Day 63: Where All Roads Lead

Rome has more than its share of cliched expressions, but in this case the title is somewhat true for me. Rome marks the end of my first Eurail pass and the end of what I consider the second phase of my trip. Since I wasn't in a big rush I took the normal regional train from Florence instead of the usual highspeed one because it didn't have a reservation fee. The train was a lot slower plus it stopped at every little town along the way, and a lot bumpier, but at least the scenery was nice. By the time I got to Rome I had a bit of an upset stomach from the rough ride, so once I checked in I just took it easy for a couple hours until I was feeling better. Since it was only 4:00 or so I decided I had plenty of time to see a bit of the city, so I took off to just wander about. I brought my map along, but strictly so I could find my way home at the end.

My initial impression of Rome is very high. It's a bit like Paris in that whichever direction you walk it's going to be gorgeous and you're going to see amazing things, but I feel Rome has a much more natural, organic feel to it. There are two thousand years of architecture standing side by side in the city, without anything really looking out of place. I haven't ventured much beyond the city center yet, but everything has a palette of sepia and oranges with an occasional splash of white, and everything framed with pines, cypress and palm trees. I think Rome has the most vegetation throughout the city of any of the big cities I've been to, and combined with an evening of perfect weather it all made for a very nice first look.

I'm just north of the city center, near the train station, and I did a loop south across the Tiber (my classics background is revealed by just how amazing it feels to realize I'm standing above THE Tiber river in Rome) and then back north a bit further over to the east. My quick survey of the area led me past a few notable highlights such as Trajan's Column, the remains of Circus Maximus, and yes, the Colosseum.

I'm doing a bit more planning for this city, since there is a lot I want to see. I'm spending some days going to a specific region and exploring it (Vatican City, for example) but I have plenty of time here to fit in what I want I think.