The Eternal City

Renee and I were meeting in Rome.  It was close enough to halfway between us, so it was an ideal location.  I had only been to Italy once for work, and that was up in Milan.  This wasn't going to be work.  Instead, this was going to be a real holiday.  I was incredibly excited about it, not just because I wanted to see Renee, but also because I had always wanted to go to Rome and to see more of Italy.

I arrived at the airport in Rome early in the morning. It would still be a few hours before Renee arrived, so rather than head into the city I decided to stay at the airport and wait for her.  I found myself a lounge that offered wifi and started to work.  Time went by quickly and soon it was time for Renee to arrive.  The long distances between us were tough and any time we could see each other was a joy.  We hopped on the train and we were soon in Rome.  After a brief dispute with our taxi driver, we were checked into our hotel and wandering through the streets.

It was all far more beautiful than I imagined.

Rome was a place I had always wanted to visit.  As a child who was always obsessed with history, there are few places in the world that can compare when it comes to historical significance (places being in the Middle East of course immediately coming to mind though).  Walking around Piazza Navona, we we both looked up and around at all the lovely buildings with nothing but the deepest admiration.  We walked inside the churches and were amazed even more.  We were both horribly jetlagged, but it didn't seem to matter at all.  We had an additional rush of energy, not just from being together, but from the surroundings themselves.

I had of course been to Italy before, but that was to Milan.  This was an entirely different league.

There was an opulence and size to everything which I had never experienced before.  I now understood very clearly why people were so dismissive of Milan when I told them that I was going.  For me, any trip to Italy was something to be savoured.  When I was in Milan, I thought it was a beautiful place, full of interesting sights and experiences.

But it was no Rome.

In comparison to Rome, Milan was just any other city with a few points of attraction.  Walking through the streets of Rome, it was difficult to go anywhere that didn't feel special.  Every street, every turn, every corner was a point of beauty and history.  For all of the wonderful things in Milan, it just couldn't compete with this.  What could compete with this?  Milan wasn't a bad place by any means, it was clear that it merely suffered from the comparison.

We left Piazza Navona and walked towards the Pantheon.  This was something I had wanted to see since I was a kid.  I had loved reading about Julius and Augustus Caeser, so the idea of seeing something from their time was exciting.  The Pantheon stood out square and tall amongst the surrounding buildings.  With the Roman low rises surrounding it, this was still an imposing structure that wasn't overshadowed or dwarfed by any nearby modern constructions.

Inside, I truly had my breath taken away.  The size of the dome and the light that came in made me feel like I had stepped into another time.  There was a din of noise from all of the other visitors, but it was all absorbed in a way by the building into a consistent murmur.  We walked several loops of the building, our eyes transfixed upwards at the light and the dome.  

We were both amazed and enamoured with Rome.  It had been less than a day of walking through the city, but there seemed to be surprises and beauty on every street and around every corner.  Could I say that it was "magical"?  It seemed like such a hackneyed thing to say, but it seemed like such an apt description for this wonderful city.  As the sun began to set and the evening began, we made our way back to some busier areas to look for dinner.  There were tables and chairs out everywhere, with each restaurant expanding out into the public areas.

We found ourselves a place that look inviting and sat down to eat.  We were both exhausted.  I can barely remember what I ate, but I was satisfied and happy.  We were together in a city half way around the world and it was beautiful.