Rome

Paris has been referred to as being 'a garden' and Rome 'a forest' and after spending the past 5 days there we have to agree. Both magnificent and brutal at the same time and the center of the ancient world, it is mixture of chaos, people (mainly smokers) a fair number of beggars, illegal street vendors, constantly 'in your face' but always 'on the run' from the police. And then you get to the stupendous sights ... like an onion, one layer after another peals away to reveal beautiful art and unfathomable wealth.

Competition for the restaurants is fierce, and depending where you sit for a cool fizzy water or beer, the price can be a bargain or out right rip off.

SO, where to begin, we did not tear around, rather, saw less sights, but really 'took them in' doing justice to the sightseeing of, "Ancient Rome"- The Colosseum, The Forum and Capitol Hill - I'm hoping my photos will give an idea of our experience among the littered and evocative remains.

The Italians refer to The Victor Emmanuel Monument (or Wedding Cake) as an 'eye sore' however, the tourists love it!

Then there was the "Pantheon" a church dedicated to martyrs after the fall of Rome, which had Europe's biggest dome until Michelangelo completed the one on Saint Peter's!

One cannot, of course, come to Rome without seeing Saint Peter's Bacillica and The Vatican museum...... WOW, we were impresed with St Mark's in Venice, but St Peter's Basilica, just left us open mouthed. It is of course thought of as "The Greatest Church on Earth" --- The undeniable wealth and grandeur of this amazing place is too much for my humble narration, you will just have to go there and see it for yourself! All I can say is that Michaelangelo's "Pieta", "The Dome" and "The Sistine Chapel" were the grand finale!

We limited ourselves to just one other museum... The Borghese Gallery, where we had the most wonderful guide, who's passion for the works of Bernini rubbed off on us..... it was truly amazing.

We took an evening stroll from Piazza Del Poplo to The Spanish Steps, incorporating The Trevi Fountain, while enjoying Rome's more fashionable shops and alfrecso dining. Being August we were naturally not alone and enjoyed overhearing snippets of conversations such as, 'Would you have ever believed you could do so much in one day!' Another was, 'THIS HAS to be the most amazing thing in the universe' --- she was eating gelato!

We escaped the crowds and found the quiet colorful neighborhood across the Tiber River, called Trastevere, which, in a one mile walk, showed us the best look at medieval Rome, also known as Rome's Left Bank.

SO, there you have it ... our 5 day Rome adventure in a nutshell.
We enjoyed a small but adequate apt, just a 30 min metro ride out of the city where we mingled with the locals, all friendly and helpful, plus some home cooked meals and siestas.

Photo of the stained glass window in St Peter's at the far end of the Nave.








-------------------------------------------

SIDENOTE: Over Night Train.

Our only bad experience thus far, was our overnight train from Venice to Rome.

We started off being very tired, not pulling out of the station in Venice until nearly midnight. We shared sleeping quarters with a Canadian couple (mother and daughter). The berths were not much better than a bench and very cramped. Stifling initially, followed by freezing a/c with only a thin sheet provided (as we exited the train we later saw all other berths had thick blankets). The toilets were none functional and the taps in the sinks must have been for decoration only.

OK Patrick you said you would be interested to see what we thought of an overnight berth, that should have been a clue I guess as what to expect. However, we are none the worse for this experience.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad