Experience Rome like an Insider

"When in Rome"… what a cliché! Also, what a mischaracterization of what tourists actually do when in Rome! Sure, we all want to blend in with the locals… well, at least some of us do. But in Rome this might be a little more difficult than in, say, Germany. Those Romans, they're just so, um, Roman. From the beautiful bambinas draped in damask, just like angels, to the voluptuous and oily cads barking obscenities at them quite publicly, all categories of Romans tend to be quite inimitable for the outsider. Best leave the undercover work to a select few. But despair not, traveller. You don't need to be native Romano in order to get away from the touristy stuff like Trevi, St. Peter's, and the Coliseum.

Everywhere you walk in Rome is an opportunity to experience it like an insider. Seriously, your best bet is to take a random walk in whatever direction you please. This advice is not intended for unescorted
young women, however, due to the ubiquity of aforementioned insufferable but usually harmless young men.

For the average tourist in Rome, there are all kinds of off-the-beaten-path options. For history you have the Pantheon and the Forum, of course, which everybody knows about. But what about a stroll down the Appian Way? It is a very pleasurable walk, steeped in history going back to times well before Christ, and it takes you as far as you'd like to go away from the city center. Some of the mausoleums lining the
Queen of Long Roads in Rome are breathtakingly magnificent. The Romans enjoy strolling this path to this day, while you continue throwing coins into fountains.

Another place where Romans enjoy nice long walks is in the aqueduct parks. Contrary to popular belief, these beautiful colonnades no longer supply the water to Rome. They function now as a testament to Rome's superior engineering, which was the key to the empire's success. The ancient Romans were astute observers in practical matters. The great writer Vitruvius, who was a contemporary of Caesar, points out that the Romans would source their water for their aqueducts according to the apparent health
of the locals. Obviously, clean water is very important to overall health. Judging from the extensive water supply network throughout the empire, the Romans made sure that they had as much of it as
possible.

Everybody knows about the European penchant for fancy water. The current for this runs very deep, and you can still catch a glimpse of it at the spring in the hills outside of Rome called Aqua Santa. There is
always a line to fill up bottles at this source, one of the favorites of the Roman nobles. The water is said to be some of the highest quality in the world, and is sold worldwide by an eponymous bottler.

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Experience Rome like an Insider

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