Crazy Trip: Day 6-7: Wrap Up

It has been already one and half month since the New Year and I have not posted a single blog, so much for last year’s resolution! Well, as goes my favourite saying “better late than never”. Hence, I finally decided to finish the crazy trip blog, today, sitting here at Bengaluru airport, waiting for my flight to Delhi which is delayed (I missed my actual flight to Lucknow already).

Of the crazy trip, only the last two days were pending to be blogged. The plan for the first day (of the two days) was Colloseum, Roman Forum and Borghese Gallery. The Borghese Gallery was already booked by us through call, as it was important to do so. We freshened up early and reached Coloseo stop by line B Metro. There was a passport check at the station and we had our original ones, hence no problem. Here comes a tip: always carry your passport with you, in a hotel room there are more chances to lose it.

As we came out of the stop, the great structure welcomed us and we were as amazed by its age as by its architecture. Thanks to the Roma Pass, we skipped the queue and directly entered the site. And the sight was marvelous. Given the modern methods, I doubt if any engineer or architect today can even think of such an architectural marvel. Completed in about 80 AD, the Colosseum is an ampitheatre whose use is known to everyone, thanks to the movie Gladiator. In that time, the Colosseum can seat 50,000 spectators, had a tier system in seating with the top class people on top floors and lower class people below. The area was made of wood, and a underground network of tunnels called hypogeum, through which the animals, gladiators and sets were brought in, giving a feeling that it came from underground. Now, the hypogeum is visible as the wooden flooring has decayed.

Interiors of Colosseum

A lot of photography here and there; Ach’s fish eye was of great help to capture the whole environment in one shot. There were those actor gladiators too, who were posing with tourists, or rather the tourists were posing with them. There was a mini exhibition also goin on there, which showed the wealth and property of one person who owned 4 of the Seven Hills of Rome.

Our next stop was the Palentine Hill which included the Roman Forum. The ticket to palentine hill is same as that of the Colloseum and yet we had a different queue for the Roma pass holders. And soon we were inside a site where history still lives. We could see archaeological team still digging the soil and discovering some new things. But most of the important things are already out, what only remains are most probably servant quarters and of not that much historical importance. The palentine hill is a huge site and umbrella and water (or at least a bottle) is suggested even during this time of the year.

We went about seeing Nero’s apartments, his wife’s apartments, various temples (that of Saturn and etc). Then we reached the Roman Forum (Foro Romano in Italian). It is a huge site of ruins, thanks to various movies, we could imagine how this place might have looked during that time. There was a horse racing track too.

Roman Forum

We shopped for some souvenirs and then headed for lunch. After the previous day’s disaster dinner, we were very cautious now. But, then again, too much cautiousness is also harmful. We went inside a cafe in front of the National Monument, and ordered paninis. They asked to sit, which we should not have done, since take away is always cheaper. But then, we were tired too, hence we sat and had nice Panini and paid a higher price.

Then there was a bit confusion about the bus stop towards Borghese Gallery, but we managed to find it (days of googling was bound to help). The bus dropped us near Borghese Gardens and then using a little bit of Google Maps (which now has pre-cached map so that you do not need an internet connection), we reached near galleria Borghese. We were early than our booking time, hence Raja decided to take a nap, I decided to relish a lime gellati, and Ach decided to review his day’s collection of pictures.

The entry to Borghese gallery was easy, they are very strict about the timings and bookings, and many were turned back even though they had Roma Pass (even with it, you have to book an appointment). Only 200 people are allowed inside the gallery at one time for about 2 hours. That is the max time you will need. We took an audio guide which was really helpful. And finally in the last 5 days, I was without my camera or tripod, as photography is not allowed inside the gallery. I think it has more to do with keeping the thieves at bay.

With no extra lens to look at, we had all time to praise and discuss the amazing art collection there. Borghese had a nack for art objects, and he used everything from money, influence, and theft to collect them. He was the main patron of Bernini and most of is great works are in this gallery. With the information from the audio guide, we were enjoying the tour a lot. Bernini’s works were amazing, and each room had one of his great works. Even an unfinished work title “truth will be revealed in time” was there. The most attractive was “rape of Proserpina” . The sculptures never looked like they were made of marble; Bernini’s hands had made them like wax and you can even see your reflection on them.

The next collection was that of paintings. The Cravaggio paintings were very familiar, since I had worked on a copy of his. His paintings with dark background and bright foregrounds stood out from all others. His bold use of red and black was just awesome. I felt myself blessed as I was able to see these works in original.

