Rome, and old friends!

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Geo: 41.8955, 12.4823

Whilst we've been away in Europe, we've got word that Cathy & Ian Douglas, who are friends of ours from Kenmore are currently living in Rome. (The 6 degrees of separation story is that Christine Appleton, the mother of our house-sitter is a hairdresser in an old age home, and she was chatting with one of her clients, who mentioned that her son and wife (Ian and Cathy) are in Rome, and the hairdresser mentioned that we were in Europe – I don't know how the hairdresser and the client worked out that we knew the Douglas'!) So, we were fortunate enough to contact Cathy and Ian, as they had asked if we were planning to come to Rome on our trip. The short answer was that we hadn't planned it, but were very keen to catch up with them and Rome is a wonderful city, and what a wonderful reason to come to Rome. So, here we are! (Are you following all of this?)

We drove from Castelmuzio to Rome, via Orvieto. Steven and I had planned to stop to see the Orvieto Duomo years ago, when we first came to Italy, then didn't get the chance, and we had also planned to go when we were nearby at Miranda's wedding, but again, didn't get the chance. So, as we were making good time – we decided it was finally the right time to see this magnificent cathedral. It didn't let us down. We had an interesting drive up the hill to Orvieto (300m above the vine covered plains around it, and clinging to the cliffs) and through the tiny, winding streets of the town until, suddenly, gleaming at the end of the medieval street – there it was!

The Duomo of Orvieto is described as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Italy, and it has a most lovely Gothic façade, all white and gold and tall spires and detailed mosaics and carvings. It took 300 years to build (seems to equate with my experiences of getting things done in Italy), starting in 1290, following the miracle of a bleeding Eucharist in 1263. Inside was just magnificent! Inside, the Duomo has wonderful frescoes – particularly those in the Cappella Nuova, which were painted 500 years ago. The colours are so vivid, and some of the depictions of the Last Judgment are particularly vivid!

Whilst I have stated my problems with churches charging entrance fees, at least for our money, at Orvieto we were presented with a well written guide to the church, and an explanation that our money was contributing to the safeguarding of this marvel.

We drove down to Cathy and Ian's home (2 blocks from the Colosseum!) without major incident. The GPS was wonderful, except Cathy's street appears, from the street signs, to be no entry at either end (which doesn't explain all the cars parked in the street!) and the GPS didn't realize that the street she guided us down has a market in it – we just turned the side mirrors in to avoid the boxes of zucchini flowers and cherries (how European!)

It was wonderful to catch up with Cathy again, and she had gone to so much trouble, preparing a lovely ham and salad lunch for us. And despite her own jetlag (she had arrived from Australia on Tuesday), she was able to come with us for a tour of Rome. We were able to see so much, thanks to Cathy's walking speed (very fast!), her knowledge of where to go and her amazing iphone app telling us which bus to catch and how long till the bus arrived at the nearest stop. In just the afternoon, we were able to see:

- The Colosseum – this was the "big ticket item" for Tom. We didn't go inside – I think the kids were surprised how little remains inside, compared to the Arena at Verona – but we were able to peer in through the gates and have a slow wander around it.

· The Roman forum – the wonderful thing about Rome is that there are bits of Roman ruins everywhere! We walked on streets that were 2000 years old and saw the wheel ruts from chariots, saw the Forum, went into a church built on top of a Roman temple –frankly, there are more bits of ancient Rome than anyone could possibly absorb, and I can see why, realistically, only the more important bits can be preserved /reconstructed /studied. But, it is mind-blowing to see all these buildings from 2000 years ago. At that time, the population of Ancient Rome was about 2 million (similar to today), but at some time in the Dark Ages, the population dwindled to just 26,000.

· Past the Mamertine Prison (where St Peter and St Paul were imprisoned) and the Forum of Caesar, to the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli – this church stands on the site of the Temple of Juno and dates to at least the 6th century. We had been here previously with Peter Fogarty, who showed us the (replacement) Santo Bambino – a miracle working baby Jesus doll, stolen in 1994 and replaced by a replica, but this time, we couldn't find the baby!

· The Victor Emmanuel II monument (referred to as the wedding-cake or the typewriter) – we were able to go up a lift to the roof of this building, for one of the best views of Rome! It was amazing, being on top of this monumental building, but even better to have Cathy as our guide to explain what we could see.

· Great gelati on the Corso! Nothing better than gelati on a hot day, and I found a second favourite flavor in pear gelati! (Nothing beats the prosecco flavor!)

· The Pantheon – this building is amazing. The Ancient Romans built this enormous dome, with its 9 metre wide hole at the top, and we still don't know how they did it. It is a place of such beauty and serenity inside (outside it is so underwhelming, but at one stage it was covered in creamy marble, carved with beautiful and intricate designs – only fractions remain!)

· The church of St Ignatius of Loyola – extra meaning for the kids, who attend St Ignatius School in Toowong. This was one of the first Jesuit churches, built in 1626 to honour St Ignatius. (Cathy said that, on a recent tour, she was taken to see the bedroom of St Ignatius himself in Rome, near the Gesu church!) At the St Ignatius church, which is a highly ornate Baroque church, the kids were fascinated with the ceiling, which includes a part painted to look like a dome. This was necessary when the nuns from the convent complained that a real dome would ruin the view from their rooftop garden – makes you appreciate our neighbours at St Ignatius in Toowong!

· The Trevi Fountain – obligatory photo stop and coins thrown into the fountain to ensure our return to Rome!

All this, and we were home by about 7pm to meet Ian and to have pre-dinner drinks on the roof garden at Cathy and Ian's apartment, where we sipped champagne and watched the sun set over the Colosseum! It was truly an amazing night, and wonderful to catch up with such dear friends again in such an amazing location!

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