bridge in Prague.  We paid a street vendor 5 euro (about $7.50 USD) to take our picture and it actually turned out well.

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

From the Trevi fountain we walked to the Pantheon.  Definitely the most impressive thing we have seen so far.  The original Pantheon was built in the first century as a temple to all gods (hence the name, from the Greek), but the current building was constructed by Hadrian in AD 120.  It became a Christian church in the 7th century and remains so to this day.  This preserved it from being plundered for building material and left to ruin.  It is the only ancient Roman structure in the city that is completely intact.

Oculus in the dome of the Pantheon

The Pantheon is the model for much U.S. Federal era architecture.  Davidge Hall at University of Maryland - Baltimore (where I went to medical school), Mr. Jefferson's rotunda at the University of Viriginia (where I did my neurology residency, and particularly the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore are all modeled after the Pantheon (as is the U.S. Capitol to some degree).  The Pantheon is capped by a huge dome that is equal in diameter and height.  At the top of the dome, there is a 27-foot diameter oculus that lets in the only light.  Like the Basilica in Baltimore, the stream of light from above creates a sense of illumination and holiness.  Two Italian kings, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I are entombed in the Pantheon, as is the Renaissance master, Raphael.  The soaring height of the dome, the marble floor, and the ethereal lighting create a marvelous effect and the Pantheon is truly one of the most impressive buildings I have ever set foot in, and certainly the oldest that is still completely intact.

Davidge Hall, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Rotunda, University of Virginia

Basilica of the Assumption, Baltimore

We had lunch al fresca on the piazza in front of the Pantheon at a place called Cafe Restaurant Di Rie.  We each had insalata mista (tossed salad, which contained raw fennel - apparently a big thing here - and corn) and shared a quite good pizza Margherita.

Following lunch, we walked over to the Piazza Navona, which isn't a square at all, but a large oval because it was built initially as the Circus of Emperor Domitian.  Standing there, I could just picture Judah Ben Hur driving his team around the track...  At the center of Piazza Navona is Bernini's Fountian of the Four Rivers (which figured prominently in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons).  A statute represents a river on each continent: the Ganges, the Danube, Rio de la Plata, and the Nile.  Smaller Bernini fountains are at each end of the piazza.  We stopped at a gelateria on the piazza for gelato.  I had melon, which was out of this world.  Perhaps the tastiest gelato or ice cream I have every had.  It tasted like a perfectly ripe cantaloupe!

Gelato

We got back to our hotel and checked into our room around 4 PM.  We chilled for a while (actually, I dozed off for a bit) and then around 6-6.30 we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant called Ristorante al 34.  The food was pretty good, although not spectacular.  We shared a half litre of the house white and they brought us a sample of some chick pea soup with some kind of seafood (calamari, we think) to try.  It was quite tasty (a little salty, but tasty).  Then Lisa had the vegetable soup, which she seemed underwhelmed by, and I had insalata mista.  For entrees, I had the spring lamb, grilled, and Lisa veal saltimbocca, both of which were quite good.  We shared a side of grilled artichoke and capped it off with espresso (when in Rome...).  But, what really made the experience was al fresca dining on a gorgeous evening (it was sunny and 70's today, absolutely gorgeous) on a small cobbled side street while street musicians walk up and down the various restaurants serenading for money.  Others approached selling figurines or roses.  Cars could even drive down the narrow street, no more than six inches from our table!

From Piazza Navona, we walked back to our hotel by a different route (and for the first time got a little turned around on the narrow, winding streets) to pass the early first century mausoleum of Augustus, but unfortunately it was closed for renovation. 

After dinner, we went back to the hotel (around 9 PM) to call it an early night.  All-in-all, a wonderfully fun day.  Tomorrow, it's off the the Coliseum, which we got a glimpse of on our bus ride in from the airport.