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26th
December 2000
We
started from our lodge towards the Railway station to catch the
train towards Rome. An Indian (obviously a software guy),
whom we met in the hostel cautioned us to be safe as Rome is known
for its pickpockets. The funniest thing in Italy is that they
neither issue the bus tickets in the bus, nor do they have any
vending machines near the bus stops. As we were wondering where to
get the tickets, some one directed us towards a snack shop, which
we didn't think in our wildest imagination as a place to buy the
tickets. While we crossed the river Arno, we saw it flooded due to
the previous day's rains. By the time we left Florence, the sun
was shining brightly!
The
train towards Rome passed through the countryside of Italy. The
trains there were good and they were faster too. It passed through
lots of lengthy tunnels. We started feeling warmer as the train
approached Roma Termini at around 13:30 hours. Unlike Florence,
Rome looked neat and the streets resembled our Pondicherry with
lots of parallel and perpendicular streets making it appear well
organised and at the same time a bit confusing. It wasn't too
difficult to locate the hostel we had already booked. After having
lunch (Pizzzzzza), we decided to book the tour operator
for the next day. It took us a while to locate the office of the
tour operator and finalise the agenda for the next day. Roma Termini
resembled Chennai Central Station but it didn't have the monstrous
crowd of the latter. While we were standing at one place continuously
for some time, Police came and verified our passports and left.
Probably, we were caught in the eyes of the surveillance cameras.
At
half past five, we started out on a tour of our own. Rome too has
underground railway network like London. Due to the size of the
city, Rome has simple 2 lines of rail, line A & B. Railway
stations were a bit untidy but there were helpful signboards all
around. But alas! Everything in Italia!! One could understand and
accept graffiti on the trains but it was amusing to see trains
amidst the graffiti in Rome. We started out in one of the trains
and got down at a station called 'Spagna'.
Just out of the station is a square 'Piazza di Spagna',
which has been named after the large palace residence of the Spanish
embassy since a long time. From here, the famous Spanish steps,
a magnificent staircase, with 137 steps, alternating with ramps,
climb up to the twin towered French church. That staircase under
illumination looked too good. No wonder many of the tourist guides
refer it as 'the most beautiful staircase in the world'.
(Actually, I do not know where the palace is. I came to know
of the palace only while probing the reason why the place got
its name.) We postponed the climbing of the famous steps to
the next day and walked along one of the number of busy streets
with elegant shops and boutiques. All the streets & roads
were decorated with festoons and lamps on account of Christmas.
We
were simply stunned by the number of churches, huge buildings etc.
along the way. Each one of the buildings looked like palaces and
there were too many in number to make a mention of it. Seems that
Romans have the culture of erecting a dome in almost every
building of some reasonable height and base. I do not know whether
all the domed buildings were religious places since there were too
many of them. Walking along, we reached a place called 'Piazza
Venezia', the busiest traffic intersection in Rome. On one
side of the square stands the majestic 'National Monument to
Victor Emmanuel II'. We kept walking until we reached a place
called 'Piazza Novona' which is an elongated
square. It is embellished with three fountains that were erected
as early as 1650 A.D. The square had lot of old & magnificent
buildings and is comparable to Grand Place in Brussels. It had
lots of shops and amusements for kids too. We made a quick
purchase of cards and walked along.
The
Tiber River runs along the city of Rome. On crossing over the
river, we met with another big building structure whose name I
couldn't remember. Anyhow, the name translates to 'The Palace
of Justice' probably the highest court in the country. That
palace was stunningly superb making us wonder as how many these
Romans had in store for us. On a stones throw distance is the
Castel Sant' Angelo. Like many other buildings in Rome, this
one also looked too good under illumination. The circular building
built in 135 A.D, which was earlier, used as a fortress and a
prison, stands as a National museum now, with a collection of
weapons, models illustrating the history of the structure etc.
A
straight road from "Castel Sant' Angelo" leads to another
beautiful, big church. It had a very big open space enclosed by
two semi circular colonnades with lot of pillars. It took us a
while to realise that we were in Vatican. Presto! We were
in a different country. Vatican City is a separate country
inhabited by about 400 people. It has its own currency, flag,
telephone & telegraphic services, postal services etc. Since the
time was already around 10 o'clock in the night and our legs ached
as a result of walking continuously for five hours, we returned
back to the hostel after a dinner at McDonalds.
Meet you in
the colosseum next week...
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