We
arrived in Rome late in the evening on the 23rd. It was going to be
another campsite (Camping Roma) just outside the city. With the exact address
not showing up on the GPS, we actually ended up asking someone for directions,
something we should’ve probably done when we were close to the address anyways!
(What idiots technology makes out of us sometimes J). The staff was quite rude on
arrival, and even refused to consider Riya as a baby (despite the bookings.com
policy not making any mention of it).
The bad
mood was all wiped away though by Hari whipping up some awesome spaghetti
pasta. Riya was fast asleep and with some red wine also flowing, the scene was
set for a super night of fun. We had singing sessions, wearing the Venetian
mask sessions, and jokes galore. My throat
was a bit of a mess before the night started, and by the end of it, it was a
colossal one. But it had capped a memorable birthday celebration for me which
had started almost 24 hours ago, in a beautiful restaurant in Florence!
---
The
next morning was a late one. After having the usual brunch in the camping
village, we drove out to meet the monumental achievements of Roman
architecture. Starting with the Colosseum, the sheer grandeur of Rome has to be
seen to be believed. Each structure is made with utter disregard to scarcity of
any materials or space. It was as if the kings just told the architects &
engineers “Make it as big as you can, with whatever it takes!” I think, by the
end of evening, I had seen so many of these structures with my jaw agape, that
it had an irreversible change of shape! And we had, literally, just seen one
‘street’ full of monuments. No pictures can do justice to this place. And to
think that it was made all those centuries ago, made it that much more
awe-inspiring.
After
the 'monument'al dose and what seemed like an age of having pasta &
pizza, we were craving for some good-ol’ Indian food. We hooked up the GPS to
direct us to any Indian restaurant around, et voila – we made it to a place
called ‘Jaipur’ and had some delectable roti & curry!! Ah, what a relief it
was!!
The
next day was reserved for the Vatican, and for the size and sheer detail of it,
it probably needed two, even for the regular tourist. The audio guide was
seemingly endless and had so many layers and levels, it was difficult to go
through it completely while keeping pace with what we were seeing. And it was
near impossible to take time at every exhibit with Riya powering through like a
Duracell bunny!! :-)
I
simply had to continue my ‘jaw agape’ expression through the Vatican, with each
painting or work of art being of such intricate detail and such historical
importance. All said & done, they had also packaged it all really well, and
I just thought to myself that if some of India’s sites had packaged their art
and history even half as well, they would see many, many more international
visitors than the Vatican.
After
spending the day gnawing through Vatican, we dinked into a McDonald’s to get a
quick bite before we headed back to the camping village. On the way, I picked
up some wine at a store run by a Bangladeshi, and that was to keep us company
as we wound down the day with some light food and snacks.
--
We had
planned 3 nights, and 2 days in Rome, and in the end it was just about right.
The major sights – The Colosseum, Vatican City and the infinite list of
monuments, were all covered comfortably.
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