I was one of the first few people in the Colosseum today. It was astounding, to be there almost alone, in the early morning, imagining, imagining. Gladiators. Exotic animals. The fight, the blood. The instinct for survival that permeated the air then, is probably thicker than the walls of the Colosseum today.

In less than an hour, the crowd poured in, the queue at the entrance already snaking around this ancient monument.

I’ve been really lucky so far. In rome - the vatican city, vatican museum, Colosseum; in florence - the galleria uffizi, the galleria dell accademia. All famed to have long queues to get in. Like hour long queues. however, each of the places i barely had to queue. Benefits of travelling without a tour i suppose. Or just good timing.

Anyway. After the Colosseum, i strolled palantino for a bit then headed towards spagna to check out the spanish steps. Lazed there for abit, then took a slow stroll towards the pantheon. It appeared without warning, and took my breath away. Truly, the streets of rome houses many surprises and hidden gems. Just an astounding place to walkabout.

From the pantheon i headed towards piazza navona, a square where artists and musicians flock. True enough, the sounds of a saxophone guided me to the piazza. Then a guitarist, slowly plucking out Sting’s Fragile. Made me misty. I sat by the fountain, and in the company of pigeons, listened to his solo renditions. Bubbles floating all over the square from a guy selling bubble makers. Artists smoking from pipes. Cafes spilling into the street and probably a pickpocket or two among us.

The guitarist stopped playing and packed his guitar. I too, decided to continue my walk. It was my last day in rome! I walked a bit slower, and looked at the trinkets and souvenirs. Vespa keychains, the godfather tshirts, pinnochio pencils, rosaries. Bought a nutella flavoured gelato. The italians are crazy about nutella. Nutella crepes, nutella waffles, nutella croissant. Nutella this nutella that.

My last stop was trevi fountain, where i sat to finish my nutella gelato. It was the mother of all fountains, HUGE! And crowded. Sat there for quite a bit, people watching and just passing time.

Am heading to barcelona tomorrow. Stay tuned!

published on Nov 26 08 at 2:52 am under category : travelling.