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Published: December 24th 2012
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I breathed in deeply, trying desperatly to savour every smell. My eyes wandered over the vast ceiling like a bird, never at rest, taking everything in, adsorbing the intricate details. I recalled the scene from Good Will Hunting where the professor tells Will he's just a boy because he's never starred in wonder at the roof of the Cistine Chapel. Well, professor, you couldn't say that to me anymore!
Rome. I'd been there before but this trip was different. It was a suprise for a start! An anniversary gift from my beloved girl that I'd reciprocated (unfortunately) with a bunch of flowers. In my defence they were roses! I was presented with a guidebook and asked 'what do you want to do next weekend?'
Next weekend arrived & we landed at Ciampino, making our way to the centre of town via the shuttle bus and then walking the rest of the way to our B&B through the streets surrounding the main station. The B&B was a lovely little place run - it seemed - by a little old woman who spoke almost no English, and was inhabited by no-one we heard speaking English. It seemed nice to be outside
the main tourist area. The B&B was unlikely to get much passing trade, we walked past the entrance twice before finding it (locked) amonst other residential buildings.
After dropping off our bags we took a walk down the leafy boulivards and stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe, among locals enjoying Espressos. I never saw the point in an espresso, paying €2.50 for a shot of coffee but the Italians swear by it!
We strolled around the city to for a while, taking in the narrow back streets, but trying to avoid the main sights - saving them for tomorrow - until we found a small bar & had pizza; the first of many!
The next day we started early (relitively), making our way to the Vatican via the suprisingly efficient and cheap metro service. In our whole time there we never waited more than 2 or 3 minutes for a train and at €1 for a single journey it made a lot of sense to use it. However, I wouldn't recommend using it all the time because one of the wonders of Rome is that if you wander the streets you will inevitably stumble upon some
ancient building or magnificant scultpure that would have been highlighted in bold on the maps of most other cities, and if you do take the metro you will miss out.
I'd been to the Vatican before but hadn't toured the Cistine Chapel or the Vatican buildings and so wanted to make up for it this time. I suppose the professor from Good Will Hunting had gotten to me!! We decided to join one of the guided tours for a remarkably knocked down price (from €60 to €25), figuring it would be better to be guided to the best parts of the buildings with inside knowledge. It turns out that to actually get inside is quite cheap, but finding your way around the laberinth of halls and corridors once we were there would have been a nightmare. As I squeezed down each passageway and corridor I couldn't believe how busy it was. The grand halls and tall, infinate corridors somehow seemed claustrophobic with the sheer weight of excited nuns, curious photographer, and gaping day trippers. I often felt like i was part of a colony of penguins, waddling along in tightly packed groups.
That being said, the sheer grandiose
elegance of the place was together awesome, powerful, and sickening. The sheer extravagance of the art on display was rediculous. Towards the end of the tour we marched past works from Rafael, Da Vinci, Picasso, Bacon, Matisse, and countless others without so much as a sideways glance. As an art musium the Vatican surely equals that found at the Louvre. The Catholic Church is well renound for its extravagance & this is the centre of their vast empire so this is no suprise. Still, I couldn't help think that if they sold just one of their masterpieces they could help millions of their poverty stricken followers.... but I guess God prefers his Bernini's.
Following the Vatican Museums and a breif look around the Basilica of St Peter we walked back to the centre of Rome. The walk doesn't take as long as it would seem on a map and on the way we took in the Castle of St Angelo, walked along the banks of the Tiber past the numberous artists and street hawkers, and ender up at the Pantheon. At over 2000 years old, this is one of the oldest and best preserved buildings in Rome. It was
originally built as a Roman temple but, in a Microcosm of the City's history, has since been converted to a Catholic church. It is also the final resting place of such figures as the painter Raphael and Italian King Victor Emanuele II. It is an amazing piece of arcitecture, particularly since it is over 2 millenia old. Apparently, it is a perfect sphere inside with the height and widths being the same. Plus it has the hole in the ceiling. I'm not sure what it's significance is - perhaps some Roman Pagan meaning, but I just remember thinking it might work in sunny Rome, but it wouldn't go down too well in Manchester.
That night we found another lovely little restraunt that served beautiful pizzas and giant glasses of beer. I felt like we'd earned it after such a hectic day.
Our final day in Rome was spent taking in the rest of the sights. We visited the coloseum first. This is the post card view of Rome & we toured the outside, taking a few photos, avoiding having our picture taken with the men in Gladiator fancy dress and then moved on. As we walked away from
the coloseum we were treated to a march of old recreationists in full Roman Army attire on parrade in the opposite direction. Their ranks were made up of 'veterans' so that the spectical resembled a march of the last legion.
The rest of the day continued in the same vain. Taking in the magnificent elegence that Rome has to offer. We found our way to the Spanish steps and picked our way through the tourists massed on the bottom, posing for pictures with loved ones. There is a special romance about the Spanish steps that seems to draw lovers close. We toiled our way to the top where we were treated to some special views over the city as the sun set.
The next morning was our last. We awoke early before sunrise and made our way to the train station in the midst of the most amazing thunder storm I'd ever witnessed. Huge bolts of lightning lit up the sky every few seconds - the crash coming almost instantly. It was almost as if the Eternal City was angry we were leaving. We found the train station and, after some tense drama with busses not turning up,
we arrived at the airport and then home. Takng the memories of a wonderful weekend home with us.
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