when in rome

Aman and I had only two nights to spend in the Eternal City, which is not a very long time for a historically, politically and culturally significant place such as Rome.  We cut it short because, like Paris, and unlike Florence, Rome is a vast city and we knew that we would not be able to tour it for days with me on walking sticks.  It just did not make sense to stay there for very long.  At the same time, it was not possible to take a direct train from Florence to our next destination on the Amalfi coast, Salerno… as they say, all roads were leading to Rome.  And, we figured that if we had no choice but to travel through Rome, why not stop briefly for a night or two so that Aman could at least see the Colosseum.  (I had seen it once before; it is a pretty awesome sight.)

Despite the short duration of our stay, it was full of unexpected and fun surprises.  It all started on the very first night when Aman went to watch the UEFA Euro 2012 final match, Italy vs. Spain, at a large outdoor space that had been set up to broadcast the match live.  Thousands and thousands of people turned out for the big event.  Sadly… or not, considering that Aman is a huge Spain fan… Italy lost that night.  But, it was still priceless to be there in person, and to be part of, such a unique moment in football history, he said.

Randomly, riding the subway on the way back from the game, Aman ran into an old friend and former colleague from JPM, Chinmay, who he had not seen in years.  This, of course, only reinforced my oft-said belief:  it is a small world after you have worked for JPMorgan...  Such an odd coincidence, Chinmay had just missed his stop when Aman noticed him on the other side of the subway car, which is the only reason why they ran into one another that night.  Chinmay was only in Rome visiting for a few days before he planned to move on to Budapest.  Before parting ways that night, Chinmay and Aman exchanged contact information and made plans to do some sightseeing the next day, which was perfect because, after concluding that I had been pushing myself too hard in Firenze (it was hard to ignore the swelling), I effectively put myself on bed rest for that day. 

Randomly (again), as he was about to leave the hotel the next morning to meet Chinmay, Aman checked his Facebook email and realized that two other friends from New York, Hadley (another JPM vet) and Ilda, were also in Rome.  Aman sent Hadley an email before he left to see if they wanted to get together with us for dinner that night.  He came home later in the afternoon with a fancy new ice bag for my knee, lots of pictures that he took during his day, and an ice cream cone.  

The famous Colosseum:

Gelato break?

More walking around, the Victor Emmanuel II Monument:

Yes, please!

After the gelato had been properly attended to, Aman checked his email and was happy to learn that Hadley and Ilda were in for dinner. Chinmay, who Aman had invited earlier in the day, was also joining us.  And, like that, we had dinner plans that night with old friends, something that we had not had in months.  Great company, great food, great setting – it turned out to be an incredibly enjoyable evening!

So, in short, although we may not have seen everything that Rome has to offer in two short days, Aman saw the impressive Colosseum, I got some much needed rest for my leg, and we had a terrific night out with friends.  We would call that a success.  The next day, we left for Salerno as scheduled on an early afternoon train.  Next stop: the Amalfi Coast!