clog blog: When in Rome...

We arrived in Rome on Wednesday afternoon, our second and last stop in Italy. It’s done nothing but rain since we arrived and I’ll be very bleak if it is a clear day when we leave tomorrow! Although it has been raining, we still got out and about to see the sights of the city. The city is very different in winter but is still crowded with tourists.

After checking in on Wednesday we did our own walking tour of the city (inspired by a certain Contiki trip 7yrs ago, lol). Sights included on our walk were the Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona with its three fountains, the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuel II and the Colosseum. It was not ideal photo taking conditions due to the rain so we re-visited these sights again during our stay.

Thursday we spent the day at the Vatican City! First up was walking around the Vatican Museum. We spent about 4hrs in the museum doing the long route, slowly, which means we saw most things. Amongst other things, we saw about a million statues, the gallery of maps, the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms. The museum has a really impressive collection but it is really tiring! Do-not-miss items are definitely the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms.

Next up was St Peter’s Piazza and Basilica. The square is lined with columns atop of which are statues of previous Popes. The basilica itself is HUGE and very impressive! The cathedral has many chapels and is very ornately decorated, obviously no cost was spared. There are many columns, statues and paintings and the floor and ceiling is also decorated or painted. There are many famous works in the basilica of which our favourite is Michelangelo’s Pieta; a statue of Mary with the dead Christ on her lap. If you get a chance to go to Rome, go to St Peter’s Basilica!

Before the sun set, we had a chance to explore Castel Sant’ Angelo and enjoy awesome views of Rome and St Peter’s as the sun set. The castle gets its name from the vision of the Archangel Michael that Pope Gregory the Great had above Hadrian’s Tomb (now the castle). The Pope led a procession to pray for Rome during the time of the plague and when he saw the Archangel he believed that the city would be spared. The outside of and views from the castle are awesome but the inside rooms are pretty random as they are mostly empty. There is however an impressive 360° ramp into the castle and a walk-way along the top of a wall connecting the castle with St Peter’s Basilica. Views of the castle from across the River Tiber at night are awesome!

On Friday after a rained out attempt to repeat our walking tour of day 1, we headed to the Capitoline Museum at Piazza Campidoglia. The museum chiefly houses important sculptures but there is also a small collection of paintings, carpets, coins and porcelain. This museum would have been much better if there was more information (in English) on the history of the Capitoline Hill and more relevant information of the collected pieces. We enjoyed the big impressive statues but after a while busts of arb people and half broken statues all start to look the same and become random.

This is generally when we take a break from museums and do something else! Like take a walk to Trastevere or ‘across the Tiber’. This scenic part of the city has more typical Italian style architecture. As Justin put it, you could go around any corner and see a neglected bicycle under a window with washing strung across it, a plant of some sort and a lazy cat in the sun. We popped into the church Saint Maria in Trastevere and were awed by the golden mosaic behind the altar depicting Christ and the Virgin Mary. Interesting things was, the timer for the lights shining on the altar is coin operated so if you want see it or take a pic you have to part with your brass! We ended the day with a good meal near the Pantheon and some of the best gelato we have had so far!

Today we spent most of the day investigating the archaeological or ancient areas of Rome which is basically the areas of the Colosseum and Roman Forum/Palatine Hill. Previously we were told that it’s not worth it to go into the Colosseum and there isn’t much to see but we really enjoyed it! There is quite a lot of information up about the building, its history and the events that took place there which made the visit worthwhile. I always thought that the Colosseum is round but it is actually oval in shape. It is quite an impressive structure which took only 10 years to build. It is also one of the most complete buildings in this area. Spectators would engrave scenes on the marble (graffiti) and play games and also gamble at events which makes on think that people haven’t changed much over the years. Except that these days we like to think we are more civilised since we don’t have public executions or gladiator games any more.

After the Colosseum we wandered around the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. It’s quite strange walking next to such ancient ruins right next to a modern city. The ruins vary in intactness but are generally less well preserved than the Colosseum. It is mostly the arches and columns that have survived. There isn’t a lot of information on what each building was used for or what it looked like but audio guides are available. All in all it was kewl to wander around and imagine what life was like back then. Somewhere in the city there was a map showing the area under Roman control at one stage; pretty impressive for one city. After the Forum it was time to head home and get organised for moving on tomorrow.

Other impressions about Italy. We have been eating well; lots of fresh pasta and pizza. And of course real Italian gelato! Justin didn’t believe Bron that not every gellateria in Italy sells good gelato until we found an average one… if you find a good one stick with it! There are so many beautiful leather items for sale. Bron spoilt herself with a light blue leather wallet, so soft! Will have to come back for the leather boots though… no space, especially now that we are flying! Bron has felt very frumpy in Italy. Everyone dresses so stylish and chic! Her standard jeans, fleece, orange ski jacket and comfortable walking shoes just don’t cut it. And finally, the public toilets don’t have toilet seats. Hm. Hoping they do in Spain! Also enjoying the warmer weather. It’s a sad day when you consider 14°C to be ‘warm’. I console myself with the fact that it is about 30°C ‘warmer’ than the top of Hohe Salve!

Tomorrow we fly to Barcelona where we will be for 4 nights. Bron does not enjoy the processes involved with flying and hopes it goes ok! We booked with a budget airline and are expecting some luggage issues! Oh dear. Other favourite parts are airport security and passport control. Hopefully the Italians and Spanish are more chilled out than the British.

After 4 nights in Barcelona we head to Madrid for another 4 nights from which we are also hoping to make a day trip to Toledo. After Madrid the plan is to head to Lisbon and then Paris before heading home around 25 March. Feeling sad that we only have 3 weeks left but lots to see before then and also looking forward to having a place to call home again.

Hope you are having a good weekend and enjoying the sun for us!