Arrival on Saturday afternoon was a little delayed due to waiting for baggage and then playing musical platforms at the airport train station as the FM1 to Trastevere moved from platform 1 to platform 3 and then platform 1 again. Sounds painless enough, but with a 20kg backpack its a bit of a ballsache. I guess the people of Rome can't complain too much - it costs 1 EUR to get anywhere in the city (other than the airport) - can't see Boris matching that anytime soon.
Another good (and cheap) hotel, just outside the city, but right next to a train station and nowhere near any gypsy communities (Monali's sister can recommend a 'thrilling experience' tour of Rome including such attractions if anybody is interested). A great pizza, an ice cream treat (the first of many trip) and then sleep in preparation for a big day of sightseeing.
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| Italian ice cream - bigger smile than the wedding? |
We had two days for sightseeing and we chose to spend day one away from the Vatican, because the Pope was creating the first Australian saint-sadly it wasn't the Crocodile Hunter.
Day One: Rome Sightseeing
So we stumbled into town courtesy of train and bus both of which seemed to our panicky eyes to be full of likely pickpockets, but more likely full of people looking at two idiots overprotecting bags and pockets. First destination was Tiber Island - which is a tiny little island in the middle of the Tiber (hence the name I guess). It has two bridges which don't look very impressive, but have been standing since the first century AD. Amazing considering modern day Italian engineering seems to rust after about ten minutes.
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| Bridge lamppost - padlocks left by young couples expressing their love! Handcuffs more appropriate? |
From Tiber Island we walked through the ancient streets and ruins to reach the Disk of Truth. The name might sound like a crap quiz show, but apparently telling a lie whilst you hold your hand inside the disk's mouth will result in the mouth shutting and chopping off your arm. Luckily either everybody was telling the truth or the disk wasn't too hungry during our visit.
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| Disk of Truth - seems pretty 'armless to me |
We moved onto Circo Massimo which was a huge 200,000 capacity chariot racing stadium in Roman Times. Sadly it is now more of a huge field and it takes imagination to visualise the excited crowds chanting on the competitors and their steeds. Luckily for us there was some kind of Roman reenactment going on - the context wasn't historically accurate, but I guess it did make it feel a little more special.
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| A rather diminished Roman army |
Onto a more traditional Rome sight - The Trevi Fountain. It is customary to throw a coin into the fountain which will ensure that you will return to Rome. It seems we might not be coming back! It was so packed with other tourists that you just couldn't get near the thing.
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| We thought these were the Spanish Steps, they are not. We are stupid. |
Our final sight of the day (if you exclude a hurried rush past the real Spanish Steps and the huge, funky McDonalds McCafe in Spagna) was the crypt of the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini (thank you wikipedia).
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| I think the colour really brings this room alive |
For some reason the Capuchin Friars had a different approach to interior design. Stained glass windows and wooden pews were 'so last year' to them. Instead they decided to use the remains of around 4000 of their order to create lampshades, pillars, wall hangings and ceiling decorations. Just in case looking at six rooms of death doesn't creep you out enough, the monks decide to remind you once more of your own mortality in the final room with a sign reading "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be..."
Day two: Catholic Disneyland.
We were both excited to visit the Vatican on day two as this was the biggest part of the Rome 'sights' that we had missed last year. All in all its a good show - thousands upon thousands of sculptures, paintings and other priceless antiquities that countless Pope's have appropriated from across the Catholic empire. However, you cannot help questioning how this place is so fundamentally linked to Christianity. Granted, St Peter's tomb is within the Basilica so there is link there, but most of the other big sights of the Vatican are from Renaissance or at a push Medieval times. I guess its just difficult to understand the reverence with which the Vatican is held compared to Jerusalem or elsewhere in Palestine.
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| The map room |
As I said the contents and buildings themselves are magnificent - its amazing to think that with a population of round a 1000 or so the Vatican still has ruled one of the world's biggest empires for centuries. The spoils are here to prove it!
Next stop Athens - yet more history!!
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