After spending our first day in Rome catching up on some much needed zzzs, we headed out bright and early the next morning to wander the streets of Rome. Our first thought was to head to the Vatican museums. Little did we know that the lineups start extra early in the morning and they are not some puny lineup. It was at least a 3-4 hour wait. So after some discussion we figured that the best course of action was to head back to the metro and make our way to Trevi Fountain. Vatican would wait for another day giving us some time to buy advance tickets to by-pass the lineup. With a map in hand we pointed ourselves, we thought, in the direction of the fountain. Apparently we took the long way around but in the end we found what we were looking for: Trevi Fountain.
The scene as we came out of the side street.
The fountain is comparatively young and was actually built in the 1700s. Construction finished in 1762, thirty years after work began. Ocean the main statue in the fountain stands 5.8 meters high and is pulled by two horses that led by tritons. One horse is wild and led by a younger triton while the calmer horse is led by an older triton blowing a horn to announce their passage.
Making our way past the fountain we head west towards the Pantheon. Walking through a mall and out the other side a tall column rises above you marking the Piazza Colonna. At the top of the column is the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Continuing west we are pleasantly surprised when the sight of the Pantheon emerges from the buildings. This once pagan structure was taken over by the church in 609 AD and converted into a Christian church. Many of the bones from the catacombs were brought here to be laid to rest in their final resting spot. Raphael lies here as does Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia, the first king of Rome.
One last stop for the day was the famous Piazza Navona. In the centre of the oval lies the Fountain of the Four Rivers designed by Bernini represents the Nile, Ganges, Danube and the Rio de la Plata.
After having dinner in the piazza at an aptly named Dolce Vita restaurant we decided to head back to the hotel, of course I ended up turning the wrong way which ended up being quite fortuitous for me. We soon found ourselves crossing the Tevere river, as soon as I realized where we were I knew I had made an error in my direction. The Castel Sant’Angelo stood on the other side of the bridge which is lined with the statues of angels.
A great accidental find but as the sun’s light finally disappeared it was time to find our way back to the hotel.