LIKE IT IS : There’s no place like Rome during summer
Posted on Sunday, July 6, 2008
Warning: This column has only hints of sports today.
Summer was bearing down hard when yours truly took off for almost two weeks to fulfill a lifetime dream, and with those same days still hot, here's how I spent my summer vacation.
I went to Rome. Yes, the one in Italy, and I took a Mediterranean cruise.
Rome was spectacular, and the city was truly excited about its futbol match with Spain in the European Championship (that's the first hint of sports ).
I went into Rome prepared because I took the advice of Deputy Managing Editor for Features Jack Schnedler, a long recovering travel writer.
In 1994, while working for the Chicago Sun-Times, Schnedler saw practically all of Rome in one day and wrote a wonderful piece about the experience. With his account studied and in hand, I was ready for almost anything.
I took the unair-conditioned train from the airport to the termini (very similar to a terminal ) because it was only $ 14 and it was an express. But no sooner did I step into the streets outside the termini than I got snookered by a taxi driver, who drove me six blocks to my hotel and then informed me it was $ 30. That was euros, so it was close to $ 50 U. S. - or almost what a cab from the airport to the hotel would have been.
The travel to Rome had taken a total of 14 hours, and with the time change I was in the hotel at 1 p.m. their time (6 a.m. my time ). The adrenaline was pumping, so it was off to the Colosseum, where any number of kind people were willing to be my tour guide for $ 10 (all figures are in euros ). Despite threats that the wait would be hours, tours were passed on and the longest I ever stood in line was 15 minutes.
It was beyond what I had expected. Walking on stone sidewalks thousands of years old had been almost spiritual, and seeing where so many Christians were subjected to torture and murder was very humbling, to say the least.
I finished up the afternoon at the Spanish Steps and found a little hole-in-the wall pizza place that was incredible and inexpensive.
On Saturday, with Rome growing more excited about its soccer team (second and final sports hint ), I carbo-loaded on a free buffet on top of my hotel that had a spectacular view of the city. After that, the doorman got me a set price on a ride to the Vatican.
That is a breathtaking experience, especially the Sistine Chapel, which was definitely not built to handle millions of tourists a year. It took almost three hours of toe-to-toe touring to see it all, and the works of art are worth much more than the price of admission.
From there it was a walk to St. Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant'Angelo, across the river to Plaza Navona (famous for the artists who gather to work even in the hot sunshine ), and to the Plaza Campo de Fiori, where Italian gelatin was consumed while admiring the beautiful flowers.
From there the march was to the Jewish Ghetto up to the Pantheon, which has to be seen to be believed, and on to Trevi Fountain, where the myth is if you throw a coin in you will return to Rome.
Not sure if a 20 cent piece will work or not.
To be completely honest, by this time, I was becoming something of an ugly American.
Many Europeans can be quite aggressive, and if you get in their way when walking, they look at you like you are supposed to disappear. Sort of like New Yorkers without deodorant.
Also, there are very, very few public places to rest.
My feet hurt and my back ached, but it was less than a mile to the hotel, so it was through a couple more plazas and up the Spanish Steps, which seemed steeper than the day before, and down a few streets to the hotel.
After a short rest and cleaning up, it was dinner at a sidewalk cafe that was absolutely delicious (a nearby pretty lady was especially pleased with her eggplant parmesan ), and then after a few minutes of CNN, the only English-speaking television station, it was time for a long night of sleep.
Tuesday's column will be about being held hostage by a sporting event, mummies and the Mafia, then it's back to the dog days of summer.
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