Rome wasn’t built in a day

Our hotel  is on a hill and the breakfast room overlooks Rome - the perfect setting for planning our day. Our booked tour of the city wasn’t till the afternoon, so we wanted to fit in a few morning activities. We had all slept well but woken fairly early. Mum and Bene went for a morning walk through the Borghese Park, which is next to our hotel. They ended up asking directions from a lady, giving mum a chance to test out her Italian. She ended up walking with them to the corner above our hotel, with the two of them talking in Italian all the way.  Philomena is either 60 or 70 next birthday (February) and she has been walking in the park for 23 years. She lives around the corner and her son Antonio works at our hotel. Mum said they talked food, family and health and had hugs all around at the end of the walk.

After breakfast, we walked down the hill, avoiding cars, scooters and holes in the pavement. The streets are mostly black volcanic rock cobblestones- very old, quite uneven. The cars are parked so tightly together that sometimes it’s hard to find a way between them to cross the road. Our first stop was the Capuchin Crypt- think dim lights, tiny rooms and bones and skeletons (some dressed in Franciscan robes) arranged in fancy patterns. It was a good start for our group, interesting, a bit macabre and fairly close to our hotel. We had been here back in 2011 but since that time a museum has been added as well as an audio guide and more signage. 

We continued on our walk to look at the “monster house” up near the Spanish steps and then stopped for an early lunch. It’s surprising much I remember, just from our few days here back in 2011. Streets and sights look a bit familiar, but also new - we have approached them from a different direction, or there’s been a minor addition or change. For example, we walked by the Spanish steps to get to the monster house, but stood at the top, rather then saw them from the bottom. The bits of memory coming back have added a richness to the experience.

The afternoon tour was part bus, part on foot, with two guides. It’s difficult to describe how breathtaking it is to turn a corner and see the colosseum in front of you. It’s hard to believe that it was allowed to fall into disrepair. Some of us were keen to visit inside at another time but it’s been hard to fit in and it’s soooo hot that we need to take breaks. Our guided tour of the Capitaline museum gave us a chance to see the originals of the well known sculptures - Romulus &Remus with the wolf, the Constantine Colossus, and my favourite, Medusa. 

Everywhere we can see buildings that have been added to in layers, with the ancient parts repurposed, reused and adapted. Years of history put together like lasagne. The best example we saw today was the ruins of a coliseum-like theatre that has a residence added on top- I’ve included a photo below. I feel like it mirrors the travel experiences on this second visit to Rome. Fragments of the old add on to the new to give a blended perspective. 

Dinner was at the hotel, too much food, so-so quality, not a patch on our lovely dinner at the local restaurant last night, but very convenient for falling into bed for a much needed sleep.