Travel~ Travel~ Rome - 2nd May 2008

On the 2nd morning, we made our way back to Heathrow terminal 5 and boarded another BA plane to Rome. I had fond memories of Rome after my 1st visit more than 10 years ago, I remember myself being very attracted to the Roman architecture, to the Italian fashion and to the Italian people, especially the Italian men. (Oops! Hubby is going to be so jealous reading this!)

2nd May marked the start of our 8-day tour with Trafalgar Tours. (Remember I ever mentioned that it wasn't the best way to travel?) We arrived too early for the hotel transfer time at 3:30pm, so we had a couple of hours to roam around the airport and I found that Hello Kitty is also popular here! Yippee!

We were finally picked up and transferred to our hotel, arriving at around 4:30pm for a briefing by our Tour Director who was actually quite professional. (We later found out that he has been in this job for 15 years.)

We joined the optional excursion for a night drive-through tour in the city center of Rome and visited the famous Trevi Fountains, the Pantheon and had our dinner at the charming Piazza Navona. Rome being Rome, was still impressive to me although I was not as amazed as I was when I first visited.

Not a very good picture of the Trevi Fountain but just see how crowded it was!

It was so crowded at the Trevi Fountain that hubby and I had to literally squeeze our way through to find an opening to throw our coins in. The correct way to throw the coin according to our guide was to hold the coin in the right hand and throw it over the left shoulder with the back facing the fountain water. And the legend goes: "Throw 1 coin to visit Rome again, throw 2 coins to find a lover and throw 3 coins to stay with your lover in Rome happily ever after." I had always thrown only 1 coin in my previous visits and I did go back, so I think the legend is true. So if you want to find an Italian lover and live in Rome ever after, remember to throw in 3 coins!

The Pantheon's magnificent concrete dome with an "oculus" - the Great Eye.

The Pantheon was built in 125 AD, making it the oldest still standing domed structure in Rome. (1883 years old!!!) The diameter of the dome and the height to the oculus is said to be exactly the same at 43.3 metres or 142ft. The oculus which is an opening at the top of the dome admits sunlight to light up the interior of the Pantheon and also for cooling/ventilation purposes. And it was explained to us that when it rains, water will be drained away relatively fast as the internal floor of the Pantheon is concave outwards. Amazing!

The cafe where we had our first Italian dinner at Piazza Navona.

Finally we arrived at Piazza Navona for an hour of free time to have dinner. We had a seafood pasta and a mushroom and cheese pizza at one of the cafes facing out to the square. The food was great, the best Italian food we both have had so far. The waiter who attended to us was rather suave and charming in the unique Italian too, speaking a little English. The only disappointment that night came from the street musician who was performing near our table.

First night in Rome was romantic and good until bathing time back in our hotel. There was a big tub in our bathroom but before the tub is half filled, hot water system ran out and we didn't have hot water to shower until the next morning! The Romans do not like hot baths?