This building was at one side of the Piazza Navona, a very long plaza that used to be a race track. Now it is thronging with tourists, painting sellers, performers, portrait artists, and surrounded by cafes and gelaterias. Now gelato is something I could be happy to have everyday!
Did I mention that Rome has a lot of fountains? They are all fed through the ancient aquaduct system, each powered by the force of water running downhill. There are also many small fountains along the sides of the streets that have water just flowing out, and it is for drinking. Good, safe water too, they say. Tasted good to me, and nice and cold too!
You never know what you might find around an ordinary corner, The ornate tribute to Mary is on the side of an apartment building in a small side street.
Below you can see one of the small fountains on the side of a street, and also some of the graffiti that kind of ruins the picture. The water pours into an ancient drain in the stone that is carved away by the water.
Here we have the Pantheon! It was closed for the evening by the time we got there, so we didn't get to see the dome inside. The Romans built it for all the gods, and the Roman church turned it into a church...
After crossing a busy street and going down some small streets, you come upon Trevi Fountain with the sound of rushing water! Quite dramatic! The fellow at the top is Ocean, representing all waters, and I am not sure who they guys with the horses are down below, but it is really an amazing scene, surrounded by zillions of people.
We finally made to the the Spanish Steps, the end of our night tour. Whew!
I will add some impressions here. All of the tourist spots have Africans selling fake Prada bags and African carvings. Bangladeshi men sell sun glasses buy day and lighted whirly-gigs and long stemmed roses by night. All around the Vatican area are Asian women selling shawls and scarves, especially targeting the women who are wearing clothing that doesn't pass the Vatican dress code. Around the Colosseum there are men dressed as gladiators who charge a lot to pose for tourist pictures. So many resourceful people in the world who made it to Rome!
After crossing a busy street and going down some small streets, you come upon Trevi Fountain with the sound of rushing water! Quite dramatic! The fellow at the top is Ocean, representing all waters, and I am not sure who they guys with the horses are down below, but it is really an amazing scene, surrounded by zillions of people.
We finally made to the the Spanish Steps, the end of our night tour. Whew!
I will add some impressions here. All of the tourist spots have Africans selling fake Prada bags and African carvings. Bangladeshi men sell sun glasses buy day and lighted whirly-gigs and long stemmed roses by night. All around the Vatican area are Asian women selling shawls and scarves, especially targeting the women who are wearing clothing that doesn't pass the Vatican dress code. Around the Colosseum there are men dressed as gladiators who charge a lot to pose for tourist pictures. So many resourceful people in the world who made it to Rome!
Posts
3 comments:
Love it, Lu! I've never hadsuch a realistic and interesting tour of Rome! Thanks!
Are all those people on the Spanish Steps also tourists, or is it somewhere locals hang out, like a plaza?
Glad you all are enjoying the tour! And your feet don't hurt either! :-)
I'm not quite sure about the people on the steps. My impression is that they were mostly young people, some local and a lot of youthful tourists. There seem to be a LOT of young tourists everywhere! Cheering broke out a couple times on the steps, that's where I get my impression.
Post a Comment