Roma
10th October
Trained down to Rome. It’s strange using Italian train toilets – its essentially a toilet that opens down onto the tracks and the wind blows where it shouldn’t. I’d hate to be a track worker.
We had booked a little apartment and met the owner at the front door. It was like looking at a miniature person. Italians are generally pretty small but this guy was shorter than Carmen – tiny. Being a polite Italian he offered to carry Carmen’s suitcase (which was taller and weighed more than him) up the 60 stairs to the apartment. We thought the little fella was going to have a heart attack at the top and it took him about 30 minutes to recover.
Nice place with a great view over to the Forum and Palatine Hill, pity nothing in the apartment worked properly.
A word of warning for travellers to Rome: generally the cashpoints don’t give money to foreigners (for foreigners read anyone who isn’t from Roma). We managed to track down the only two banks that do after calling our UK bank – and walking several kms to find a bank machine that would give us money.
11th October
We started off our tour of Rome with a visit to the Forum and Palatine Hill. Pity it was 30 plus degrees and we were standing in the ticket cue for an hour and a half (did manage to see an impressive display of a Chinese mother picking her sleeping son’s nose for about 15 minutes which helped pass the time).
Another word of advice – when visiting the Forum and Palatine Hill get a human guide rather than relying on the audio guide (about the same price). When looking at a pile of rubble that stands knee high (which pretty much sums up 80 percent of the Forum) it’s pretty hard to get your bearings. The audio guide ran something like “if you turn to your left you will now see the (….). Walk over to it now.” on turning to the left you’re confronted by six different buildings all knee high that resemble the description. You now spend the following 30 minutes trying to decipher which building you’re supposed to be looking at while listening to an information piece that may or may not apply to any or all of them. Wandering around looking at the confused faces and listening to other people mistaking the toilet block to the right for Temple of Apollo built 2000 years later we got the feeling that we weren’t the only ones.
Despite this the area is incredible and does include the Imperial For a (old forum) ruins which really gave a perspective on the size of the site.
The Palatine Hill is massive and has been inhabited since 1000 BC. During the Roman Empire this was ‘the neighbourhood’ to buy in and is where Augustus built his home and it includes the old ruins of emperor Septimius Severus’ palace that takes up most of the top of the hill.
12th October
Aussie tour guides everywhere. We thought we were in Rome about to visit the Colleseum, but we might as well have been lining up for the Walk About. Declining their offers for guides (and telling them to park themselves at the Forum instead) we headed into the iconic building. We first noticed the drop in temperature (5 degrees per minute) then we noticed the rain (5cm per second). There’s not too many places under cover in the Colleseum (especially when the wind is blowing) so it was kind of tight and close (Italians don’t have personal space so it didn’t really matter).
When the sun came out and the temperature rose back to 20+ we headed inside/outside to get a good look. The size of the place is awesome and while it’s nowhere near the intact-ness of Nimes it’s a massively impressive monument.
We headed over to view the Circus Maximus which sort of dwarfs any other stadium in the world. 250,000 people used to crowd into a place that made the Colleseum look like a large bathtub. Unfortunately there’s not much left so you have to use your imagination.
We headed up the windy road towards the Capitoline Hill which houses many of the government buildings, designed by Michelangelo (apparently an architect, not just a painter).
After a nice little lunch we headed off towards the Spanish Steps, on the way laughing at a little fella wrapped up in a huge jacket, scarf and gloves in 25 degree heat. About 35 seconds later we weren’t laughing as the temperature plummeted to 10 degrees and it starting pouring. No more laughing. Frantically looking for shelter and a scarf. We weren’t to know it but those 5 minutes were the last of summer – just like that.
We then headed up to Piazza Navona which is a huge square that has existed as a place to gather since the 1st century. The square is framed by massive baroque buildings and is generally packed with people – either eating at the ring of cafés, checking out the art for sale, listening to the impressive buskers, or wandering through the many fountains. In the middle of the square is the Fountain of Four Rivers (the Nile is represented by the guy with his eyes covered as rumour has it that nobody actually knows the true source of the river), the other three are the Ganges, Danube and the…… (hint: its not the Amazon). It’s a pretty stunning piece of work. The other three are impressive in their own right (the guy wrestling a dolphin was a bit over the top though), but nowhere near as interesting as the four rivers.
We headed through the Campo de Fiori market to the Pantheon which sort of sneaks up on you, as much as a building the size of the beehive can. Even though it’s been standing for almost 2000 years (used as a church for the whole time), it’s still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome (despite the fact that there is a big hole in the middle that nobody seems to notice – except when it rains). There are hoards of people there but it remains bizarrely peaceful despite that. The tombs of two Italian kings and a few other notable people are secluded away in the little side niches among some amazing artwork.
