 |
| The Roman Forum |
After passing through numerous security checks with our shoes off in San Francisco, my travel partner and I were somewhat surprised at the ease of entering Italy. An immigration officer stamped our passports without looking up from his desk, and then the customs official waved us through without even pausing in her languid conversation with a porter.
We hailed a cab (or the cab driver hailed us) and sped off to our hotel: the charming little Cosmopolita. Our driver careened through traffic with no distinct lanes in his big manual transmission Mercedes cab. Most of the time he was twisted around in the driver’s seat to face us, pointing out various sites and explaining bits of Italian history while steering with one hand. Next time, I'll take the Metro (subway) from the airport.
We arrived hours before check-in time and in the rain, but the Cosmopolita Hotel staff took it in stride. They stored our bags and gave us a map of the area, pointing out that the ancient Roman Forum, Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Capitol Building and Metro station were all within easy walking distance. I asked if there was a shop nearby where we could buy an umbrella, which was the one thing I had forgotten to pack. Alesandro (the unofficial King of Front Desk) happily said, “Yes, you’ve found it,” and handed us a giant golf umbrella . Tucked under our new umbrella and operating on pure adrenaline, we struck out in the direction of the Roman forum.
The forum turned out to be an easy five-minute stroll from the hotel, as promised. Stone steps lead down to the excavated forum, which is several stories below the surrounding buildings, and by the time we reached the last step the rain had stopped and the clouds were beginning to break up. What a sight the Roman forum was with the clouds peeling apart and brilliant shafts of sunlight striking the ancient stones.
To Be Continued...
