A day in Rome

I recently visited Rome for a day on work. And even though I was inside the office for most of the time, I tried to catch whatever experiences I could during the short time I had to be out. I have been to Rome only once before, about 10 years ago. And I still loved being there, experiencing a city not just from a different century or millenium, but even more than that. Its from the BC years!

Landing at Rome airport

The first view I remember is from the airplane. The airport is a bit far from the city, and next to the sea (I never realised that Rome was near the sea!). I could see the beautiful coastline laced by blue and green hues of water. And the mountains far away and beautifully coloured houses down below, shining in the winter sun. It was a nice welcome to a beautiful city 😊.

The city was about an hour drive from the airport and you continue to see the mountains far away as you drive in. Driving to the city center of Rome is like driving to a different era. You pass by the forum and old churches and walls, and remains of the glory of the Romans. There are so many old buildings everywhere, that even a normal taxi ride ends up taking you through a different world. There is so much history in every turn, it reminded me of how I had been fascinated by the city 10 years ago. And nothing much has changed, in me or the city 😊.

There are old historic buildings everywhere, and the sun and tourists around make the atmosphere even more vibrant. I had a full day of work but while driving back to the airport, I asked the taxi driver to pass by some of the sights of the city (so that I did not feel that I wasted the opportunity!).

Fontana de Trevi

The driver felt bad for me that I was leaving the city without doing any touristy stuff, and so he started telling me trivia about the places we were driving through. We drove through the Via Veneto which is one of the most posh and elegant streets of Rome. Apparently, the street had journalist offices calla pappa razzo which lent its name to the paparazzi. And the pizza margarita which was invented by a chef in Naples gave its colour to the national flag! (I wasn't able to independently check these tales on Wiki, but so what 😝)

The Colosseum

We drove through the National street, the republic square, the Vittorio Emanuele monument (which looked as grand to me today as 10 years ago) and so on. I also stopped at the Fontana de Trevi and the Colosseum for a couple of minutes. The Fountain was full of tourists but I managed to take a photo without any! Even with the crowds, there was a feeling of peace and calm there, maybe because of all the water flowing through... And the Colosseum was calm and quiet as usual, shining in the moonlight.

The streets were all busy with tourists. And they were still cobbled, giving it an aura of the bygone era. Since it was winter, the day had started hot but by the evening, had got a bit chilly but still enjoyable.

The smoking room at the airport!

I was in the airport in no time. On the way, I passed by a few more old churches with histories of their own, old gates to the city and so on! There is just so much history in the city, its amazing. Closer to the airport, I also saw a building which was built much later in the shape of the Colosseum and had been converted into a high-end shopping mall. It looked quite impressive from far. At the airport, I was shocked to see a smoking room. And a long queue outside it too 😜. I have anecdotally heard that Italians smoke a lot but never seen an example of that. Anyways now I did!

Anyways by then, it was time for me to bid Rome goodbye. But I felt good that I had spent at least some time visiting its famous sites, and not ignored its history completely 😊.