Day 15: The Eternal City, and Knockoff Purses

With Mary Beth being done with her conference and us having our first full day in Rome, Thursday was the first day where we both really felt like tourists. So of course, we both slept in until almost ten.

We skipped breakfast altogether and got ourselves to the site where our tour bus picked us up. Before we left, we had bought a three-day pass to a hop-on, hop-off bus which would take us around the city. We decided to make our first stop about as tourist-y as possible, so we stopped at the Colosseum.

The bus dropped us off right at the base of the Colosseum, allowing us to walk up and take it all in. After stopping to get an ice cream (we didn’t have breakfast, after all) we headed up the hill and started to look around.

It’s really hard to take in that you are standing outside a site that is thousands of years old, one of the most iconic images on the planet, munching on a strawberry ice cream and watching people from around the world take their picture in front of it. We joined in, taking advantage of the site and the amazingly perfect summer day to take the same pictures.

As we walked around the Colosseum, we decided to save the 30 euros (and the hour-and-a-half line) and skipped the tour inside of the Colosseum, electing instead to just take a lap around the structure and take more pictures. Besides, saving that money allowed us to have space in the budget for me to take a picture with some Italian dude in a centurion costume. If we’re going to be tourists, we’re going to be full-bore, all-the-way tourists. At this point, all I would need is to smear sunscreen all over my nose for the caricature to be complete.

After the Colosseum, we got back on the bus and decided to head to Trevi Fountain, one of Mary Beth’s favorite sites in Rome. The bus dropped us off a few blocks away, so we hiked through the winding streets of Rome, through the shops and hawkers before we found the site.

Much to our disappointment, though, Trevi Fountain was under construction. There was no water, and scaffolding and workers covered the sculptures. I took what pictures I could, and apparently from there it was time to get down to the serious business. Souvenir shopping.

We did look at a couple of stores that sold purses, but Mary Beth’s attention ultimately was drawn to a collection of Prada purses being sold on the streets. At least, I assume they were Prada purses, because they said “Prada” on the side, and those guys couldn’t possibly be selling fakes, right?

Well, she got one, and then we stopped for lunch—which was entertaining to watch two competing restauranters argue with each other over which one could provide Mary Beth the plate of olives she wanted. As we ate and pondered, Mary Beth got to looking at the purse and thinking. And that thinking ended up with Mary Beth going back and getting another. And another. And … well, I hate to be spoiling the surprise, but if you’re getting a gift from us, it’s likely a purse of some kind.

That’s an exaggeration, of course. For the guys on our list, I promise we didn’t get purses, and we did get some stuff for ourselves as well (including an “official” Roma Totti shirt for me). We then decided to walk some more, looking for the Spanish Steps which appeared to be just a few blocks away.

We were fairly sure we were going in the right direction when I was stopped on the sidewalk with a very pleased-sounding “Go Big Red!” I stopped and met up with the man who GBR’d me, a guy from Fremont who had been in Rome the past few days. As many have observed with some disdain, I wear a lot of Nebraska-branded clothes when I travel, “flying the flag” so to speak. Regardless of where we go, rarely do I not get a GBR at some point, regardless of where we are. I discussed questions about Taylor Martinez waiting to get into the Tower of London, and now I’ve been able to share a GBR on the streets of the Eternal City.

Needless to say, Mary Beth was thrilled.

We did confirm, though, that we were on the right track to the Spanish Steps. Less than two blocks later, we found them and were able to enjoy the sights, sit and rest, and take some additional pictures. I also managed to get myself fleeced out of a few euros for roses for Mary Beth, which the guy who handed them to her waited until she walked away before asking for his money. Natch.

But it was worth it (well, not really) to get a few pictures of Mary Beth with roses on the Spanish Steps. We took some more pictures, took pictures of other people (which we had done the whole day, creating a very pleasant international community of travelers), then started to work our way back to the hotel.

At this point, as tired as we were, we hailed a taxi (after getting new SIM cards for our phones) and got back to the hotel. We dropped our stuff off and went to the same restaurant we ate at last night, having another spectacular meal. After dinner, as both of us were awfully full, we decided to walk off dinner in the evening light.

We walked a few blocks to the Farmacia to see if they sold something to drink. They did not, although Mary Beth did come perilously close to buying a pair of sandals there. We stopped at a bar to get Coca Cola Light to go, and headed back to the room for a shower and rest before another day of sightseeing.