Italy - The Final Day (Day 8): Rome...

I remember smacking the snooze button on the alarm clock, and also hitting the snooze button on my phone's alarm, too. I didn't really want to wake up as early as I did (I don't think I ever do), but this was to be my final day in Italy and I didn't want to waste it.

Over the course of the previous week, I'd taken over 3,500 photographs and, to be honest, I was pretty sure I was over it. I just didn't feel like shooting anything this last day and, instead, opted to use it as a day to head into Rome and buy a few souvenirs. Beside, if anything did pop up that I needed to shoot, the camera on the iPhone Xr is pretty formidable.

After a shower and some breakfast I walked over to the train station, which would carry me to the underground station which would get me to the Colosseum. From there I could go anywhere.

I decided I would walk and, man, did I walk; a total of 5.2 miles for the day. 

Of course, everyone's been asking me about the food. Without question, it's some of the best food I've ever had. Everything is ridiculously fresh, and I don't know that they ever use frozen anything. But, as good as the food can be, it can be not so good, too. I don't know about you, but I don't know that I'd be willing to take a chance on a vending machine salmon sandwich in a subway station:

That's some good eatin' right there, ya' think?

But that doesn't mean that there isn't good food to be found in the subway. Fresh sandwiches and paninis are readily available and, like just about everything else you're going to eat in Italy, they're all very fresh.

Depending on the day, they will empty those trays six to ten times a day...

I got to know this platform quite well...

This is pretty much the first thing you see when you leave the underground station...

My first stop was the Altare della Patria, which is the monument to Victor Emmanuel II. I'd visited here before, but didn't venture inside. Before doing so, I stopped to photograph the Tomb of the Unknown. Like the American tomb at Arlington, it's guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The Tomb of the Unknown...

I have to be honest, I wasn't completely blown away by the inside. Don't get me wrong; it was an amazing piece of architecture and it houses an amazing collection of artifacts. Unfortunately, though, I simply couldn't put anything into context. Everything was written in Italian and, while there some wonderful displays, I had no way of really knowing what they were displays of.
 

If you want, for €10 you can take an elevator to the roof of the Altare della Patria to get some really nice panoramic views of the city. The line can get a little bit long, and they only take six people at a time, but the vistas are pretty amazing.

Three dominant domes in Rome. The one in the center, by far the largest, is St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican...

Some views from atop the Altare della Patria...

I don't know what the Hell any of this means, but it got me to the top...

This guy was waiting to get on the elevator. Italian popped collars; a national tragedy...

From the Altare della Patria, I decided to make my way over to the ruins of the Forum. The Forum was once the center of Roman life. Some of the structures here date back to 700 BC, although most are much later in origin. It has served as a venue for processions and elections, criminal trials and public speeches. It's been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, in all of recorded history.

Pretty heady stuff.

Some of the ruins at the Forum

As I walked along, through the Forum and elsewhere, I found myself marveling at the utterly stunning amount of history there is to be found here. In St. Augustine, we boast about being the oldest city in the United States, and I suppose that's appropriate. But this... man, this is just next level stuff. I mean, come on. They've got a stature of Julius Freakin' Caesar:

Julius Caesar: Dictator Perpetuo (Dictator in Perpetuity)...

I tried to keep in mind that the main purpose of my trip into downtown Rome was to pick up some souvenirs and get a nice dinner, but that plan was repeatedly foiled. As I attempted to make good on my plan, I was again derailed, this time by the Musei Capitolini or, at least, by the Piazza del Campidoglio, which is the plaza atop Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill - English).

The centerpiece of the piazza is a looming statue of none other than Marcus Aurelius, perhaps best known as the compassionate Emperor of Rome in the movie "Gladiator". The statue in the piazza is actually a replica of the original which is housed inside the museum.

Marcus Aurelius...

The Palazzo dei Conservatori, one of the three buildings of the museum...

Looking up at the Palazzo Senatorio in the piazza...

