I heart Roma

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Ok, so the road to Rome. It was only about a 6 hour trip to Rome but I couldn’t sleep a wink. When we got in we hit the Vatican which I had been hanging out for and let me just say it was breathtaking, it really was, and yes, I can now tell you what it smells like inside the Sistine Chapel (for all the Good Will Hunting fans :-) ).



The Vatican

Words really cannot describe the place. It’s really worth doing a guided tour as they guide will explain the stories behind a lot of the paintings, as well as some interesting info on the maintenance procedures to keep it so pristine (look out for the unclean ‘reference patches’ :-) ). What did piss me off a little is the lack of respect paid to the church. Now I’m not an overly religious person, but the Vatican, in their kindness, give us all access to this amazing work of art so that we may all gaze upon it in wonder and all they ask in return is that women cover their shoulders and that you don’t take photos. Pretty simple requests I think. Well to my horror, when I walked into the Sistine Chapel girls everywhere had removed their shawls, and there were dozens upon dozens of camera flashes going off, it really was unbelievable.<span> But I didn’t let it ruin it for me, it really is an experience, and St Peters Basilica is equally as incredible.



Michelangelo’s Keyhole

After the Vatican, we had a bit of spare time so our bus driver Johnny was cool enough to drop us up at an unusual little spot known as Michelangelo’s Keyhole. This was actually an awesome highlight for me, atop a little hill sits an embassy (I can’t remember which one), and the door to the place is this great wooded door set into a concrete wall. In the door is a small keyhole. As you peer through this keyhole, you are looking down this path with ornate gardens and hedging on each side. And at the end of this path, framed by the beautiful gardens, is the dome of St Peter’s Bascilica. It is really an amazing view that can’t adequately be described with words; it’s so awesome that someone has gone to that much effort to give us that amazing view, through a keyhole!!!! And best of all, no tourists anywhere :-).



That night was an early one for everyone, after Space Electronica in Florence and the absolutely blistering heat of Rome everyone was just beat.

The next day saw me and another lad heading into town early to get a head start on the sightseeing. The Contiki bus was heading in at 10am, which meant losing half the day nad in a place like Rome that just wasn’t on. So we jumped on the metro at around 7am and was in town by 7:30.



Roman Forum

First stop was the Roman Forum. For those looking to see the Colosseum it’s worth doing this as well as you can buy a ticket for both with little line up allowing you to skip the ridiculously long line at the Colosseum.<span> Turns out at that time of the morning there was no line at all at the forum. The forum is rich in history and definitely worth a look, but make sure you get an audio guide or even a guided tour otherwise it really does just look like a bunch of rocks lying around :-). With the history behind it however and a mental picture of what the place looked like 3000 years ago (yes three thousand years!!), it really comes to life.



The Contiki crew were all going on a walking tour at 11:30 or something so we had always planned to catch up then, and I would have liked to go from straight from the Forum to the Colosseum, but we decided to stop for a quick breakfast. Well quick was not the word. I have never seen anyone eat a toasted sandwich so slowly!! The guys I went in with took over an hour and a half to finish breakfast, and needless to say we ran out of time to catch the Colosseum. So we went straight back in to meet up with the other guys at the Spanish steps.

The walking tour was really good, the usual highlights including Trevi Fountain, a must see if you’re in Rome; don’t forget to throw in a coin so that you may always return to Rome.



The Pantheon

Next stop was the Pantheon. The circular building with massive granite columns at the front is an amazing piece of architecture build in the 1^st century AD, it still stands in immaculate condition. When you walk though it you can just imagine the place 2000 years ago bustling with locals. And for a bit of trivia it is, to this day, the world's largest un-reinforced concrete dome, not bad for something built over 2000 years ago. It has a large oculus in the roof filling the room with natural light. Interestingly enough the height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres. Not sure of the significance though. Anyway for a pristine piece of history it’s definitely worth a look.



Following that everyone headed to the Forum and Colosseum. As Luka and I already had tickets to the Colosseum, I started heading in that direction. But when I asked “are you coming” he said “you know it won’t take that long, I’ll just wait with the other guys”. Well FUCK THAT!! I didn’t get up early to wait in line, and see the Forum twice! So I bailed on everyone else and set off solo.



The Colosseum

I was so glad I already had a ticket (see Roman Forum) as the line was massive and I skipped the lot of it. The Colosseum was epic!

Completed in 80AD after 8 years of construction it could accommodate some 55,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances. An interesting fact, and a credit to the architecture is that the entire stadium was capable of being completely evacuated in 10 minutes. 10 minutes!! Can you imagine another stadium evacuating 50,000 people in 10 minutes?? Incredible!

An eye opener for me was the labyrinth of tunnels that made up the basement of the amphitheatre, there is a section of wooden floor that has been put in place to show you where the floor would have been, and the rest is then the exposed basement labyrinth.

It really is an awe inspiring experience.



Then I went for a quick look at the Circus Maximus, where the chariot races used to be held, not really much to look at now, but you can imagine what it would have been like 2 or 3 thousand years ago.<span> On that note, something I wish I had done is pick up an artist’s impression of ancient Rome. There are many of them at tourist stalls everywhere, and I only saw them after I had finished sightseeing but it really brings all the ancient ruins (ie Forum, Colosseum, Circus) into perspective and if you had one when you started out it really would enrich the experience.



I then checked out the Mouth of Truth, another little stop on the tourist trail, the idea being that you put your hand in the mouth and make a statement. If that statement’s a lie, the carving comes to life and bites off your hand. It’s a bit like saying “Candyman” three times to a mirror, you always say you can do it but when you get there, and you’re in the moment, somehow you just can’t seem to get the words out ;-) . Interestingly enough, the Mouth of Truth leads into a small church and for a small donation you can go down into the crypt which is really interesting.



After walking around Rome all day in 40 degree heat, all I wanted now was a cold beer and some air conditioning,<span> so when I saw an Irish pub I made a b-line. One inside I ran into a couple of Aussies I had met earlier (it’s surprising how often that happens when travelling). So having a beer with them and I met this amazing girl named Alexandrea, working behind the bar. She’s actually French, living in Italy, and speaks perfect English. She was amazing but we only got to talk for an hour or so. After having a few more beers with the Aussies, it was safe to say that the rest of the day was a write off. When I got back to the campsite, I decided to veto the Contiki ‘whiteboard’ party they were having (everyone wears white shirts and draws all over each other), and head into Rome. My mate Tom piked out on me, so I was on my own again, and Alex had given me the local goss on where to go. Testachio!



So I found the place and ended up having a few drinks with a gorgeous German girl named Kira, smart, funny, beautiful, she was just incredible. Later on a pub crawl full of Aussies rocked up and I ended up getting dragged into partying with them. All in all it was an awesome night, a bit expensive though with cab fares but ah well, that’s what money’s for :-).



Pompeii

The next day we stopped in at Pompeii on the way to the ferry. This place was mind blowing and far exceeded my expectations. It’s all so well preserved! And the plaster casts of the bodies suspended in time were haunting. Definitely a must see for everyone! We had a guided tour which I would highly recommend. Our guide was this hilarious Italian guy with the driest sense of humour, but I’m sure there are plenty of tours. With a guide you can really get the feel of what kind of place it was before the eruption and they can explain the significance of the different features as well as all the facts about the history of Pompeii. I know this is only a short paragraph but please don’t let that deter, Pompeii is a ‘must see’ for Europe.



We got to the Ferry around around 6pm, and sunset over the water was inspiring. Tom and I ended up meeting a couple of French girls and we talked for a bit as the sun went down but it was to be an early night for everyone after the pace, the excitement and the heat of Roma :-).

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