I Came, I Saw, I Walked....

So I admit, when I first arrived this morning, I was a bit put off. Despite the many reassurances made by many of you to the contrary, the LARGE majority of people in Rome do NOT speak English. So after a brief nap upon arrival I attempted to brave the streets with dictionary in hand. First stop, Termini Train Station up the street from my hotel. I went because my travel guru, Rick Steves, says that not only is this the easiest place to purchase a Roma Pass but also because there is a traveler information office. At this point in the day I was feeling pretty anxious and figuring I was going to have to pay hiked up prices for tours around the City because I am not feeling very comfortable. It was about 1:00p.m. Rome time at this point. Well, apparently the travel office is closed at this time. How about trying the self-purchase machines... I can figure this out, I am an intelligent human being. Well, I figured it out except they only had train tickets to places I did not want to go and no sign of the Roma Pass anywhere... Feeling nearly defeated and starting to get even more anxious I slowed myself down and MADE myself continue to look for the Roma Pass desk. I found the desk and purchased my Roma Pass. One thing accomplished. So, realizing that taking the trains and buses around town was going to be possibly even more problematic than walking, I decided to take the short walk back to my hotel and sit in the lobby with a map for five minutes so I could wrap my head around where I was. Two minutes later, I am sitting in my hotel lobby, reading the map and figuring out the most direct route to the Colosseum. Five minutes later, I was en route, by foot. In ten minutes, I saw the Colosseum standing in front of me as I approached. 

Confidence back up, time to take some photos and eat. As I promised myself I would, I ate my first Italian meal in front of the Colosseum.  The photo below was from my table. And of course, my first meal: pizza.

 

Too late in the day for me to actually go in to the Colosseum for my tour, I decided to make today my day to get oriented and get a bit more comfortable with Rome. So, as I ate, I mapped out my walk from the Colosseum to the Trevi Fountain. The maps do not really accurately reflect all the twists and turns that the cobblestone roads take, but, by some miracle, I stood in front of the Trevi Fountain today and threw in a couple of coins for good measure. It may be a silly superstition, but the coins that are thrown into the fountain go to a good cause, they are collected daily to feed Rome's poor. It was worth a couple of Euros to make my wish.

 

As it was starting to get a bit late in the afternoon, I quickly figured out the quickest route back to my hotel from the fountain and started the hike. Along the way I saw some interesting sites, including the store photoed below which sells Calabrese favorites (where part of my Italian roots stem from).

Before making it all the way back, I took a few detours down a couple of side roads and bought some pasta, olive oil, vacuum sealed olives, ya know, the typical tourist stuff. 

Tomorrow, I have reservations to see the Galleria Borghese, having a reputation as the finest private art collection in the world.