Roma Pt III
As part of my ongoing series…
I present to you. Part Three of Rome… 2016!
Our Airbnb was in an amazing spot. It was close to the Roman Ghetto just southwest of the Altar of the Fatherland. Prime location. When you are in a European city… just expect to walk everywhere. It is what the locals do! But man it is nice to have a central location to embark from - I’m grateful we had one.
Random Fun Fact: Jack Black’s 2017 movie, The Polka King, had a scene where he was literally right outside the door of our Airbnb as part of a scene where he was in a random alleyway in Rome! Crazy!
The Altar of the Fatherland is a very interesting and impressive building. Constructed in 1885, it was built to be a celebration of the unification of Italy as a country. There is also a tomb of the Unknown Soldier there as well. Just take a look at it… the architecture is quite something. The gorgeous weather just added beauty to it as you clearly can see.
Another great reason why the Roman Ghetto is a great place to stay in is the Largo di Torre Argentina or otherwise known as: The Roman Cat Sanctuary. Romans used to be the rulers of these four ancient Temples that are being excavated... but now… Felis Catus rules supreme. My friends and I probably spent a good 15 minutes+ just looking at the ruins and counting how many cats we could find. It was more entertaining than I thought it would be. The dichotomy of the entire thing was really fun to think about while searching for more cats. Romans ruled for so long and now… what's left? Ruins and cats.
There are Cats EVERYWHERE!!!
Just around the corner from there is the Portico d'Ottavia. This place was no joke… not even a block away from our Airbnb were these ruins. I took my favorite shot of the entire trip here. You might’ve seen it… it was the first image I used as the lead for my first post on this site! It's that perfect moment when the sun, clouds and shadows all work perfectly to produce the perfect shot. It doesn’t hurt that it's a column and I really have a thing for columns. Ruins with columns just scratch that itch for me. They are truly beautiful and for them to be still standing after nearly 2,000 years… just takes it to a whole other level for me.
I’ll spare you any more about columns… for now… and we will move on! The afternoon brought us to our furthest trek yet… all the way north to the first Beer Festival we had ever done in another country! It was situated right next to the Olympic Stadium and getting there presented some really awesome sights!
Rome really has the most picturesque clouds…
The Fermentazioni Craft Beer Fest was an absolute blast. Upon entrance, we were given an extremely nice glass, a lanyard-like glass holder and wooden chips to try the beer. Everyone we bumped into were extremely happy to hear we were from America and it was a great time. Lambrate Brewing was one of the breweries I distinctly remember trying and being very pleasantly surprised by how good their brews were. I still have the glass to this day and am really happy we found out about it at the last moment from a bus stop bench advertisement. (Thank you Joe for the Ad Picture!) Hilarious - I know - but true!
Aaaaaah… Roma.
Saluti!
