I am writing this while on the plane to Edinburgh. We had about four days in Rome and it was pretty good. After getting off the train we found our first place to stay (for just one night) and then went for a walk around the city, there seemed to be some kinda of ceremony for someone who had died (possibly military) as the traffic was all cordoned off at Piazza Della Republica and we saw a police car/hearse with a coffin covered with an Italian flag inside it. We visited the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon and a few other sites nearby before it really started to pore with rain as we were heading back to our very hot apartment.
The next day we dropped our bags off at the reception for the next apartment and went to see the Colloseum, Palatine hill and the Roman Forum. We decided to join a tour as it meant we got to skip the queue and it would be nice to have some form of structure to the visit. I think it was worth it, it meant we were directed to see things that we might not have noticed, like the map of Jerusalem at the victory entrance, heard interesting facts without having to struggle around other tourists at the few info signs, and the guide was good about making sure we stood in the shade, and showed us where things like the water fountains and bathrooms were. You also got a good bit of time to look around for yourself or rest up too.
The guided tour was so good that we also decided to shell out the cash to do another tour with the same guide at the Vatican the next day. My feet were so sore, so I think it was really worth having the guide so we could see all the highlights, but not wander around for ages. We had to get up really early, but if we hadn’t planned on doing the tour then I suspect we would have slept in and had to queue a really long time. Also the heat really gets to you, so it pays to go before it got too hot. I like that they make tour groups use a microphone for the guide and headsets for the tourists. It’s so that they don’t have all these booming guide’s voices ruining the holy calm.. Not sure if it works. But it also keeps the tourists quiet, because in the Sistine Chapel they had to keep shushing everyone. This was because they want it to be quiet, so they get the tour guides to explain lots of the details at the start of the tour, and then you just get 20mins to have a look at the chapel on your own.
Not only is the artwork interesting to look at, but the stories about them are fascinating as well.
Yesterday was our relaxing day, which, after all the heat and hours of walking on marble, we really needed. We got to sleep in, and then headed to look at this cemetery at the Pyramide. It was the Non-catholic and foreigners cemetery and it really peaceful and very pretty. Also Keats and Shelley are buried there.
I thought the guide was joking when he told us that the Pyramide was the local cat shelter (some joke about Cleopatra and her cats), but it was true, and there were lots of cute cats about! It really made me miss Mayalin and Totoro! Especially as there was one that looked a bit like Maya!
After that we wandered about town a bit more, having gelato and Star bought a new dress. We were really tired and fed up with the heat so decided to walk back to our place via Santa Maria Maggiore, which was pretty inside and had some nice mosaics and paintings. They were also doing some chanting so it was nice and cool and peaceful.
This morning we had to get up early for our flight on Ryan air… Sooo annoying! We lined up for a long time in the wrong queue (ok, kinda our own fault, but it was very confusing), then we lined up for a long time in our queue, then had to line up again as its not allocated seating at the gate. We got there early so we wouldn’t miss out, and then they didn’t board us until after we were supposed to take off! Not that bad, but they could have made some kind of announcement! We even waited for ages just sitting in the plane. Oh well, I’m sure we saved heaps of money.