Honeymoon - Part Roma

Well, ya know, I think that most people would agree it is best to write about one’s travel experiences several months after the fact, once you’ve had time to let all the sights and culture sink in. Nevermind those details that might have gotten lost in the meantime; if they were important, I would remember them, or would have written them down in my trusty travel journal (though, I am afraid it is filled primarily with thoughts on sight-seeing in general, my mood, and reflections on my arguments with my travel partner).

So early Monday morning, we left the Cinque Terre and traveled down the western coast of Italy, through La Spezia, into Rome. Roma was noisy, crazy, smelly, and really wonderful to experience! The streets of Roma were filled with brightly colored buildings (in stark contrast to Paris’ gray stone) and, in most of the areas we walked through, were more like a random mesh than a grid, with streets stopping and starting all over the place.
We had several tasty meals accompanied by good cheaper-than-water wine, walked in the footsteps of the ancient Romans (well, probably not, technically), saw lots of cats (bleckk!), savored the best cappuccino we have ever encountered, avoided being hit by motorbikes speeding down sidewalk-width “streets,” passed by dozens of churches (and peaked in a few), saw the pope (’s quarters), and had one of our top two museum experiences at Galleria Borghese. Paris might have been overall more pleasant and appealing, but for me, Roma may have left a deeper imprint.

According to our friend Ilaria from Latina (about an hour south of Roma), Roma is the best city in the world, while Paris is her favorite (she admits that it is difficult to live IN Roma, but would be happy to live in Paris). I do not feel informed enough to agree or disagree, but I am glad we got to experience both!



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