Rome...if you want to

Day 2, I felt a little more familiar with Rome. That kinda heightened state of awareness I tend to feel when I first arrive at a place subsided so that I can cross the road without feeling besieged and happily lose myself in streets knowing that I will be able to navigate myself out somehow. It has to be said though, crossing the street is a test of wills here, they don't stop for you, even when you have a green light and they have a red one the cars keep coming at you. Day 1 my plan of action was to cross with locals or other tourists, using them as human shields. Day 2 I just found breaks in traffic and strode confidently across the street with enough bravado to suggest to drivers that this girls not kidding, that street will be crossed and it will damn well like it.

So the day went like this. I got up, showered and dressed and threw all my things in my trusty green Eumundi Market bag and went for breakfast. Coffee and a cornetti again cept this time I had cappucino instead of espresso, also fantastic, oh such good coffee, why cant they make it in London? Got some Strawberries from the little market because I planned to eat them on the Spanish steps and headed off to Termini to buy my tickets for Venice before hopping on the jump on jump off bus. My destination was the Colosseum and the Roman Forum for a bit of a wander around. Climbed some hills, saw some ruins and a very pretty little church, I visited a lot of them if for no other reason than they were cooler than being outside. I found some graffiti carved into one of the walls near the forum that said Amore Vici Omni and in spite of myself I found it really beautiful. I may be getting less cynical in my old age. Love conquers all, aw.
One of the things I was most grateful for today though was the man selling bottles of frozen water at the base of the Palpatine hill, I certainly felt deep Amore for him right then, the water had been melting in the scorching Roman sun and was just icy cool with flecks of ice in it. Oh my god it was bliss. There was this woman selling little prints just near by and I thought excellent I'll get Dad a little something. She gave me the whole patter, said she painted them herself and I thought oh cool, they're only a couple of euros why not. Got him a nice little print of gondolas near the Rialto Bridge, thought he'd like that before I headed back down to the bus stop just as the next bus was pulling in.

