random walkway: 72 Hours in Rome

Two weeks ago, I took a quick trip to the Eternal City for a meeting. Things got off to a rocky start thanks to a three hour delay on the runway, an extra cozy seat in the rear of the plane, and two babies behind me riffing off each others cries. Despite all that, 7.5 hours later we touched down in Roma.

By noon I was checked into the hotel, perfectly situated a block from the Forum, and this time the view from my window wasn't too shabby

-- just as long as I precariously leaned half way out the window.

Time to hit the streets.

Two blocks down the via was the Colosseum

, which originally was known as an amphitheater but there was a huge (i.e., colossal) statue of Nero nearby and somehow over time the two became intertwined or something like that (good thing I'm not a history teacher).

After seeing lots of churches

, a tiny dose of street art

-- London wins on that front, a big dose of daily Roman life

-- what other major city has grape vines growing on its buildings?

, a tasty prosciutto pizza

, and more ruins than I'll ever be able to learn about I took a break from the sights until dinner.

After a couple of hours of work on the hotel patio, I strolled across the Tiber

to meet a colleague for dinner at Sabatini's

in the Trastevere area. The restaurant is situated on one of the many beautiful and lively squares

tucked away off the main roads. Two hours later after calamari, osso bucco, and a bottle of Chianti Riserva I was really appreciating Italian life.

Back across the Tiber as the sun was setting

, past the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II

-- which apparently most Romans despise and refer to as the wedding cake -- and I was off to sleep despite the festive sounds from the Irish pub directly across from my window.

The next morning, a cappuccino

got the day off to a good start but it was the espressos that kept me going during an all day meeting in this gorgeous building

. After the meeting, courtesy of our host, we were treated to a tour of Trajan's market

and a rooftop dinner overlooking the Palantine Hill.

The next day brought another half-day meeting

but after lunch I was free to re-roam Rome. A left at Trajan's Column

, back across the Tiber and I was heading in the direction of the Vatican while also admiring Italian parking skills along the way.

. Finally, St. Peter's

and all kinds of religious treasures

were in sight. After a leisurely walk through St. Peter's Square

I quickly went thru the security check and entered the Basilica

. It's a very impressive church but in terms of shear beauty Notre Dame with its Rose window easily beats St. Peter's.

Time to move on, so I exited St. Peter's making sure not to incur the wrath of the Swiss Guard with their pointy halberd

and took a few more snaps on the way out the square

Crossing back over the Tiber via the Ponte Sant'Angelo I encountered a somewhat curious statue

-- provide your own caption. A slight detour (Google maps is priceless) led me to the Trevi Fountain

and just as I arrived a couple was in the midst of getting engaged

. Gotta love it.

Catering to my growling stomach I stopped for a small snack prior to dinner. I found a small restaurant just off the Trevi square and settled down with a glass (eventually two) of wine and a sample of cheeses and charcuterie

that included a nice portion of Ibérico ham which without question is one of the top five best tasting things in the entire universe. After savoring the wine, cheese, and ham for longer than I had planned - that last piece of Ibérico must have taken 15 minutes to eat - I scuttled my dinner plans and headed back toward the hotel.

On my way I asked a guy for directions but he just pointed