Roma, Roma, Roma

What could be more blissful then lounging by the Trevi Fountain, basking in the sunlight, and people watching? 

Ah yes, lounging by the Trevi Fountain, basking in the sunlight, people watching, AND gelato Nutella flavored gelato. 

When it was finally time for us to extract ourselves from our perch, we wandered leisurely through the streets of Rome. 

In Rome, even without looking you find some huge important monument, like the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II. 

Through the woods and over the river. 

The food in Rome across the river is definitely better. Even in the case of gelato, which is always good, some is still superior, especially in the Trastevere neighborhoood. As they say, when in Rome...eat gelato twice a day with no shame.

The perfect (and necessary) companion to any scenic walk is gelato. 

We were crafty enough to angle our walk right back to the Colosseum to be sure it was the last memory of Rome we savored before jumping on a treno home. 

Our little trip to the Trevi guaranteed us a return trip to Rome, though not one I plan to take in the near future. I both loved Rome, and couldn't wait to leave it. Rome is big and great and full of a million things to see. It's the kind of place that I don't think you can ever get a real handle on, no matter how many times you visit. The city moves a little faster than everywhere else in Italy.  

You walk along the streets like a fish being dragged down stream, the hustle and bustle of the city and those terrible street hagglers jostling you at every moment. True calm is only found when you can break away to a separate pool and observe the others caught in the madness. Eventually you must always rejoin the others, though. The trip is beautiful and well worth it, even if the journey is not always leisurely.

Giotto di Bondone says it better than I: "Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning". Every piece of the city is so vast, you slip into it. There is no grasping the enormity of what you see in Rome, it may be real, but every moment feels like you've just walked onto a movie set. The people of Rome, including its vistors, go with purpose. Some looking to earn their wages, others to entice a pretty young lady, another to meet a friend a mile away, tourists mob from monument to monument. 

I'll let you know how my feeling about Rome change the next time I see it. Could it ever become less overwhelming? Let me know how you feel about Rome. What do you love/hate most about the Eternal City? 

Yours, Kenna