1. The traffic isn't as bad as you might think.
Everyone, myself included, has this idea of Italian traffic where 7 lane roundabouts are crowded with scooters and cars with no real rules and a 'every man for himself' attitude. I'm pleased to say it is not that bad. Don't get me wrong, it's way worse than anywhere else I've driven, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not quite sure why they put lane markers down, because no one pays attention to them, and parking rules are not even viewed as guidelines. We saw people parked in the middle of a multi-directional roadway in an area with hashed lines - a standard indicator that you're not supposed to drive there. But we can't complain too much, we're bending the rules slightly by parking in front of our hotel for the day. It's not really a parking spot, but no one seems to mind and it is saving us about 150 euros.
2. Avoid the main train station.
I know it won't be possible for everyone, but this area really is the armpit of Rome. It's busy, dirty and crawling with seedy characters. We saw a man carrying bleach go behind some potted plants one day and questioned his sanity. The next day, walking past the same area, we figured out what he was doing. Apparently the homeless use the this area of the street as a public bathroom. It was unpleasant to say the least. Maybe we're a bit sensitive, not having lived in a big city for some time, but if that sort of thing doesn't bother you - why not?
3. June is perhaps not the best month to be in Rome.
30 degrees is hot. 30 degrees in Rome seems even hotter. Walking is a necessity if you want to see all the wonders of the city. That task becomes much more difficult with the heat of the summer. I can imagine it would be wonderful here in April or October.
Our first trip into the city was to follow a prescribed route from our guidebook that would take us past some of the highlights of Bernini's Rome. We're both big sculpture fans and Bernini is definitely one of the best. We walked past the baths of Diocletian and a couple of beautiful church facades before our first stop in the church of San Andrea. The interior was gorgeous. We moved on past the Piazza Quirinale where we got our first view of the dome of St. Peter's. We got a gelato by the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed the spectacle despite the crowds. We moved on along the Via Corso and stopped again at the Column of Marcus Aurelius - depicting the great battles and victories of his lifetime. The next stop was the Pantheon, Rome's best preserved ancient monument - first built by Marcus Agrippa and improved by Hadrian in 120 AD. It has since been converted into a Catholic church. The dome is incredibly impressive, with sunlight filtering in through the massive hole in the top. The tomb of Raphael and of Italy's first king - Victor Emmanuel - are inside. The vast space easily accommodated the massive number of tourists and it didn't really feel crowded.
At this point we took the time to have a nice cold drink in the square in front of the Pantheon. It's just as easy to admire the structure from the outside. But the itinerary called for one more stop - the Piazza Navonna, where the massive Fountain of the Four Rivers dominated the square. Moving on from there we turned a corner and found the Vittoriano, a massive war monument of epic beauty. The gorgeous white of the structure and sculptures combined with the blue sky and red-green of the Italian flags to make an astounding backdrop.
We started to head for home, quite exhausted by our trip, but as Rome is Rome, we stumbled upon a few more monuments on our way back. We saw Trajan's column, which I remember deconstructing during a university Classics course. It was cool to see it in person.
So our Rome visit started slowly, with a view negatives, but the onslaught of monuments of grand historical significance has turned the tide and we are quite looking forward to the next four days.
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