Like so many other things found in Rome, Piazza del Campidoglio was designed by none other than Michaelangelo. The original plans date from 1536, but it wasn't completed until the 17th century, long after Michaelangelo's death.

From there it was down the steps and into the heart of Rome.

Rome is, by a pretty wide margin, one of the the most crowded places I've ever been. Not only is it a city with a population of over 2,500,000, but when you add the ridiculous number of tourists it can get pretty ridiculous. While walking is, for me, the best way to traverse through the city (did I tell you about my Merrell's?), you have to be careful. One of the by-products of so many people is that traffic is just nuts, and many drive as though your ass has a point value. Just watch where you're going and you'll be fine.

All over Rome there are churches. Some, like St. Peter's Basilica, is grand on a scale unknown anywhere else in the world. But all of them, with no exception that I could find, is not ridiculously ornate. There's a lot of variation in the exteriors, but the grandeur of the insides is always impressive.

The facade of the Chiesa di San Marcello al Corso...

The interior of the Chiesa di San Marcello al Corso...

Even though they can appear quite small on the outside, Rome's churches and basilicas are all expansive and profoundly ornate. As a photographer who loves photographing churches, Rome is the most target-rich environment I've ever seen.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva...

Inside the Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva...

All of the walking I did certainly came at a price, and it dawned on me that it had been some time since I'd had anything to eat or drink. I decided to address the "drink" part first. I happened upon the Trinity College Bar; an Irish bar smack in the middle of the Italian capital:

Trinity College Pub...

I stepped inside, sat at the bar and was quickly greeted by the bartender. When I mentioned that I wanted something "local", he recommended, and subsequently poured, a pint of Angelo Poretti Lager, which was very good.

A cold, frosty adult beverage...

While sitting there, I struck up a conversation with a young lady named Rosa. 

Meet Rosa...

When I commented that her English was damn-near perfect for an Italian, she replied that she wasn't Italian, but Iranian, but she had come to Italy for her education. We talked as she worked, and the conversation only added to the comfortable environs I found myself in.


After treating myself to two pints (okay, okay... three pints; don't judge) the clock on the wall reminding me I hadn't eaten in some time. It was getting a bit late in the day, so I started to think about dinner. I bid farewell to Rosa and stepped back out into the waning sunlight. I wasn't sure where I would have dinner, but I surmised that, with absolutely zero experience dining in Italy, one place would be as good as the next.
 
But as soon as I stepped into the Taverna del Seminaro, I knew I had freakin' nailed it.

The Taverna del Seminario...

I was greeted by the hostess as soon as I walked through the door. I took a seat at a table near the back and perused the menu. Unknowingly, I settled on what would be the best meal I had during my entire trip: Ricotta and spinach ravioli in a sage butter sauce. 

Oh.

My.

God.

It was sublime. I paired it with a nice glass of some robust red wine and settled into my own little Italian culinary Nirvana. In all honesty, it was so good I almost ordered a second plate. But the thing about the food here is that, though portions are very small by an American's standards, they're quite filling. Never once did I step away from a meal with an unsatiated appetite. 

And I've probably mentioned a time or two how fresh the food is. Taverna del Seminario makes their pasta from scratch, every single day. Oh, and the bread? Yeah, it was freshly baked, too, and some of the best I've ever had.

Ricotta and spinach ravioli, with wine and freshly baked bread. As good as it gets...

I had some rather fine food during my stay, but this was a high point. I just sat there, trying to imagine what it would be like to be able to eat like this every day. In that regard, Italians are pretty damn fortunate.


But, as I finished my glass of wine, and as much as I hated to do it, I had to accept that this adventure-filled vacation was coming to an end. I paid my bill (which was less than €25) and walked out into the waning Italian daylight, back to the Colosseum and, ultimately, back to my hotel...


Despite traveling with thousands of dollars worth of professional photographic equipment, all photographs in this entry were taken with the Apple iPhone Xr...