11hr buses, dirt, sweat, and sensational rome
Trip Start
May 23, 2008
1
15
54
Trip End
Ongoing
Rome,
Lazio,
Italy
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
hello everyone!
although this entry is for Rome, i am currently in the town of Sorrento, in southern Italy - a 4 hour train ride away. I have come down here as my bus doesn't include southern italy, and i heard that it is stunning. So here i am. It reminds me alot of the back streets Santorini, very touristy and based high on a cliff. I am sitting in a small cafe in the town, behind me there is a guy playing a random poker machine (what the hell) and i have just spent the last couple of hours wandering the streets and sussing out the area. As with everywhere else that i have been, the town is in siesta mode, but alot of the touristy shops are still open. i figure while im waiting for everything else to re-open i will write an entry
sunflower fields
.We arrived into Rome from Venice on Saturday night, it was an 11 hour bus trip made worse because the whole of northern italy seemed to be heading south for the weekend on the road that we needed to take - translation - worst traffic jam ever. im never complaining about the monash ever again. that freeways a cinch. But the scenery was nice, going from vineyards and fruit trees into rolling hills of wheat, out to the coast, then up into the mountains (the tops of some of which had snow, even though when you got out of the bus it was about 30deg), through about a million tunnels, and then into the heart of Rome. I decided to be a bit nerdy and sit up in the very front seats of the bus, which was awesome as i almost had panoramic views of all the scenery. the bus wasnt too full so i also got 2 seats to myself, for the first time since i started. The one thing that i wish that our tour had was a chance to have photo stops. By law, the drivers have to stop every 2 - 3 hours, but all stops are made at service centres with food and toilets, but they never have a good view. There is no way that you can get good pictures through the windows. Such a shame.
All the cars that they drive in Europe are so funny and small, no-body drives anything bigger than an astra or a mazda 6
the rolling hills
. and those ugly smart cars are EVERYWHERE. i can understand that when your paying 1.50€ a litre (about $2.60aus) for fuel you would want something economical. but its so different to back home. and Italians are crazy drivers! After the calm roads of Germany and Austria, i feel like im back in Greece. Luckily i have been watching my Top Gear on my ipod to keep me up to date with all the different cars here...Our accomodation is in another campsite similar to Venice, but probably 400 x better. I was sharing a 3 person cabin with only one other guy, Franco from Sicily. He was up in Rome to have a test for a job. Apparently there are absolutely dibolical ammounts of un-employment in the south, so alot are forced to move further north or even internationally. No wonder Melbournes full of wogs.
As soon as i got into Rome i had a good feeling about it. The campsite had the same sort of things as venice, but the vibe was different. It had a warm, welcoming atmosphere. it made you want to hang out there. plus my air con actually worked and i had a fridge in my room!!! score. the room was like an ice box by the time i was finished with it.
Across the road from the campsite is sort of like a hypermarket called Panorama - its like coles and bigw all mixed into one
Dolomite mountains
. We got in pretty late so we rushed over as soon as we could to check out what was there, and we went a little bit crazy, everything was so cheap and edible... we also got supplies to make sandwiches for the next day to save a bit of money on lunch. We were still trying to decide on what to buy when they turned the lights out on us! I didnt get everything i wanted but i would be in rome for a little while so i could come back. This was by far the best supermarket i have seen while away, i miss being able to drive down the shops and grab the normal things off the shelves, you have to judge everything by the pictures, so it takes a little longer to decide what to have. but its great fun. Sunday in Rome ment some of the attractions were closed, but i headed into the town after a little bit of a sleep in with Kylie and Jackie, and also my roomie, who ended up acting as our tour guide and interpreting the italian for us. Lucky we had him, as to get into town was a little confusing, firstly catching a bus and then a train. But we got off at the Vatican, and walked in just as the Pope was beginning his sermon - we have absolutely amazing timing. We didnt even know it was on... it was by total fluke!!!! The crowd that was there was incredible. Thousands of people filled up the round piazza and all faced the Pope, who speaks from his room which is about 5 floors up. He spoke most of it in what i guess was italian, but he also said a few words in other languages, and after every language the crowd went nuts applauding, waving, shouting and flying their flags
Dolomite mountains 2
. it was a sight to be seen, and even though i am not religious, it will be something i will remember forever. We also quickly qued up and went into St Peters Basilica, which was scrazily enormous and elaborately decorated. the dome of the basilica is so honoured that nothing in Rome is allowed to be built taller than it. To get in, you had to go through security gates and get our bags scanned, which was a bit stupid as the guards werent even watching the screens as the bags went through! After we had enough of the Vatican, we wandered down the main strip and stopped by the river to eat our sandwiches and figure out where we wanted to go to next. Because the girls only had 2 full days in Rome, and only one weekday where everything would be open, we decided to do as many of the free or open attractions as possible on the sunday, to leave the monday free for all the big things. We firstly walked to the Spanish steps and watched some idiot fill up his drink bottles with the fountain water (he actually took a swig, it was gross. dont ever drink water out of a fountain). the steps werent as impressive as i thought they would be, they were litterally a heap of steps climbing up the hillside to something covered in scaffolding. Everything is covered in scaffolding here. the stores around the area though are very expensive. Gucci, Armani, Channel, we even went into the Ferrari store and checked out the overpriced merchandise
POPE!!!!!
