This morning I woke up at 3:30 and for about 10 minutes I tried to go back to sleep and thought why waste time sleeping. If I'm up I'm up so make the most of it. I put on my running clothes and headed out toward the Piazza del Popolo.
Once there I had to stop running and just take in these amazing structures. Very few people were out at that time and none of them were sight seeing. You have to know that this was my first stop at anything historic in Italy. It seemed odd to me that few people there were passing without stopping. There were not that many plaques up explaining what I was looking at but why was I the only one who seemed interested?
Eventually I had to move on so I headed toward Piazza Venecia and the Monumento e Vittorio Emmanuel II. Along the way I was stopping continuously to be awed by every little thing. Every building seemed to have potential to be a historic site. There is evidence of ancient Rome in places you don't expect it. All of the sudden in someone's entryway to their house is a column possibly from a roman senator. Every little street I was lost on had some ancient ruin many of them with no explanation at all. People must just walk by this stuff daily and just think, "Oh hey, there's that column that's been there since before the birth of Christ. Whatever. I'm going to work now"..
Next I come to the monument to Emanuell Vittorio II. It was nicknamed the wedding cake by American soldiers following WWII. There is a 24/7 guard of the site but at 5 something in the morning I thought there was something sinister about to happen. Your mind invents things when you haven't had much sleep. During a sightseeing tour I learned more about this. It is also the burial site of the unknown soldier too which was the reason for the guards. Surrounding the Piazza Venecia are more incredible structures.
I became lost after Piazza Venecia. I think getting lost is one of my favorite things to do in a new city. If you don't have anywhere you need to be there is nothing like the feeling of having no clue where you are or how you will get back to something familiar. Around the corner could be the Colosseum or the Vatican I had no map and no idea. I came by what I found out later was a recently uncovered ruin of the ancient city. They continue to work on excavating the site. You never know what might be underneath your home.
At breakfast this morning I me a couple from Vancouver. They told me they were leaving tomorrow to go back home after a two month stay in a remote part of the country. Turns out the couple was staying with his cousin in none other than Campobasso. He moved to Canada long ago from Italy but he still has his accent. They gave me tons of advice most of which I believe to be sound but I will let you know if that pans out.
che tu fossi qui (wish you were here),
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