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Friday 1 May
Heather and Zachary explored the local town of Zagarolo today. As we thought, the Toy Museum was closed but they really enjoyed the town. They picked up some delicious pastries for a song from a patisserie and looked around the old buildings. Unfortunately Heather thought I had the camera (which I didn’t) so there are no photos from either of us.
Meanwhile I headed into Rome and walked to the Colosseum. The line to get in was 2-3 hours long so I contented myself admiring it from the outside. I walked up the Palatine Hill from which you can see the Roman Forum and other remains. I really enjoyed this and thought it was really cool to walk the paths that the Emperors walked 2000 years ago. That so much of this area (as well as other Roman constructions) has survived in such good condition is remarkable. Although giving it some thought in WW2 the Italians were with Hitler when it looked like he was going to win and jumped ship when they were sinking – so perhaps the stereotype of Italians not being the smartest is a bit unfair. The Italians deftly avoided being the subject of any mass military campaign against them this way!
After that I wandered around visiting a number of piazzas and historical sites. The Trevi Fountain is currently being renovated or restored or something so is not actually functioning and you can’t see much. So that was a bit of a damp squib as they say. Had a look at the Pantheon and Spanish Steps also. However it was so ridiculously busy that it was hard to really appreciate them and I headed back to the train station. I missed the train I wanted by 15 seconds and had to wait an hour so went and bought some snacks for tomorrow and had some delicious gelato before hopping on the next train and getting a seat for a change!
Back to the Hostel and then we sat outside, played some Uno Jenga, and finished yesterday’s wine plus checked out the local beer which is quite good. Checked out a hilarious new web site from Microsoft: how-old.net. You upload a photo and it analyses the face and tells you how old the person is. I uploaded the photo of me at Big Ben which said I was 40 which I was quite pleased with. Then I did the photo of Heather and Zachary at the Nelson’s column and you can imagine the hilarity that ensued at my end when it said Heather was 51! It took me a full 5 minutes to recover my composure. She was happier though when the photo of her at St Peter’s Basilica said she was 30. So not the most accurate web site I think but entertaining nonetheless!
Buying dinner here tonight as the supermarket is closed and then it is off to bed and an early start tomorrow to travel to Cavasagra via Venice and Castelfranco Veneto. We’ll have to get some supplies on the way as we can’t get to the town from the hotel on Sunday (no bus service) and we are looking forward to a slightly less hectic week. I’m not sure what internet will be like where we stay so there may be a while between updates. Unless you hear otherwise assume we are alive and well!
Best wishes to all our family and friends.
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Natalie
non-member comment
WOW!!
WOuld have been awesome at the Colosseum!! So jelous!! Come on you guys, photos are much appreciated xoxox