Rome, Italy

Ahhh, Roma. In the summer between Grade 12 and the now-defunct OAC I was fortunate enough to spend just over a month in Rome taking an English lit course with a group of friends from my high school. And though I loved every minute of it, and made sure to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, I didn't know when I'd have a chance to get back there. A few years later, as luck would have it, Italy beckoned once more. Our port of entry was Rome and we took every opportunity we could to indulge (and occasionally over-indulge) in 'la dolce vita'.

I've always found that my memory has a way of distorting things that happened when I was younger - making them seem bigger, or more serious, in retrospect. And if this was how I remembered even the small things, than I shouldn't have been surpised that my mind had created a colossol, romantic, Fellini-esque picture of Rome. The first day we walked around we were all taken aback by just how normal everything seemed. Though it had been grandiose in our minds, we were a little disappointed to find that Rome was just another city. I hadn't really remembered where things were (in geographical relation to each other) and the city seemed to be bursting with tourists (thanks, believe it or not, to a U2 concert). But when we got away from the imperial side of Rome, and the popular squares, we were able to once again fall in love with the city. Areas like Trastevere are hard enough to get to (you have to take a *gasp* tram) and most people don't venture that far.  It holds innumerable, quaint streets with crumbling buildings, and is a great gastronomic area.

But Jake (you ask) why, if you like areas off the beaten track so much have you put a photo of the Colusseum, arguably Rome's most iconic structure? It's simple really - I like this picture. It's true it's in the heart of imperial Rome's tourist area, but it is also a beautiful and historical building. It occurred to me that I may be coming off as pretentious by always saying painfully obviously things like 'getting away from the tourist path is the best way to enjoy a city.' It's no surprise that this is true, but I feel I've been giving tourist activities a hard time. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going to the tourist areas of a city and hitting the sights. I make sure to do it wherever I go. I'm just saying that after this gets tiring, unenjoyable and unaffordable, it is good to find places you can enjoy. Piazza Navona is beautiful, but it's also chock-a-block with people who've come from all over the world to see it. That being said, something like Campo dei Fiori (Rome's fresh food market by day; party area by night) is just a few steps south of Navona. Proof I suppose that even in Rome the good and bad are separated by very little.