Esplorando la Città

It's my 3rd day here in Roma and it still feels a bit surreal. It's hard to get out of the mind frame of being a tourist in this city and thinking I only have a few days or a week here. Yesterday, I woke up and set out to start walking the city. Sadie gave me this awesome set of note cards with over 50 mini walking tours so I started yesterday with numbers 1 - 5. They began at the Piazza del Popolo, meandered down past the Spanish Steps, to the Trevi Fountain and near the Quirinale. They come with great little facts and places to look for along the way. I love the little tips for places off the beaten path because the tourists are out in full masses already!

The tour took me down some of the most well-known streets in the world known for their high-end stores like YSL, Dior, Prada, Bruno Magli, Gucci, Bulgari, Cartier, Valentino (I think I passed his house by accident somewhere else btw), Versace to name a few. I obviously know better than to step foot in any of them.  I passed right by David and Mary's favorite hotel and I had to take a photo for them.  I walked by a school of music on that street that opened up to another beautiful side street.  I was stuck by the sounds of lovely music drifting out of the windows above.  It was one of those serene moments you're lucky enough to experience in the middle of chaos if you happen to walk down the right street at the right moment.  I tried to capture it in the video below but it does it no justice.

Hotel Mozart

The note cards also took me down one of the most lovely streets I've ever seen, Via Margutta. It runs parallel with the street that takes you from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza di Spagna but doesn't have the masses of people. Per the note cards, this street "owes its fame to the artists who can no longer afford to live here." I found this little gem of an apartment that I'm determined to own one day. Apparently this street is where Gregory Peck lived in Roman Holiday.

I finally started to head back to my apartment with aching feet and stopped at a supermercato along the way. My roommates were really excited when I told them I love to cook Mexican food so I decided to pick up a few things. I've told some of you about my disasterous trip to the supermercato in Perugia while visiting Max so I was really nervous, but I managed just fine this time. However, nothing resembling anything Mexican could be found anywhere. No black beans, no tortillas, no nothing. Oh well, not like there's a shortage of amazing food here. As I left I decided to take a different route home now that I knew the area a little better. After walking for 15 minutes or so (with my grocery bags), I thought I should find where I was on my map. I had wandered in the exact opposite direction of where I thought I was going. Here I was, thinking I was headed the direzione justa, the right way. When I got home I immediate asked Cho how to say, "I got lost." Turns out "Mi sono perso" is a phrase I may get familiar with.

This morning I woke up craving a run and wanting to explore the beautiful Villa Borghese more than I was able to yesterday. This breathtaking 148-acre park is full of wide tree-lined shady lanes, several temples, beautiful fountains, statues, art museums and breath-taking views of Rome.  I guess it will have to do as an alternative to Wash Park while I'm here (sarcasm). I think I found my new favorite activity in Rome - early morning running. You get to see the city without the hordes of people every step of the way. It's quiet and peaceful and the air is still cool and crisp. By the end of the run, people were definitely out and about.  Tourists snapping pictures, business men taking their a last drag of their cigarettes before heading into work, women in heels effortlessly navigating the cobblestone, motos zipping by.  The city is so full of life.  I can't wait to see what today brings me!