Monday 20 June 2005
Hot again - only hotter than yesterday. We've given up on the middle of the day (1pm-4pm) when we headback to the comfort of our air-conditioned hotel room for a siesta before venturing out for a second bite of Rome.
As Obelix observed, "These Romans are crazy". Some of them are extremely nice - for example, the clerk at the hotel offered very good advice when I inquired about the Papal Audience on Wednesdays - he offered the choice of a €40 organised tour then told us how we could go for free. The information centre at the rail station told us the easiest way to get to the hotel and the restaurant we dined at tonight gave us a free drink as we were tourists. (The restaurant is "Dal Bersagliere" only one walk north block from the Furio Camillo - a highly recommended by Michael Roman Pizza Restaurant.)
But then, put them behind the wheel and the Romans become intolerable - any tourist who has ever been to Rome will understand. The roads are so crowded that Mopeds are popular as they can jump the queues of cars and buses. However, they ride on the wrong side of the road, ignore red lights and are generally unpredictable. I think about half of the mopeds I have seen have damaged windshields. The car drivers are worse - when you are crossing with the lights they come tearing at you and stop at the last possible minute. Yesterday we were on the pedistrian crossing when a taxi driver reversed into us - I banged on the back window to let him know we were there and he jumped out and tried to blame an old dent on me. (So don't take taxi 772 in Rome.) Just about every car has some damage on some panel!
Anyway, today it was an early rise to get to the Vatican before the crowds. The queue to the Sistine Chapel was already long when we arrived so we skipped it and went to St Peter's Square. The square is impressive, so different from the rest of Rome as it is open and clean. We joined the queue to go into the basilica and got through in 10 minutes. We then waited about 20 minutes to see the tombs of the late Popes. The tombs are all very impressive, but the tomb of Pope John Paul II is very popular. I was offended at the way that some tourists clambered over each other to take photos, even while most stopped to pray.
We then went in to the impressive St Peter's Basilica. St Peter's is full of art and statues, with little side chapels for those who want to pray (which we did). The queue to the Cupola was very long so we didn't join but had a good look through the church. Afterwards we got some tickets to the Wednesday Audience with the Pope and found the Vatican Post Office.
After another walk through the square we then caught the Metro to the Spanish Steps. They were a disappointment, with nothing special about them to report. Even the fountain at the bottom was underwhelming. We walked on to the Trevi Fountain, which was much more impressive. The fountain was crowded with tourists but we found a spot and threw three coins over our shoulders to ensure that we would return to Rome. (Chaucey is encouraging me to say it was better than the Bucket Fountain but I'm not going to say that.)
We then walked around the corner and caught a bus through the city to just have a look at what was around. After the bus trip we went back to the hotel for a rest during the heat of the day (36 degrees according to the gauge near our hotel). While we were at the hotel we saw that Michael Campbell won the US Open - another boy born in Porirua done good!
Afterwards we caught the Metro again and went to the Panthoen. Originally a pagan temple, it is now a church with the unusual feature of an opening in the roof. Buried in the Pantheon are various Italian Kings and Queens and the famous renaissance painter Raphael.
We alked through the Pantheon district and saw Benini's elephant column, the Marco Aurelisus Column and St Ignatius Church. The unusual feature of St Ignatius's is that if has a dome painted on a flat roof. If I hadn't had known that I could have sworn the roof was a dome until we got right underneath it and the distortion is obvious.
We then walked up to Augustus Pax Temple and Masoluem - both are closed off for restoration work but they were by the Tiber so we sat and watched it for a while. We then walked back up to the Spanish Steps and caught the metro back to have dinner.
Tomorrow we will head to San Clemitine, where the church is built on ruins going back to the early Roman empire days.
As Obelix observed, "These Romans are crazy". Some of them are extremely nice - for example, the clerk at the hotel offered very good advice when I inquired about the Papal Audience on Wednesdays - he offered the choice of a €40 organised tour then told us how we could go for free. The information centre at the rail station told us the easiest way to get to the hotel and the restaurant we dined at tonight gave us a free drink as we were tourists. (The restaurant is "Dal Bersagliere" only one walk north block from the Furio Camillo - a highly recommended by Michael Roman Pizza Restaurant.)
But then, put them behind the wheel and the Romans become intolerable - any tourist who has ever been to Rome will understand. The roads are so crowded that Mopeds are popular as they can jump the queues of cars and buses. However, they ride on the wrong side of the road, ignore red lights and are generally unpredictable. I think about half of the mopeds I have seen have damaged windshields. The car drivers are worse - when you are crossing with the lights they come tearing at you and stop at the last possible minute. Yesterday we were on the pedistrian crossing when a taxi driver reversed into us - I banged on the back window to let him know we were there and he jumped out and tried to blame an old dent on me. (So don't take taxi 772 in Rome.) Just about every car has some damage on some panel!
Anyway, today it was an early rise to get to the Vatican before the crowds. The queue to the Sistine Chapel was already long when we arrived so we skipped it and went to St Peter's Square. The square is impressive, so different from the rest of Rome as it is open and clean. We joined the queue to go into the basilica and got through in 10 minutes. We then waited about 20 minutes to see the tombs of the late Popes. The tombs are all very impressive, but the tomb of Pope John Paul II is very popular. I was offended at the way that some tourists clambered over each other to take photos, even while most stopped to pray.
We then went in to the impressive St Peter's Basilica. St Peter's is full of art and statues, with little side chapels for those who want to pray (which we did). The queue to the Cupola was very long so we didn't join but had a good look through the church. Afterwards we got some tickets to the Wednesday Audience with the Pope and found the Vatican Post Office.
After another walk through the square we then caught the Metro to the Spanish Steps. They were a disappointment, with nothing special about them to report. Even the fountain at the bottom was underwhelming. We walked on to the Trevi Fountain, which was much more impressive. The fountain was crowded with tourists but we found a spot and threw three coins over our shoulders to ensure that we would return to Rome. (Chaucey is encouraging me to say it was better than the Bucket Fountain but I'm not going to say that.)
We then walked around the corner and caught a bus through the city to just have a look at what was around. After the bus trip we went back to the hotel for a rest during the heat of the day (36 degrees according to the gauge near our hotel). While we were at the hotel we saw that Michael Campbell won the US Open - another boy born in Porirua done good!
Afterwards we caught the Metro again and went to the Panthoen. Originally a pagan temple, it is now a church with the unusual feature of an opening in the roof. Buried in the Pantheon are various Italian Kings and Queens and the famous renaissance painter Raphael.
We alked through the Pantheon district and saw Benini's elephant column, the Marco Aurelisus Column and St Ignatius Church. The unusual feature of St Ignatius's is that if has a dome painted on a flat roof. If I hadn't had known that I could have sworn the roof was a dome until we got right underneath it and the distortion is obvious.
We then walked up to Augustus Pax Temple and Masoluem - both are closed off for restoration work but they were by the Tiber so we sat and watched it for a while. We then walked back up to the Spanish Steps and caught the metro back to have dinner.
Tomorrow we will head to San Clemitine, where the church is built on ruins going back to the early Roman empire days.
posted by Michael at
9:17 PM
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