The two hours were over soon, and as the darkness set in, we were out of Galleria Borghese and made our way to the Spanish Steps. Yes, it was my second time, and it was a nice feeling to act as a guide, you feel you are a Roman.

I let the two photographers on loose while I took care of their belongings. After they got tired of photos, we decided to retire for the day. We took the metro A from Spagna and reached Termini by about 8:30 pm.

Dinner was a variety of pizza, and we took 1 kg of pizza and got two drinks free! Back at hotel, again the room was perfectly arranged, and we freshened up, finished the dinner and chatted to sleep.

Achinta at Trevi Fountain

Next day, there was no plan. Earlier we decided to visit Pompei but then due to the recent riots (not as dangerous as it sounds) we decided to skip it and thought that we will be a Roman for one more day, actually many places were still not done. We started with the Trevi fountain and actually even with Google Maps it was bit difficult. Then by asking people and following little bit of signs we reached the most famous fountain of Rome and as expected there were a lot of people. By the way, I do not think I have described about the huge number of tourists here and it is considered to be the off-season. In most of the places it was pretty much crowded and I can imagine how difficult it would be during the summers.

Here at Trevi, tourists were busy tossing coins and we were busy taking pictures. The fountain as a whole is huge and can be called the largest in Rome at least. This was no doubt the most famous landmark as there were a lot of visitors here. We spent some time here, photographing the coin tossing and helping others. An estimated 3000 euros are collected from the fountain everyday!

The next target was Piazza Navona, which I had bypassed the first day deciding that I wil come back with my friends, and so I was here, again. Along with photography, we were also on a quest to find the Green Lady, the best absinthe in town. And as soon as we entered the Piazza, we were attracted towards a shop which was playing Bengali songs. Though the absinthe was not very nice (well I do not know anything about Absinthe though, but Raja used price as a parameter), but the salesman made us taste limoncello and we all agreed that it was the best drink we ever had. Then and there I decided to take a bottle for me from the airport.

The Piazza Navona has fountain of the four rivers at its centre; this is another marvel created by Bernini. We sat there enjoying the sun as well as the amazing paintings that the artists were selling. I myself wanted to buy some, but then the paintings were so beautiful I got intimidated and thought how can I ask about the price of something which is supposed to be priceless.

Then again it was time for lunch. We went to a better pizzeria this time and in addition to about 1 kilo of pizza, also took some fried dumplings, which we found to be made of rice with a chunk of cheese inside, and it was very tasty.

The Pantheon

After the lunch at Piazza Navona, we walked towards our next attraction for the day which was the Pantheon. Though called the oldest functioning church by most tourist magazines or sites, it is essentially a temple. The proof of it is the presence of a hole in the dome, which is supposed to work as an outlet of the smoke resulting from the sacrificial fires. Now, who would have imagines sacrificial fires in a Church! Apart from that here also lies Raphael.

Thus ended our list of attractions, and we had a lot of spare time. And we decided to visit the Coloseum again, this time during evening. We reached sooner though, and waited for the evening to darken. We must have looked awesome with two tripods and three DSLRs and umpteen lenses.

As the colosum lighted up for the evening, we went round and round it with tripods to take long exposures. They were fairly successful as we can see from the results here. And after a small alteration with Ach for losing my tripod cover, we headed back to Termini.

Dinner was at a small pizzeria again, but this time, we sat and ate there. The owner was from Bangladesh and he gave the breezers for a cheaper price. Kabab, pizza and breezer with friends is definitely a killer combination.

Back at our perfectly arranged room, it was time for me to pack up. My flight is at early morning tomorrow, and I have to catch the infamous terravision shuttle at the right time. All packed up, I spent the night thinking about the trip. Ach thanked me for making this trip possible, it was after all me who planned everything and made them dance to the Roman tunes. Early morning I said bye to sleepy Raja and made my way to the bus stop, Ach dropped me off at the stop and thankfully the bus came on time. It was a little bit hard to say bye to my best friend, but I managed it in the hope that we will make such similar trips again in life.

I was in my apartment in Oslo by 12 noon and started working from home as promised to my manager. At the end of the crazy trip, I have taken so many photos that I am yet to upload or share them all even after 4 months of the trip.

To summarize, it was an awesome trip, a hectic one, but that is how it was planned. I was physically tired, but mentally rejuvenated and now thank God who made me capable enough to be in these places all by myself. Next stop is Brussels!