Day 2 - No Such Thing as an Ordinary Stroll in Rome

Both Kinjal and I woke up around 2 am and couldn't fall asleep again till almost 4. I got up at 9 and started my presentation for next Monday, and Kinjal slept till 11. Once she was up, we looked out the window and decided it was too beautiful and sunny today to stay in the room anymore. Plus I had done some research and found what might be the best cappuccino in town, so was anxious to give it a try. The breakfast at the hotel is not very good anyway.

We walked around the Termini (train station) and found the cappuccino place - Bar Gastronomia Fondi. The coffee was so smooth, the cream so thick you had to eat it with a spoon. The place was true to its name, and we are coming back tomorrow. Italians sadly don't know how to do pastry. Kinjal had a donut and I ate a honey croissant. Both were well below average even by our pedestrian tastes. But the coffee was what blew our minds.

We decided we would walk around for a bit taking in the sun, and then get a cab to the Galleria Alberto Sordi - a haven for shopping! We walked and again saw the most beautiful buildings ever (they seemed to be government office buildings), and then

grabbed a cab that dropped us off in front of the Galleria. The Galleria was nice, but looked really American, so soon we were out again, but this time pulled by the crowds. And where do the crowds take us - the Trevi Fountain. Build in the mid 1700s, it is an aqueduct fountain. The whole structure is just enormous and fantastical (on day 2 of the trip, I am running out of superlatives). As are the crowds. The area was under construction. It seems that all these amazing old structures are constantly under renovation and repair. I wonder if one day, the people would just give up, and let the buildings crumble.

After the Trevi, we walked around the general area - narrow winding cobblestone streets, everything looked like a fairyland with little shops everywhere. Kinjal bought beautiful Romanesque wedge shoes in one of them (picture).

We walked past another spectacular piazza (Piazza Colonna) with a basilisk (picture). Now we are getting used to seeing beautiful piazzas and buildings, and are no longer

taking as many pictures. I am wondering if everyday Romans even notice the beauty around them.
The streets remained narrow and crowded, with shops, cafes and restaurants everywhere. The sunny day made sure the whole city was out and about. Kinjal met a gypsy lady who had songbirds sit on her hands and head (picture).

We walked some more - and turned a corner, and guess what, that's the Pantheon - the iconic temple first built in 27 BC and then rebuilt in 125 AD. Unlike most other buildings we saw, it wasn't built with marble or plaster - but some sort of a dark granite. There was a rotunda in the back. Right around the corner from the Pantheon was a massive farmer's market sort of thing with vendors selling food to clothes to lunchboxes. Kinjal bought a vespa keychain, and we continued our walk.

There were many little nice stores on each side, and we went into many of them. Kinjal decided she was done with shopping, and wanted to go to a museum. She chose the National Roman Museum - Baths of Diocletian, and we took a cab. It was an

interesting place - it must obviously be one of the lesser museums in Rome, as it was empty. It had exhibits on the proto-Roman culture, and good information on how the tribes of the region developed. Most of the museum displayed the bathhouses of the ancient times. Apparently at any given time, 3000 men could bathe together. Hopefully no one every pooped in the water. I do not appreciate public bathing as much as I should. Smack in the middle of the museum was a very peaceful garden called Michaelangelo's Cloister. There was a tree there, funnily hoisted up. Most of it seemed to be dead - I am assuming that the part that was in the ground is very very old.

Then we decided to go to a museum that we passed on our cab ride to the Galleria this morning. We didnt know what it was called, just that it had a big banner saying

Numeri and a picture of Einstein. Little miss genius found the museum, and we walked to it (yes it's been another big walking day today). Called the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, it was having a special exhibit on math. Kinjal was excited to learn about a lot of math-y stuff, and was fascinated by the relationship between euler's number (e) and music. I got distracted a bit with work, but Kinjal put an end to it by forbidding me to use the iphone for the rest of the afternoon.

I was starting to get hungry, and had a Kind bar. Kinjal decided she would like to have a Subway sandwich (tip of the hat to Jason, and reminded me of our trip to Paris). As we sat on the steps to eat our food, we noticed another massive castle of sorts. Walking up to it we found it to be the Altare della Patria, a monument built in honor of the first king of a unified Italy (picture). This was another enormous castle, filled with equestrian sculptures (boy they do like horses here). The monument also holds the tomb of the unknown soldier. Despite its size and magnificence, it is apparently not well-liked by the native Romans. They say it looks like a cake. Looking carefully, I can see why (you tell if you agree by looking at the picture).

One thing I have noticed is that Rome has many sculptures of very muscular naked bearded men, but they all look old. Sculptures of women, on the other hand, show them as very young, modest and slight. I am sure there are books explaining this difference.

As we walked in stunned silence around the magnificent castle, we saw the Colosseum in the distance (picture). Yes, that three-tiered Roman amphitheater once used for gladiatorial games (and today has a guided tour option). We walked closer and it is even more magnificent in reality than in those chariot racing scenes of movies like Ben Hur and The Gladiator.

We were starting to get tired, and went to a place called Royal for dinner. Very trendy with very good-looking and stylish waitstaff who had no interest in wait-staffing. Eventually someone came and we ordered - freshly made spaghetti with herbs and steamed spinach for me as I was dying to have some freshly made

pasta. It was excellent. And then ofcourse cappuccinos (decaf for me) and a Tiramisu. I am on a quest for the perfect tiramisu in Rome. I have not yet found it.

It was getting to be later afternoon and bit chilly so we decided to walk back. Kinjal charted a shortcut through a beautiful park on the top of the city. Which brought us smack back to the basilica by the hotel. We finished watching Angels and Demons, and this time recognized all the places we had walked to just in the last two days! Number of miles today - 9+