Sunday became a combo of rest and day to visit a few last stops. Normally we would have streamed our home church service but being so far ahead of U.S. time meant hotel checkout and moving across town during that time frame. We started with one more breakfast in the room, ordering only enough for one and still getting enough food for four.
There were three places we wanted to go on Sunday if the weather held. The first was “Trajan’s Column”. It is on the site of the hill that Emperor Trajan had removed so he could build his own forum – and used the dirt to fill in Nero’s Domus Aurea (Saturday’s post). Reportedly, the height of the column is equal to the height of the hill prior to its removal.
The column is what is known as a Roman triumphal column, commemorating Trajan’s wars with and victory over the Dacians (I know you know just who they were). Completed in 113 AD, it – and the rest of the forum – was made of carrara marble, a white marble mined at the northern end of Tuscany. It stands 125 feet high on its pedestal and is made of 20 separate sections of marble drums plus the block on top that weighs over 53 tons by itself. There is actually a 185 step spiral staircase inside so it has little windows to allow in light. The story in bas relief spirals up and around the column 23 times. It is a remarkable, amazing work, and is nearly all that is left of Trajan’s forum.
The column is just to the side of Piazza Venezia. This is a huge plaza with a palace and an enormous monument that most Romans seem not to like. They believe it is too big, too new, and too ugly. It was built in 1885 in honor of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy. After World War I the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was added, and is guarded night and day. During Mussolini’s rule, he gave speeches from the balcony of the palace and had military parades on the Piazza. And the beautiful stone pines that I wish I could grow back home tower over or alongside it all.
People ask if we have any “trouble” while traveling. The honest answer is yes, but if you plan well, pay attention, use common sense, start with lowered expectations, laugh, and pray, most issues are inconvenience as opposed to trouble. I’ll share some examples in this post.
One of the difficulties of foreign travel is cell phones. If you want to use a U.S. phone in other countries there are a variety of ways to do it. All have pros and cons. I like to be able to keep my U.S. number but I don’t want to pay roaming charges on data usage and I want to use map features and look up info when there is no wifi. I learned about esim cards recently and that is what I am using. I was able to download an electronic sim to my phone that gives me Italian data coverage and allows me to use my phone for talk and text on the U.S. sim card. But, while I can text, for some reason I can’t call a U.S. number! Grrrhhhh…
Anyway, at least the map apps seem to work, But in the city when we are walking between the close together buildings, things tend to get a little off. I’m not sure how many times we were headed in a definite direction with the map saying .1 mile to a destination only to walk .3 mile and have it say .2 mile to a right hand turn. Unnnnhhh??! Sometimes it takes a combination of multiple maps, including paper to find your way around. The good news is you get lots of exercise! The bad news is, it usually happens when you either have to go to the bathroom or when you were done with walking six turns ago.
We plotted a course from Trajan’s Column over to the Piazza del Quirinale, an open plaza on top of Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome. Three of the four sides of the Piazza contain palaces, one of which is the “home of the President”, as stated by the policeman I asked. It is huge in length and width but fairly nondescript from the outside. It was built in 1574 by a Pope as a summer residence. In 1870 it became the Royal Palace for Italy and in 1948, the President’s home. On the fourth side is a view over Trajan’s column across the Tiber to St Peter’s Basilica and beyond.
Our last stop was back to Trevi fountain, our favorite stomping ground. There we fought our way through the crowd to throw coins in the fountain and ensure our return. The restaurant at which we wanted to eat a light, late lunch was closed so we walked over to the restaurant where Genny and her friend had instantly fallen in love a few days before. He saw us coming in the crowd and actually remembered and welcomed us back, or at least welcomed Genny back with more, “I love you’s” and a quick hug.
We did a little shopping, got one final gelato, returned to the hotel for our bags, and moved for our one night at a Rome Airbnb.
Due to a late change to our travel plan, we moved to the Airbnb just on the east side of the Tiber near where we had been on Friday. We had amazingly beautiful weather all week, low 70’s/low 50’s, but late Sunday as we were moving it began to rain, and that continued through when we left on Monday.
The Airbnb was a cute, tiny apartment that you entered first through a large door on a side street, then down an open hallway to another door on the ground floor. It had a combination living room/bedroom with a bed and sofa bed, a kitchen, and bathroom. There was also a very cool courtyard with a sheltered table and chairs and corner sitting area with a hammock. So cute, but too wet and cold to use it.
And speaking of inconvenience, at the Airbnb we had to deal with a lack of heat on our coldest night. There was a wall heater in the living room that sort of worked part of the time, but the radiators would not. We had a couple of pastries for breakfast in a bag on the kitchen counter, but when we got up the next morning, the ants had gotten there first. We decided instead of waiting for our 1:02 p.m. train to Siena, we would catch one at 10:22. The results of that decision are for the next post.
Whatever your plans are, and however well you think you know the way, remember Proverbs 19:6, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps”.
Ramble along in His way. You can trust Him.