So today has been...odd. I went to somewhere I wanted to go the first time I ever came to Rome in September 2012. This is my 6th visit. Finally got there ey! I went back to places that I have been to every time I have been here - and I'm still moved. Rome never ceases to be the most beautiful place on earth to me. It's sheer loveliness absolutely takes my breath away. The way people are, the way the Italians work tirelessly to make the tourists happy right through to the Italian family feeding their bambino with love that I can see across from my balcony from where I am currently sitting writing this, with a glass of white wine on hand and "aqua naturale" required in this heat.
So the day started post awkward food shop by heading towards Gianicolo Hill. From my apartment its a 20m walk until you hit the hill... and boy that's a hill.... Rucksack, map, water in tow... spy the typical tourist at 100 paces but actually I didn't care. I discovered the bus stop that I was looking to find that hopefully will become by best friend during my month in Rome. There were two American students at the bus stop as I climbed the hill. I ascended to accost them..
Now anyone that knows me and my travels of Rome, knows that buses and trams make me anxious. Am I going the right way? Am I on the right bus? Am I on the right Tram? Where do I get off? I am going to have to sort this out as otherwise in 3 days time I am going to have a 2 hr walk to get to language school for 8.30am and that's no-ones dream on a travelling trip!
So about 2 mins before I get to the bus stop to accost the girls into giving me a low down into Roman bus travel, the bleedin' bus turns up and they get on. The cheek! So I had 2 choices... wait at the bus stop and see what happens when the next bus turns up..... or keep walking... So I kept walking....
And OH MY GOD did I walk. As an overweight, unfit traveller, this was a mission of proportions that even I wasn't expecting. I'm not quite sure how it rivalled last nights trek to Trastevere, however the end game was the same....
So the walk to Gianicolo Hill began... When I planned my first ever trip to Rome, this was on my list to do. It never happened as the Centre Storrico was just too enticing and quite frankly too easy.
It was a beautiful walk. Hard, uphill, no pavements, erratic Italian drivers everywhere flying around nearly knocking you off your feet. I felt in heaven. Away from the beaten track... I know not that much as I was still heading towards a tourist destination, but it felt quiet.
So Gianicolo Hill... It boasts to have the best views of Rome, in Rome. I'm not sure I disagree with that. In a leafy haven, with plane trees blocking the early afternoon sun and the Eternal City stretching in front of me, emotional is a word that doesn't even come close to describing that hour. I did the tourist thing and photographed the view, and then went the other side and photographed the other view. I even "selfied". Quite frankly the photographs do not do justice to the view that you see. It is one of the calmest places in Rome, away from the hustle and bustle, yet one of the most beautiful. You still have the stalls selling water for more money that its ever worth, yet I cant lie, a "biere" was tempting at 2pm in the searing heat.
And so the descent from the high began. The walk from Gianicolo Hill.. Downhill was welcome. Water fountains, leaves, weary travellers ahoy.. My feet were burning from the walk and yet... My mind was quiet and everything was peaceful. A feeling I only get in Italy. Maybe my soul is here. Who know's.
And then I turned a corner.
Fontana dell'Aqua Paola. Commissioned in 1612 to grace the end of one of Romes aqueducts. It took my breath away. I knew I would come across it as I walked down Gianicolo Hill, I just had no idea that it would be so beautiful. White backdrop with flowing water. In this heat a welcome "water" addition. Whether I should have or not, shoes and socks were off and feet were plunged into the cold water. The hill walk disappeared with the freshness of the water. I got lost in silence for a while.
And then the walk continued. I stumbled across a beautiful water fountain to fill my water bottle.
I kept walking... and I entered Trastevere through the back....
What a walk... Some of the most beautiful sights. Vines, Amber Buildings, Fiat 500's placed as any postcard would have them....
Lunch began. A little trattoria that I had been to before with my mama e papa.... Fabulous food and great wine. Pasta and 1/2 litre of wine to mull over for 2 hours... 14 euros..... perfect!
And then on to Tiber Island. There is a fabulous little gelatorria. 2 euros for a pot of amazing "melone" gelato. And then Centre Storicco happened. Not in the plan at all. Didn't intend on walking that far that's for sure!!
I wandered past the Pantheon, whilst making a pit stop to strip shoes and socks to cool my weary feet before going anywhere else....
I then walked, once shoes and socks were back on, towards the Trevi Fountain, currently undergoing restoration, and then took a slow wander back to the Trastevere to get a taxi back. I stopped by the Area Sacre de Torre Argentina..A cat sanctuary in central Roma....
I was exhausted. And yet tomorrow is going to be a late one. Meeting my friend in the city centre for drinks.... Well then...
Every street you turn, every neighbourhood you enter... Rome shows a new face... and every face I cant wait to see....
Ciao xx
No comments:
Post a Comment