From Florence to Rome

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Day 8: Florence

Victoria didn’t see much too much today, as she was too sick, as are many of the people on the bus; some people went to the doctor, others to the hospital. So Chris takes over the story;

I was quite sick myself today, so didn’t have much enthusiasm for Florence. It is a shame that so much travelling dulls your appetite new experiences. Were we to visit Florence straight from Auckland I’m sure we would have been blown away. Instead, although we could appreciate the beauty and history of the city, it was difficult when the vast majority of us were sick. It did not help that our tour guide was very softly spoken and gave a tour more suited to art students.

So, the highlight of the day - although I think I will appreciate Florence more in the future - was getting back to our campsite, were I was victorious in a game of tennis against some Aussies and had a nice dinner. I could definitely stay here again; Victoria is right, European camping is in another class

Day 9: Florence to Rome: (Victoria’s account)

Another bright and early start for Rome day. Little did we all know that today would be the most memorable day of the trip. Leaving Tuscany in the morning was beautiful . The light hit the green hills and it looked endless. It reminded me so much of driving from Auckland to the snow. Except there was one difference... hardly any live stock. Just long luscious grass that would of had any cow salivating at very sight.

The drive to Rome was meant to be a short one so we only had one stop to make and that was at a Basilica on a hill. To get to the top of the hill was interesting; we had to take this little cable car type thing (a Funicular) to the top and it only took about 75 people on it. As we got there we found out that it was liberation day in Italy (happened to be the same say as Anzac Day), so all there were Italian tours groups everywhere and they love to push in line. So we all crammed into the cable car to the top of the hill. The views around the hill were amazing it was all green for as far as the eye could see. The Basilica was cool. The Italians know how to build stuff; there were certainly no commercial imperatives at play when they build their churches. It was nicknamed the Zebra church as the outside bricks were in black and white layers.

After leaving the stop we headed our way into Rome, this was meant to be a two hour drive into Rome. Being a public holiday we didn’t know what to expect. We got onto the may motorway in and it was empty we had a clear run which was great. The traffic jam was the other side of the road, all three lanes were completely fill all travelling about 20-50km/h it was in kind of like the Auckland bridge crawl in the morning. Except this traffic jam was about from Auckland to Hamilton long and three lanes wide. We were happy to be on the other side of the road.

Driving into Rome on Anzac day was cool as there were fields full of poppies, something I have never seen before. It is hard to believe out Great grandfathers fought in fields like that all over Europe. We got stuck in a big of traffic and it was our turn to see how aggressive Italian drivers are. There was a shoulder lane which was for emergency vehicles and break downs and in the traffic the Italians were using it as a fourth lane. Well, our bus driver, the good Australian that he is, moved the bus across the lane and we watched from the back windows as the drivers got stuck and the hand gestures came out. There were mainly girls on our back seat so we were waving to the Italian men in the cars and having a good laugh as they blew kisses and wave back. The Italian men are certainly not backward in coming forward; it is very flattering

Once into Rome we had a two hour walking tour with our tour leader. Because it was busy our tour Leader (Erin) brought this flower which was on a long stick, it was colourful and spun. It was her version of the generic tour leaders unopened Umbrella, but way cooler. So off we went into Rome on the metro. We arrived at our first stop which was the Spanish Stairs. And they were packed. We could not see stairs just people. So we climbed up the stairs and on to our next destination.

We stopped at this place - can’t remember the name - however, it was a Monastery of some kind. We went into the entry below and paid a $1 donation and walked into this underground hall way were there was wall art (Not really Art to me) made of human bones. They were all Monks and their bones had been separated out and put on the walls. Over 4000 monks went into the making of this place. It was very disturbing. Chris’ note: I found it very interesting

The Trevi Fountain was next and it was also packed. At one point I didn’t even think there was a fountain there as there were so many people around. All 30 of the group barged our way through like any good Kiwi and Aussies would do to get down to the fountain. And we threw coins in and made a wish. We also dipped our water bottles in and filled there up with water. This was the best thing about Rome, as all the fountains had drinking water you could fill up your bottles with. Rome was a surprisingly clean city.

Onto the Pantheon next and this was our gelato stop. The Pantheon was closed for a public holiday so it was onto the gelato. Top deck special got you 5 flavours in a big cone for $4 Euro which was great. It was a meal in a cone, it was so huge. Best gelato ever in Italy.
Last stop on the tour was the Coliseum. Which was a lot smaller in real life than I thought. However, still very impressive. It managed to hold up to 55,000 people in it and they could clear the stadium in 8 minutes flat. So it appears we have only gone backwards with our stadium building. I was surprised at how clean everything was, It was a hot day and I expected it to be dusty and gross with all the crowds, however Rome was an impressive city, from first impressions. And you know what Chris says about first impressions, and he is ever so knowledgeable. And handsome.

