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Published: April 21st 2010
The Parthenon
So what does the writing actually say?Another train and another easy trip. Europe is so compact and relatively easy to get around. I arrived in Rome before midday, so I found somewhere to have lunch. Now, when I think of Italy, I think of yummy pasta, but this assumption has been shattered due to the dodgy pasta I had at a cafe. It was some half-heated oily mess, which I think ever I could have done better than. Sooo, I just had to force myself to wash it down with an icecream (very rare on this trip, I know). Now if there is something the Italians know how to do, it's serving up massive, yummy icecream cones at a fairly cheap price. Thumbs up to Luigi!
I then had a look at Villa Borghese (a park), the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Tiber river and then over to the Vatican. There were heaps of people around the Trevi Fountain, but essentially it's a really well-sculptured water feature that has lots of people throwing coins over their backs into the water.
The Pantheon was more interesting than I anticipated, and I was surprised to see it is a funtioning church that had a service going on
while the tourists were wandering about. I liked the shape of the circular domed bit with the square front entrance (simple things excite me). What didn't really excite me was the Vatican. The thought of a church spending so much money elaborate buildings doesn't sit well with me. I know it's very impressive to see, but I think the wealth could be better spent on other things. In saying that, I can appreciate how well things are built, and was glad I went and had a look. However, I did just miss seeing the Pope giving his weekly address to the public in St. Peter's Square. Maybe he didn't like the fact that I snubbed him in Paris (just kidding).
The next day I went and had a look at the Colosseum. It was so cool! I love old things (and Rome certainly has plenty of that), and more so if you can still make out what they were used for. I had originally planned to walk around it by myself, but the guides outside are always touting for business and they convinced me to give them some money. It is the best way though, as you pretty much
The Swiss Guards at the Vatican
If you wait long enough, some fashions will eventually come back into style. go straight through the ticket entrance and get explained a lot more about the place. I won't give you details about the Colosseum as I'm sure you either know it or can look it up for yourselves. But I will say that however tourist-driven Rome is, the Colosseum is well worth a visit. You can't help but imagine how the spectators would be sitting (or standing) cheering on the gladiators and willing for more killing.
In the afternoon I had a look at the Spanish Steps, bought a painting, and checked out Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. The Spanish Steps are about as exciting as the Trivi Fountain, but with more Africans and Indians trying to sell you fake handbags and belts. I did warn one of them that the police were just around the corner, so he thanked me very much and made a run for it. I felt a bit bad, because I didn't see any police, but by this stage of my trip I had had enough of people trying to sell me fake watches and handbags.
The Roman Forum is the oldest part of the city, and is where a lot
of business and politics was done. It's pretty much a pile of ruins now, but you can still make out some things. It's not hard to imagine people walking up and down the streets living life like we do today, except they would have been wearing a toga. There was some archaeological excavation going on in one part, so there must still be things to learn from the site. From one point of the Forum you can see Circus Maximus, so I decided to go and have a look. It's just a long grassed field today, but two thousand years ago it had chariots racing around. Again, my imagination kicked in.
On my third day I organised a tour of some catacombs and the Apian Way. We were taken to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, apparentaly one of the more accessible in Rome. Catacombs are underground burials, with maybe four storeys of tunnels dug into the soil. It was done this way die to a shortage of above-ground land, and also to secretly bury people of persecuted religions. The tunnels quite narrow in some parts, and there was a slightly eerie feeling to it. Over the years people have
The Colosseum
One of the most fascinating things I saw in Rome. removed bones from the catacombs, so nowadays all of the skeltons have been removed for safe keeping and only the cut-out shelves remain. Again, if you are ever in Rome (or any other place with catacombs) I would highly recommend visiting them. And we weren't allowed to take photos down there, so no pics to show. Near the catacombs is The Apian Way, one of the oldest roads in ancient Rome. It connected the city to other parts of the country, and is still used as a road today. Some of it still had the original volcanic rock, and it was funny watching the modern cars bouncy slowing over it.
On my last day I took a trip down to Naples and Pompei. It was a fairly long day - left hotel at 0645 and got back at 2100. It took two hours to drive to Naples where we had a really quick look and then a bit of lunch. (This was a group of about 30-40 people). So most people know the story of Pompei ... wrecked by an earthquake in 62AD, started being rebuilt, then buried by the erupting Mt Vesuvius in 79AD. The town was pretty
Trevi Fountain
I had to have another icecream pic. much forgotten about until 1592, and today they have still only dug down about three quarters of the depth. It's amazing how a lot of walls of buildings are still standing, and you can walk down the streets like they did thousands of years ago. There are mosaics, plunge baths, wall art, many pots, and the plaster casts of the buried victims. I was so glad I went to Pompei, and was finally justifed coming to Italy.
So after seven and a bit weeks on the road I finally get to come home. I have seen so many things on this trip that I have always wanted to see and also came across lots of unexpected surprises. The highlight would have to be Switzerland, and in particular seeing snow for the first time on Mt Pilatus.... it was truly a magical day for me. The languages have been a bit of a challenge, but I mostly stuck to the tourist routes and therefore got by okay. I wonder where in the world I can visit next.
If anyone was wondering, I flew Cathay Pacific on the long-haul flights ... they were awesome! The flight back from Rome to
Pompei
The streets look like they could still have people living there. Hong Kong got in about 0700 local time, and my flight to Brisbane wasn't leaving until 2300. Not the smartest move, and in retrospect I would have done it differently. But it did give me a chance to go into Hong Kong Island and see the mini zoo. It was basically a few primates and other things, but it passed the time okay. Back at the airport I found a nice reclining lounge to sleep on, and paid a computer guy $10 dollars to charge my iPod. Finally back in Brisbane I found out my sisters had bought a cake ... not for me, but for Annette's birthday. What better present than to have me back visiting, aawww.
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