Wandering aimlessly pays off

After having seen some big and monumental tourist attractions in the first two days of my trip, I took to a little wandering. One thing I really love doing is just getting lost in the streets of a city at night. The first night I did this in Rome was probably the best time I've had in this city.

I took the metro to the Colosseum and headed west. I knew that direction held a lot of what's left of ancient Rome, so I figured I'd run into something interesting along the way. At first, I popped my headphones in (listening to M.I.A.'s Kala at the moment) and started walking as the sun went down.

 I was rewarded with this wonderful view of Foro Traiano (Trajan's Forum).

As I drifted along with the masses I went through shopping districts and night markets. I stopped for a while to watch someone do a painting by the roadside. I went into a few shops that were in these wonderful amazingly old buildings and just wandered until I was hopelessly lost (although not really disturbed, I was enjoying myself too much). I found my way into a piazza and decided to sit down, check my map and see where I was. There was a big ancient building in front of me, complete with Roman pillars, so I thought I'd go in and check it out. It turns out I'd found my way to the Pantheon by accident. What an amazing building. I should've taken some photos but I was too busy soaking it all in . . . and it closed very soon after I got there.

I continued my wandering and ended up in the Piazza Navona. I stopped for a meal there, and afraid of the Italian sized 3 course meal (I'd had one a couple of days earlier and skipped lunch the next day because I was still full) I went straight for the main . . . Porchetta, which is roast pork flavoured with herbs. Very tasty. It started raining as I turned to go home, but luckily it didn't last . . .

I leave you with a kewl little diorama I saw in a toyshop on the way back: