Almost Italian: Rome Part 2: The Via Appia and Ancient Rome

Where did I leave off? Oh right, first night in Rome- first spaghetti carbonara, and an early night for early risers. So the next morning, Saturday, we woke up and stumbled to the bar next door for some cappuccinos and white-chocolate-filled croissants before piling onto our little bus. We drove to the outskirts of Rome and started the day with a tour of the Catacombs of St. Sebastian. No cameras allowed inside, but I highly recommend a visit. It was really cool to follow the guide through the labyrinth of dusty tomb-lined tunnels.

The catacombs exit into the church of St. Sebastian, which is quite beautiful. I especially enjoyed this sensual marble statue. St Sebastian was a babe. Pity about all the arrows.

Outside the church was the start of the Antica Via Appia. We made our way along the ancient cobblestones and passed a gorgeous meadow- to be returned to later. We ambled along slowly, taking frequent pauses to enjoy the sun and snap photos.

Our destination was the Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella (100-69 BC), an elaborate monument constructed by her husband. The tomb itself is in a marble tower, but the complex was later turned into a medieval castle. Apparently a lot of Italian couples come here to take their wedding pictures.

Our guide Alessandro explained this architecture with the most awe-inspiring, detailed, 10-minute reference to the Battle of Helms deep from Lord of the Rings that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. The man knows his stuff- he pointed through one of the windows explaining that the hill through it is exactly where Gandalf would have shown up with the Rohirrim, and painted a dramatic picture of the doors being attacked by the Uruk-hai's battering ram. You get the point.

The stones of the Via Appia were smooth and sunbaked. Apparently when it was being built back in 312 BC it was incredibly smooth and even with almost no gaps. There would be a controller who walked the new expanse every day, and if he found one bump or flaw the workers wouldn't be paid for that day. With such meticulous craftsmanship it's no wonder the road is still in such great condition more than two thousand years later.

Next stop- the daisy-filled sunny meadows for photos and frolicking!

We scrambles back on our bus to head back to centro, and got set loose for lunch in the Jewish Ghetto area. I had a crunchy bruschetta with some thick slabs of marinated eggplant on top- garlicky and delicious, and then bucatini all'Amatriciana, which is like thick spaghetti straws in a bacon and onion tomato sauce.

After lunch we made stops at S. Maria in Cosmedin, la Bocca della Verità (he'll chomp your hand off if you're lying), Arco di Giano, and S. Giorgio al Velabro before heading up to a magnificent view of the Roman Forum and the Campidoglio.

I'm always amazed by the sky in Rome- it looks like a painting.

We met some very sweet little dogs outside the church, and their friendly father-son owners. The father tried to get us to date the son, who was extremely embarrassed but nice.