So back on the bus to our next Campsite. We are all tired and ready to dump our bags and eat. It was about 7pm when the bus pulls up to the entrance and it as tight fit through the gate. However, our driver is an expert at fitting big things into small places, so we all think nothing of it. Next thing, as Jimmy thinks he is clear of the brick pillars, he swings the bus around. The corner of the pillar hit straight up against the window and we all see and hear the glass crack which is two windows in front of Chris and I on our side. However, Jimmy did release or hear us hit and he kept swinging the bus around. The first window smashed and everyone on that side leaped across the bus then the next one when. It was heading right for us so I leaped out of my seat. Jimmy stops the bus, comes down to inspect the damage. He then gets back in his seat and starts driving into the camp like nothing had happened. Good old Australians.

So we are driving through the camp all in a little bit of shock but no was hurt thank God. Still, as we are driving glass is falling out all over the place inside the bus and out. It looked a wreck when we finally pulled up. And Jimmy got out and looked a bit pale over what he had just down. I felt sorry for him. From our angle at the back he looked clear. However he had no idea because the sun was right in his mirrors. When we were all piling off past the debris, there was glass and chucks of brick all over the bus. In fact the person who was sitting in the place where the window first hit and smashed emptied out her bag later and it was full of glass and brick. It was truly a experience and left us all wondering what was going to happen next and how were we getting to Venice......

Day 10: Rome Day

With no Bus and Jimmy on a mission to try and fit it we headed off to the train on a bus, to do a tour off the Vatican City. The replacement glass for the bus was on order from Portugal and would not be fitted while we are on tour. So we left wondering how Jimmy was going to fix up the bus on a public holiday weekend in Italy.

We arrived at the wall to the Vatican City and there were lines all around. We were told that you could wait more than 3 hours in one line to see one part of the Vatican. So Chris and I, with 18 others on our bus paid the $35 Euros to get the tour guide and skip all the queues to see almost everything - the main queue must have been 2-3 kms long. We rocked up and our tour guide was a Kiwi. It was great to here another Kiwi accent in Italy. He was a cool guy that was impressed with the ratio of girls to guys there was (more females). He had very nice eyes and all the single girls in the group - all of them except me and one other - stayed up the front the whole time. I think the guide was quite impressed with a few of them.

The tour was great and I learnt so much about art. Way more than I ever would if I had done Art History in School. The Art Museum in the Vatican was amazing. So many works of Art and most of it on the ceiling and walls. We spent about two hours in there. The longest I think I have been in any Art Museum and it wasn’t too busy compared to the lines outside which was nice. The great thing about going around with the guide was that we knew what everything was, also the history and quirky bits about the paints. Like in the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling there is one person painted on purpose by Michelago to moon the Pope.

When we did get into the Sistine Chapel it was breath taking. Pictures could not do it justice (you were not allowed to take pictures anyway). The detail and work was amazing. We spent a good 10minutes just looking up. You could spend long in there it was just so packed it was like sardines in a can. However it was interesting being inside and learning about my Catholic roots (don’t think I would convert though, sorry Dad!)

Our last stop on the Vatican Tour was St Peters Basilica. And this was just as busy, only because the whole centre had been closed off to be set up for Mass. The Basilica was beautiful all the filled with Solid Gold and Bronze. To walk round the centre would of taken about an hour in the crowds as it was just under 2km around and full of people, so after the tour guide had finished we made our exit.

There were crowds everywhere so as we were leaving we jumped over the fence. Then later realised sitting at lunch we release we jumped the border fence which was a little cool. First time I have ever jumped the border. A few of the group came with, so there was 6 of us that were heading in the same direction. It was nice to hang out in a group so we all could get lost at the same time as the shortage of road signs made it hard to read a map. This is one of the great advantages of doing a group tour; there is almost always someone who is keen to do the same thing as you.

On to the Pantheon next to see inside as we did not get to on the walking tour. It was another busy tourist spot, however, it was free to get in so there were not big lines. Inside the roof has a big hole in the centre letting all the light shine in on one figure on the wall. The hole was to let the sprits shine their light from Heaven in. And been a clear blue sunny day the light was streaming in which made it look really cool.

We headed to the last stop of the day and that was the Coliseum and on the way we picked up a few more of the people in our tour group and headed off. Once we got to there , there were huge lines to get tickets. Since we knew of a short cut we went off and spent about 20mins in a line 200 metres done the road and walked straight into the Coliseum. It was remarkable inside, we walked around for about 30mins before Chris started to feel unwell so we headed back and concluded our day.

Chris’ note: At this stage I was not really sure of what was happening and was very glad for Victoria’s assistance and latter nursing. I have been very sick over the last few days, which is why Victoria has taken over writing the blog.

Note to Mum: I am feeling much better now, thanks, so no need to worry!

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Photos

Florence
Michealago's David (A source of pride and controversy at the time) + the new horizon for protest