Rome in a day

Autumn 2015

By Hilton Luke

November 2^nd, 2015

Twenty four hours

Disembarking a red-eye flight from New York, I arrive in Rome for a quick stopover to meet up with travel friends before making our way to Tuscany—no time to unpack the suitcase, just the camera.

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There is something exciting about being a tourist in a foreign city for the first time. I enjoy being so far from home, speaking only the basics of their language (in Rome’s case, no Italian at all) and not having technology to take the direct route from one place to another.

Deb, Ryan and I set out to discover the sights.

One eye on photo opportunities, the other on the dangers of busy locals racing through the narrow streets.

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Vatican city

A north-facing window in our third story apartment offered a pleasant view of St. Peter’s Basilica. Five minutes on foot and we are standing in the middle of St. Peter’s Square.

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I enjoyed my day in Rome and will likely visit again. The architecture is unique and the sculptures are endless. The locals are like most of those in cities heaving with tourists—polite, with a hint of busy. Time may have better been spent learning the language as opposed to Google images of the sights I wanted to see.

What I didn’t expect was graffiti. So much graffiti. Everywhere! On streets, houses, stone fences, travertine buildings—nothing is off limits. I’m used to seeing it on buses and trains but the deliberate tagging on historical sculptures lining the streets … why?

They don’t speak of graffiti in travel brochures but they do about the brazen pickpockets who disguise as tourists and make elaborate attempts to snatch your valuables. Safe to say my camera will be a little bit closer when I take on Florence.