The heat was increasing along with the tourists so when the bus pulled up to where the Bocca Del Veritas is I got off just to get out of the heat for a bit and away from them. Yes I realise that the Bocca Del Veritas is a touristy thing but I don't care. I wanted to get a picture of it and I did, not with my hand in its mouth, I wasn't interested in that, I just wanted a picture of it. I like it, the shape of it and where you can see its been worn away over the years, it reminds me of a lion with leprosy. The church next to it is beautiful inside. Gorgeous mosaic tiles on the floors and little frescos and marble sculpture. I even found some graffiti carved into a column that said Fra Bozio 1742, he is gonna be in sooo much trouble.
Then it was back on to the next bus to pootle off to Piazza Di Popolo. Its a vast, open space which backs on to the Villa Borghese and there are three streets that run off it like a trident. I walked down Via Babuino so I could see the statue that the street is named after. Its considered so ugly it became known as the baboon and that's how the street got its name. People used to write little signs and hang it around the statues neck so it became a 'talking statue' it was a way of anonymously criticising the government back in times where it was not so wise to do so. This eventually lead me down to Piazza di Spanga and the Spanish steps. There is a beautiful fountain in the centre where people were dipping their feet to cool off. Rose sellers, that wander around the piazza trying to cash in on the romance of the moment, sell the most beautiful red roses I've ever seen. The dip them in the fountains to preserve them in the heat and I got a picture to remember it. People clung to every inch of shade like sparrows in summer and I tip toed around them to find my own shady spot on the steps so I could eat my strawberries and survey the scene. Every so often a carabinieri would walk past and blow their whistle and shout something at someone that was unintelligible and constantly changing with all the menace of a quacking duck. At one point I think they said “No eating on the steps!!” but everyone ignored them and they went away. The clearly found better things to do, busting the guys selling fake Dolce and Gabbana belts and bags up the top of the steps, because those guys came running down clutching their wares and casting frantic looks over their shoulders about 10 mins later.
As I ate my strawberries and watched the square I couldn't help over hearing some Irish promotions guys trying to convince some girls to go on their pub crawl. I'm so glad I'm not that age anymore. After my little break in the shade I climbed the rest of the way to the top and surveyed the views of Rome. There are churches everywhere here and there is another at the top of the Spanish Steps which I went into and escaped the heat. You know what else there was up the top of the Spanish Steps, lots of people selling prints of Rome exactly like the one that I bought at the forum. I fell for her tourist patter but like I say only a couple of Euros, no harm done. There are American websites that warn you about all this actually, I made the mistake of reading one before I got here and ended up feeling like all of Italy was just waiting for me to arrive so it could rip me off, but like most things in the hands of Americans it was blown somewhat out of proportion.
After my resigned awakening to the pitfalls of being a tourist, it was down the steps and off to find the Trevi Fountain and some lunch. Lunch first. I grabbed some pasta in a little cafe in one of the side streets off the piazza. They had the most elaborate gelatteria set up and I watched scores of tourists wander in and order “speciale” cones only to come out with the most embarrassing looking icecreams known to man and beast. Huge things, all different colours and flavours in elaborate cones with handfuls of wafers and cream on top and little Italian flags and strawberries and tinsle covered skewers sticking out of them. The conversations usually went:
“Oh my god”
“You carry it”
“No, I'm not carrying that thing”
“I have to take a picture of this”
This was not the place I wanted to get gelato. After a little help from Neil my trust GPS and a little intuition I found my way through the warren of back streets to the Trevi Fountain. The heat drew flocks of people and they came and went in waves though the square the fountain sits in was never clear. It hovered between happily busy and mad crush. Everywhere you go there are people selling little umbrellas and hats for shade to tourists and there were bunches of those guys here, one of them copped a feel as I was wandering past but its Rome right, I would have been offended if I'd come here and someone hadn't tried to feel me up. I found a little corner near the side of the fountain in the shade and decided that NOW was the time for gelato. Helpfully there was a shop nearby, and I got some tirimisu and cafe gelato. I love coffee flavoured icecream. It was a quiet little moment of happy sitting in the cool shade on a hot day near the Trevi Fountain eating gelato. There are a couple of seagulls that hang around the fountain and man they have attitude, they're not scared of anything. They sit there defiantly, so much so that I thought they were sculpted in place until one of them moved. There were these two boys being obnoxious and trying to throw things at one of them but it just looked at them, sqwalked like it was going to come town there and beat the christ out of them and then went back to sunning itself, they, quite understandably decided to leave the bird alone.
I wandered through more back streets eventually making my way back to the Piazza Barberini to jump on another bus thinking I might check out the Villa Borghese. That's when I saw the temperature on one of those flashing signs that tell you the time. 36 degrees! Only made it as far as the Santa Maria Maggiori on that bus because the commentary woman made it sound so interesting I had to have a look. And it was. It illicited a wow from me it did. I took lots of pictures, the ceiling is covered in the first gold that was brought back from the Americas, they said that on the commentary and it caught my attention. When I headed back outside to ask the ticket guy when the next bus was coming he told me I was very lucky. I said Really? he said yes and when I asked why he told me cryptically that there was something on me which slightly freaked me out but I put down to a language barrier, I asked “Is it this?” touching my necklace and he said “No don't touch” and then started randomly chatting to me about where I was from. Most normal people would probably have been freaked out by this but personally my attitude is unless I think someone is going to kill me, they're probably worth chatting to if I have nothing better to do. After asking me one or two questions about myself, ticket guy pointed to my shoulder and said “Now look” and there was a giant fluttering butterfly there before it took off into the sky. Apparently butterflies landing on you makes you lucky. I don't remember his name unfortunately, after he weirded me out a little I didn't pay him full attention. We did chat for a bit and he asked me out which I politely declined, I'll chat to anyone at a bus stop but I draw the line at dating them. Besides which I found out he was married with a wife and 2 kids in India. We talked a bit about life and how it is to be enjoyed before the bus came and happily spirited me away. I thought maybe this time I would make it to the Villa Borghese but by the time we got to that stop I was exhausted and desperately in need of a shower.
Dinner that evening was pizza with potatoe and rosemary. Awesome, I will try making that back in London.