. they have some great stuff in there, but im not paying 400€ for a cotton jacket thankyou.We also visited the first mcdonalds to be built in Rome - but only to use their toilets.
After the steps we visited the Trevi Fountain, which was packed with tourists. we stayed long enough to take some photos and throw a coin into the fountain over our shoulder... this is supposed to mean that we will return to rome. we shall see. after that we jumped onto a train and visited the outside of the Colosseum, had some fantastic gelati, then went back and sat for a couple of hour at the Trevi fountain for the sunset and to watch the lights in the water (and people-watch), and eat pizza (which you buy by weight - interesting concept - its like weighing out fudge or something). It was stunning to see the fountain at night. Shame about all the tourists and the horders who stand right in front of you and try to sell you roses or camera tripods even though you have told them NO GO AWAY for almost the 30th time. I have never seen anything like it. its crazy.
On the bus trip in, the guide tried to warn us about pickpockets and beggers here, she even told us about how gypsy mothers throw their babies at you and when you catch them all their children surround you and pickpocket you
Pope in the Vatican
. she said never to catch a baby. i couldnt imagine what i would do if i had a baby thrown at me, but i dont think i could ever just let it drop! By the time we got back to the camp at about 10pm, we were dirty, sweaty and exhausted, so we went straight to bed, so we would be energised for our 2nd big day of Rome. That night Italy were playing Spain in the soccer, and the chanting and singing coming from the spainards in the campground when they won were deafening! Needless to say, Franco came back to the room not too happy, i think he sat outside and consumed a few beers to drown his sorrows before bed.
Day 2 saw us up bright and early to get to our first attraction at opening time of 9am - the archelogical site of Palantine Hill. It was a very big area filled with the ruins of the ancient city, and was okay but nothing was signposted or had a description so we did alot of looking but not much learning. With our ticket for Palantine we also got entry into the Colosseum, which was excellent as we avoided a queue about an hour long for tickets. the Colusseum was okay, i guess you could say it was impressive, but it was kind of ruined by the tourists, and we did a lap of the inside and then walked back out.
The next site took us by complete supprise. The Pantheon is a building which is almost completely survived where alot of others havent, and is like a huge dome covered in paintings etc and houses the body of the artist (not the ninja turtle) Raphael. i cant really remember the history of it off the top of my head, but it was also used for some crazy parties and orgies back in its day. funny since its so sacred, and covered in images of Jesus
St Peters Basilica
.By this stage we were making cracking time, and we stopped and had lunch at the same spot by the river where we had the day before, before heading to the Vatican museum, which is the collection of artwork collected by all the popes over the last however many centuries. apparently has twice the ammount of art as the Louvre. but most of it was sculptures, not so much artwork. and alot of the art that was painted, was directly on the walls and roof. But the museum also gave us entry to the Sistine chapel, which was cool (but full of people) and didnt feel as holy as the Basilica.
We were finished at about 4pm with our whirlwind tour of Rome, so we headed back for a nice refreshing swim in the pool (we were again - discustingly sweaty and dirty) - and bought a 8 pack of icypoles for 2€ - bargain price. needless to say we finished the whole pack between the 3 of us that night. We also had a sort of farewell dinner, as that was the last night i was spending with the girls. it was actually really sad, they had become my family for the last week, we had gotten along stupidly well, wanted to do all the same things and see the same sights, and i had really enjoyed their company. they are great girls, its funny how you go to the other side of the world to meet people who live 40 minutes away from you. and our dinner was AWESOME, we went to our favourite supermarket and got pesto, some grilled vegies, cheeses, biscuits, and had a huge munch up. i was so full but it was so cheap and one of the most delicious meals so far.
so that was last night. this morning i got up at (shock horror - get ready for it...) 6am (OWCH) and caught my bus and train into the city to somehow get on a regional train to Naples, and then here
St Peters Basilica 2
. I was a little bit scared, seeing as i was doing it all by myself, in a country where i cant speak the language, let alone know where the hell i am going. but i got here okay. the next couple of days are going to be utillised exploring the Amalfi coast, the island of Capri, and hopefully Pompeii.random things:
in the service stops they sell what they call "nutella snacks" which is like a cylinder with half filled with biscuits and nutella to dip, and the other half a drink, which apparently tastes like lemon. it sounds incredibly gross, i cant believe that they have tainted the nutella brand by bringing out this crap. its served at room temprature, they dont even chill it. uuuugh it makes me shudder at the thought. so gross.
all the service stops, in fact most of italy - sells whats called panini; a takeaway toasted roll filled with things like salami, proscutto(?), mozzerella, sauce and salad. they are delicious but kind of pricy. in the city most gelati bars also sell panini.
Comments
Roman Holiday
Sounds like you were more excited over the pope than Rome itself. Perhaps you needed to read up a little on Roman history to fully appreciate ancient Rome. By the time you get back home we will probably all be driving smart cars. The way petrol prices are rising that's all we'll be able to afford too. Arrivederci. Luv Mumxox
Hello Rome
Hey Kate, once again a great descriptive entry thankyou. At least your new friends are from here and you can catch up with them when you come home.
Good girl for going to church. Luv Donna xx
Enjoying your trip
Just to let you know we are following your trip and really enjoying it all through your eyes. We are off to Darwin in the morning. Love from the apple relations