Keep the Waters Flowing

I went to bed early last night after a long, fruitful day and woke up to carpe diem again.

It was raining, but I figured that was just another way to enhance the experience of living in Rome. So I grabbed an umbrella and took a walk.

It's a Monday. I was shocked to find my street relatively busy; think downtown Manhattan during office hours. I walked with only vague intentions but more importantly, I walked by myself. I want an unfiltered digestion of this city from my own senses.

Just like New York, just because it was lightly raining, the streets are swarmed with middle eastern men with umbrellas draped from their arms. The good part was, I didn't need any italian to tell them NO since they don't even speak italian, and I proudly waved mine so they would not even bother.

So I reached the river, dry, unbothered, and still without a plan and instinctively crossed the bridge. Like in Paris, and I guess even in Queens, all the REALLY good stuff is across the river.

I waltzed into Piazza Navona like I owned the place and could easily feel like I did. The rain had driven away the art vendors and street performers and left only the surrounding tented restaurants and umbrella men. It was even more beautiful that you could hear the water of the fountain rather than the hundreds of tourist voices and the vacancy around it let you get a full view of the monument.

So then, I had an epiphany: Trevi.

I ventured through the narrow streets and busy intersections where traffic laws don't exist for the second day in a row. The rain was subsiding and reduced into sporadic drops. I was able to put away my umbrella as all of the umbrella leaches crawled back into their holes and it dawned on me.

The Pantheon first!

This square was also relatively deserted. I was actually a little upset because there was a keychain I wanted from this one guy and he wasn't there (This is not just any keychain I can get in any shop... I'll let everyone know what it is when I get it.)

So I went into the Pantheon, just after the rain, able to catch a sight of the puddle collected in the middle of the floor.

It's just a puddle...

NO, BY THE THUNDER OF ZEUS, IT IS NOT.

This puddle is inside, by no mistake. It's not a leaky roof, it's not a lot of rain boots dragging in the mud. It is a very intentional puddle that can only be experienced by those lucky enough to be in Rome during the rain. What other place on earth makes rain part of the spectacle?

ONLY HERE.

So I left the Pantheon and all of it's saturated wonder and headed towards the big guy.

How the streets are so much easier to navigate than Paris is quite a mystery. I'll just attribute it to it being in my blood.

I entered Piazza di Trevi to sunlight and a small crowd. I would finally get my real experience with it. Like the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, I could hear the loud crashing water, symbolized by the wild horse of the left side of fountain, but this experience was calm like right horse. The air was a perfect temperature and the sun was hitting it just right.

Another moment where I could have cried of happiness.

All the pictures in the world could never do justice to how it feels to stand in front of this fountain. This was my second trip already and I know it won't be my last. It was a perfect way to begin my day and the week.

I'm giving myself so many history and self lessons that I have no idea why I have to go to class for the whole afternoon.