Ah, Rome. What can I say about Rome? From the ancient Colosseum, to the Vatican, to
Trevi Fountain, Rome has it all.
Rome is known as the Eternal City, not because it has merely survived for nearly
3,000 years, but because it has retained political, religious and artistic significance
througout that time. Visiting Rome and its ruins really brought back the amazement I
felt during our trip to Israel 10 years ago when looking at the ruins and history of
5,000 years ago. I still am amazed that we were looking at things that were 2,000
older than what we saw in Rome, and Rome was surely amazing!
During our visit to Rome, we managed to visit St. Peter's Basilica, where our guide
pointed out that most of the marble in the temple was looted from the more ancient
ruins in more "modern" times. When we toured the Colosseum and other ruins once
adorned in marble, the guide made a specific point to say something like "you see no
marble here, because it is in ...." and everyone else finished the statement for her.
We visited Trevi Fountain, one of Rome's more "modern" fountains (only a few hundred
years old) and made famous by the movie "Three Coins in a Fountain". From there, we
walked the streets a bit and ended up at the Spanish Steps. On a prior trip to Rome,
I was sitting on the Spanish Steps and noticed someone staring at me for a bit. After
looking back at her for a few moments, I realized she was a classmate from my home
town. That really brought home the adage, "It's a Small World" after running into a
friend half a world away.
We wandered and shopped for a bit and decided to have lunch at one of the many outdoor
cafes. After lunch, we wandered the streets a bit more before stopping for afternoon
coffee. That would become our habit for the trip ... walk a little, eat a little (sounds
a little like a song from "Music Man" in there somewhere)