Rome
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2008
1
3
Trip End
Ongoing
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
One beautiful building that we could see from our hotel was the Colosseum , at first we couldn't believe our luck that we could be so close to such a magnificent building , after the first day walking around however we realised there were just so many magnificent buildings everywhere the odds were increased of having one at our doorstep ! Along with a gelateria and a coffee bar ! The coffee bar was something different for us its really like a bar the locals walk in order a cafe at the bar shot it down and out they go
Castle San Angelo
. The gelateria next door was also filled with locals all adults ordering massive ice cream cones -something we thought was quiet amusing considering we are used to ice creams being a kids treat - the only kids in their were ours We started strong on our mission to have a gelato every day. After our first best pizza EVER we had an anxious wait for Michelle , the kids & nana - then finally they arrived , of course cassidy didn't really recognise us after 18 months but it didn't take her long to warm to us ! The first night we went down the road to a quaint piazza with a fountain in the middle , pigeons and people everywhere , and buskers came around the the restaurants serenading us with accordions and guitars -an amazing atmosphere, after our whole trip i still say that this was my favorite piazza - the excitement of it being our first night in Italy and seeing each other probably contributed to it but the main thing was we were the only tourists , something we couldn't have appreciated on that first night .
With so much to see and do in Rome there was no time for sleep ins and we were up and at em to get to the Vatican - even though we got up early we still missed our tour but luckily they rescheduled us in for the afternoon so we went down to the river to the San Angelo Castle for the morning , the kids were very excited as you are welcomed to the castle by the ponte (bridge) San Angelo lined with sculptures of saints ,the castle resembles a big old sand castle , we wound our way up the tunnel to the top where we were greeted with a giant sculpture of Saint Michelle by Raphael the top of the castle is a museum , and a lot of the rooms are in mint condition with the walls and ceilings covered in the most lavish paintings and gold leaf , up the windy stairs to the very top and a fantastic view of the river and the Vatican
Coloseum by night
. Later in the afternoon we gathered with our tour guide and joined the crowds navigating our way through the smallest sovereign state in the world. The catholic church has had 1000 years to collect some of the most breathtaking art of every form including sculptures, tapestry's , mosaics fresco's one in particular that caught our attention was one that a lot of other people were also gob smacked by - in a little area of the Vatican called the Sistine chapel - the last judgment by Michelangelo - you might of heard of it ? well it has to be seen to be believed. The Vatican nearly collected a special Australian collection when we lost Nana for more than an hour she entertained herself walking around and making her way to the exit i guess you couldn't be lost in a safer place !
The next day we got the tourist bus around Rome and hopped off near the Spanish steps (not near enough for Gwen the kids Nana ) but it was worth the walk lined with people, people dressed as gladiators , people painting , people taking photos and of course a lovely fountain at the bottom. We had a nice lunch once again serenaded by a singing guitar playing man then headed to the fountain of all fountains - the trevi fountain - depicting Neptune's chariot being led by Triton's with sea horses everybody th roughs a coin into the fountain to ensure their return (we watched them the next morning vacuuming the coins out of the fountain and there was a truckload of coins)
Fresco in the Vatican
. In the afternoon while the kids and Nana had a nap headed down the road to the 2000 year old Colosseum where they celebrated the opening of it with a 100 day killing spree with 9000 gladiators and 10000 animals. Even when you are standing in the middle of it , we can hardly grasp how old it is how it manages to be still standing and what the walls have seen - and the floors for that matter. They have rebuilt some of the floor to show how all the little rooms underneath used to hold the animals before the battles , the only animals we saw were a couple of cats ! Michelle was dieing to do some shopping so unknowingly we headed to the worlds biggest markets ! well they certainly seemed that way after 4 hours or so when we hadn't even made it half way through and the kids couldn't walk any further bags full of bargains we dropped them off with Nana for a nap while we headed for St Peters Basilica .
Now weave been to a lot of churches on our travels but nothing prepares you for the size and the beauty of it and not only is the inside glorious but we made the mission to the top of the dome and the views over Rome were breathtaking (no it wasn't just the stairs that were breathtaking) i think the pictures say more than i can, a lovely way to finish off our sightseeing in Rome.
