My first days in Rome!

It’s one thing to hear stories and see pictures… It’s another thing entirely to find yourself immersed in the melting pot of Rome, face to face with monumental evidence of the rise and fall of civilisations, 1000s of years past. In fact, we’ve not even made it yet, and already, we see hints of what’s to come from our train window. As we move closer to the Mediterranean, the landscape changes. Out there in the rolling green hillside we start to see castle ruins every so often, as if it were as common as a herd of cows. 

As we set foot in the capital, instantly we feel an unspoken affinity with the city. Cars hurtle across the road and people congest the streets, but around every corner are small cobblestone alleys and something new to discover. Our accomodation is hidden away in a charming courtyard complete with its own water fountain and encouragingly crowded fooderies. 

To settle ourselves, we decide to take a lazy stroll. No objectives, just exploration. And within 5 minutes we accidentally stumble upon the colosseum. Basking in the sweet mix of an unexpected surprise and this grand view, it’s like we’re unraveling a gift that keeps on giving. And though the colosseum has stopped us in our tracks, Rome doesn’t stop, with workaday traffic buzzing by on the road wrapped around the monument. A defiant clash of modern and ancient coexistence, that bamboozles us Aussies. “How can there just be a road here!?” We laugh incredulously, before continuing our leisurely stroll… Which soon turns into a hike, as we pursue our next Roman ruin fix. 

The next day is almost no different, as we find even more wonderful spots to visit. Most are well known, but in these winter months, the crowds are barely there, blessing us with the space for a peaceful experience. Ironically, compared to the Swiss Alps (from where we’ve come), the weather here is actually a comfortable relief.

A lesser known spot we visit is the “Cat Sanctuary”, a roman ruin-turned-shelter to 150 cats! Though we only saw about 5 cats in reality, the small football field sized ruins are the cutest in my books. Enamoured with these fascinating felines, we’re not content to just leave it there, we want to know more about these cats… However, as Jesse casually flicks through information on his phone, our attention quickly diverts to an even more interesting fact. That is… rather than being just a cat’s playground, the unassuming rubble before us, is also, the fateful site where Julius Cesar was murdered. We look at the ruins again with new eyes, musing to ourselves how odd it is that we wouldn’t have known if not for chance and the internet. 

It’s like, if you overturn any pebble in Rome… there’s bound to be some history there. Even the McDonald’s boasts a mosaic wall, though I have my doubts about its authenticity… Nonetheless it’s a fantastic pit stop for us, where we may refuel our energy for our sprawling exploration plans that seep into the night!