We wandered through numerous squares, alleys and big streets on the way to the Trevi Fountain. On the way we passed an elephant with an obelisk on his back (see photo). We noticed how much the Italians seem to love Egyptian artefacts, there are Egyptian obelisks all over the city, and knowing how long it took them to make them, I’m not sure how happy they’d be. The Trevi Fountain is a marvel of Italian architecture. Not just the fountain itself but the way they are able to pack soooo many people into such a small space without violating human rights laws. The fountain is really impressive and stands on the site of an aqueduct built in the first century that brought water sourced from a pure spring 20km away to this spot for the locals. Apparently the aqueduct was destroyed in the 6th century and the locals had to go back to using water from the Tiber river which was unfortunately also the local sewer. The tradition says if you throw one coin into the fountain you’re guaranteed of returning to Rome, two coins will lead to a new romance, and three coins for a divorce. Very handy. The tradition is actually a money making venture – as you throw the coins over your shoulder into the fountain the locals quickly scoop them up in a big fishing net to subsidise their coffee. Apparently they make 3000 euros each day (lots of divorces in Rome).
The Spanish Steps were as nice as any steps can be. Admired them from the bottom, half way up and the top. Lovely Church at the top with some fantastic views over the city towards the Vatican.
While admiring the view we noted a Policeman standing to one side. This Policeman was very typical of the Italian Police – probably the most unique in the world. Whereas most Police forces that we have come across seem to have some rules regarding consistent dress and an attempt at grooming, the Italian force requires at least 5 days of stubble (in this case with some fantastic nose fur protruding from the nostrils), a uniform that looks like it came from a kids dressup box including trousers that were 5cm too short, a helmet that wouldn’t have been out of place on top of some of the Roman monuments we’d seen from the 5th century, a cigar (lit or unlit but definitely chewed and soggy), a gun (in this case it looked like a cap gun), and most importantly a complete disinterest in anything that’s going on around them.
This last point was quite important as many scams were unfolding in this popular tourist destination. We watched as one fella approached a guy and his girlfriend with a bunch of roses. He produced two roses and gave them to the girlfriend saying “this is my gift to you – don’t worry, I take no money, it is just a gift. Where are you from?” The “where are you from?” is always a good one – it now gives the scammer an opening. Silly guy answered at the same time that his girlfriend tried to give the roses back but the fella was already engrossed in conversation and protested saying they are a gift. This went on for a while with the couple trying to give the flowers back to the protesting fella who by now had started to ask for money by patting his pockets. Unsatisfied with a few coins he started turning unfriendly and began haranguing the guy who reluctantly parted with 10 euros. The fella then moved on to the next victim.
Wandered around the area a little more then headed back through quiet streets gazing at shop windows as we went.
13th October
Missing the Cistine Chapel.
It had to happen. The first time to Rome, the last day of our visit, the last thing we want to see…. and it’s closed for the day. It was only 4pm so we expected it to be open for a little longer!
Previously that day we had a fantastic visit to the rest of the Vatican City which is actually the smallest country in the world (800 people and the size of a large back yard). Interesting fact – the Vatican City plans to be the first carbon neutral state. They are creating a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary to offset carbon emissions.
Walking over the bridge we were confronted by Castel St Angelo which was converted from Emperor Hadrian’s tomb (just slightly ostentatious) to a castle in the 15th century which was linked to St Peters by an underground passage. Then onto St Peters square which is absolutely massive. The cue to get into St Peters was ridiculously long (over 1.75km) and it was hot. It was, however well worth the 2 ½ hr wait.
We climbed the stairs to the top of the Cupola (750 steps and some very claustrophobic moments) and were 136 meters above the floor on a very narrow and structurally questionable (Michelangelo was a painter wasn’t he?) walkway. Richard didn’t look down. The mosaic depictions around the inside are very impressive and must have taken a long time to put together. We headed for more stairs that would take us outside the dome to an excellent vantage point (unless you don’t like heights – Richard wasn’t happy).
The inside of the Basilica is unlike any Church we’d seen before. The outside is impressive but the inside is massive. It’s the largest church in the world and can hold 60,000 people at 220m long and 150m wide. Everything in here is huge. The cherubs that hold the holy water basins are each 7feet tall – big scary cherubs. The tour of the inside itself took a couple of hours and you can see some of the most stunning artwork and sculptures, especially the Pieta by Michelangelo. The baldachinno created by Bernini to sit above the altar and beneath the dome is a huge pavilion like structure. It’s the largest piece of bronze in the world and is spectacular as a piece of intricately created art that houses the altar. It is cited directly above the burial place of St Peter which itself is unseen but you can see the steps leading down to the tomb. The seat of St Peter sits at the end of the Basilica and has been enshrined in a large bronze throne again created by Bernini which has a huge window above it to let light in and has an amazing, ethereal effect.
After spending many hours walking around we reluctantly decided to leave and head to the Cistine Chapel detouring for a late lunch. After navigating our way to the entrance we were shocked to find that it had already closed (there were many other tourists sharing our displeasure). At least we have an excuse to return to Rome.
We began the long walk back home, passing through Piazza del Popolo and past yet another obelisk that stands in the middle of this square.
After walking for a total of 9 hours (and 21 kms according to our pedometer) we decided to have a break and sit on the wall surrounding an array of ruins bang in the middle of town. Upon Googleling the spot we’d found we discovered that it was part of the forum and what we were looking at was actually the spot where Cesar was assassinated. To us it seemed kind of strange but fitting for our experience in Italy – here we were sitting on the wall surrounding an area below that has huge historical significance that has no signs or information, and has been transformed into a chaotic roundabout by two of the busiest streets in the city.
