This morning, we woke up and greeted Venice. We are bound for Rome today. Despite a lot of Venice’s beauty and culture, I cannot always deal with the tourists. There is a romantic air that hangs about Venice, a music on the wind. And then… more tourists show up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a tourist, too. I fully understand that I don’t belong there either, so I get out. I still hold the opinion that it’s great to see once.

The selfie stick mania begins today. We are not even to the train station yet and there are peddlers holding out selfie sticks, saying “selfie, selfie, selfie” everywhere you go. It actually becomes a bit of a game later int he trip. We knew we were close to a monument or something cool when the Selfie birds started. In this case, it was the main train station in Venice. We boarded our train and made our way to Rome. Rambling through the countryside at nearly 300 km per hour is exciting and the landscape is beautiful. One of my favorite things about travel is talking to strangers. We met a nice gentleman from Texas who was on a soul searching trip after a recent divorce. He had on stereotypical cowboy boots and was delightful to talk to.

Once we arrive in Rome, it doesn’t take me long to get my feet under me. I have the unique pleasure of being a repeat visitor. Consequently, I know my way around a little bit. We did not have hotel reservations, so we made our way to the hotel I stayed at during my last visit to Rome. They were booked up, but let us use their Wi-Fi to book another hotel down the road. We ended up near the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina, which I have to tell you, is a great spot to be. We were central to nearly everything, we could see the tops the best buildings from the rooftop sitting area, and the prices were reasonable, too.

Area Sacra di Largo Argentina, Rome, Italy

After we were all settled in, we picked a couple of spots that we wanted to walk to today and set out on an adventure. It was my boyfriend’s first visit, so I let him take the lead deciding where we were going. Tomorrow’s the day that my structure counts. Today is whatever he wants to do. We wandered around enjoying Rome and drinking cappuccinos everywhere we went. It didn’t take long for us to end up at the Colosseum. We didn’t go in today, just walked around outside. Down the street from there was the Circus Maximus and Il Palatino. Both marvels to see in their own rite. Admittedly, the Circus Maximus is more cool factor than outward beauty, but the truth is the same. It is awesome and you should go.

Il Palatino with Circus Maximus in the foreground, Rome, Italy

I convinced him to humor me and enjoy my favorite street food in Rome. A ham and cheese sandwich. Glamorous, right? Well, it’s real prosciutto with mozzarella and arugula, toasted to perfection. Ham and cheese still makes me laugh. With our sandwiches in hand, we wandered some more to see where we could get lost. There was a beautiful winding road that passed beside a garden. We followed it all the way up to a piazza that I didn’t recognize. The wall said Piazza Dei Cavalieri Di Malta. I didn’t know what it was, but it was pretty. There were some people nearby at a door, fussing to look through it. We laughed at them and went on about our wandering. When more people showed up insisting to look through the door, we stopped for a moment and wondered.

We waited a bit for them to leave and for no one else to be coming to see what everyone was so excited about. Walking up to these large green doors, they don’t look like much. But then, you put your hands on the worn paint and press your eye up to the keyhole. Perfectly framed on either side with manicured trees stands an illuminated St. Peter’s Basilica Dome. We couldn’t believe it. The picture was next to impossible to take, so I don’t have one to share. It is on my recommended spots list for Rome from now on.

After our snack, we wandered some more and made our way back to the Army Museum in Piazza Venezia. This is probably my favorite building in Rome. There are many beautiful buildings that compete with it, no doubt, but this one, I think is my favorite. After all of these years, it is a steadfast reminder of where you are versus where you need to be. The statues on top are gorgeous and the white marble is stunning in the sunlight. One day, I will go in. But, not today.