Coloseo, RomaWritten by Bob -
We had no problems getting on the almost full flight and arrived at out hotel in the early afternoon. I had stayed at the same hotel once before in 1964 with my parents and brother on my first trip to Europe. The hotel did not have a warrant out for my arrest for the ashtray I had determined was a souvenir on my first visit and still have at home someplace. The Mediterraneo was built in the mid-30’s and is still a nice hotel.
From the hotel we headed down the street to the Coliseum, about a 20 minute walk. A truly magnificent structure, we walked around inside and out looking for Russell Crowe. There were plenty of faux gladiators willing to pose for photos, but no Russell. From the Coliseum we went by the Arch of Constantine towards the forum and the Palatino. We got to the Forum just before closing time at 5:00 and took the slow road back to the hotel.
Tuesday was a long day. We ended up walking for over 6 hours and covered a lot of sights. We started at the Forum from the Coliseum end and ended up at the Vittorio Emanuele II monument. From the models at the tourist office, it looks as if relatively little of the Forum remains. However, there are arches, some in excellent condition, columns, broken columns laying on the ground along with large blocks of stone almost all with intricately carved flowers, animals and people. It is amazing that this work was done more than 2000 years ago. One wonders how they designed it all let alone how it was constructed and at what human price. It is an amazing sight to see.
The ForumWe had no problems getting on the almost full flight and arrived at out hotel in the early afternoon. I had stayed at the same hotel once before in 1964 with my parents and brother on my first trip to Europe. The hotel did not have a warrant out for my arrest for the ashtray I had determined was a souvenir on my first visit and still have at home someplace. The Mediterraneo was built in the mid-30’s and is still a nice hotel.
From the hotel we headed down the street to the Coliseum, about a 20 minute walk. A truly magnificent structure, we walked around inside and out looking for Russell Crowe. There were plenty of faux gladiators willing to pose for photos, but no Russell. From the Coliseum we went by the Arch of Constantine towards the forum and the Palatino. We got to the Forum just before closing time at 5:00 and took the slow road back to the hotel.
Tuesday was a long day. We ended up walking for over 6 hours and covered a lot of sights. We started at the Forum from the Coliseum end and ended up at the Vittorio Emanuele II monument. From the models at the tourist office, it looks as if relatively little of the Forum remains. However, there are arches, some in excellent condition, columns, broken columns laying on the ground along with large blocks of stone almost all with intricately carved flowers, animals and people. It is amazing that this work was done more than 2000 years ago. One wonders how they designed it all let alone how it was constructed and at what human price. It is an amazing sight to see.
After the Forum was the Vittorio Emanuele II monument, a very large white stone monument I think was built in the late 1800s. The rear of the monument overlooks the Forum, the front Piazza Venezia. A lot of Victor was covered up in plastic, I believe because he was being sand blasted clean.
Next on our tour was Piazza Navonna, a beautiful 17th century square with pastel colored buildings and two large fountains. The Fountain of Neptune was working, the other was covered up being renovated. The center of the Piazza has the fountains along with lots of “art/picture” vendors, Disneyland-esque caricature artists and vendors hawking everything from purses to magnets to bubble blowing toys. We had a nice lunch on the square serenaded by an excellent solo guitar rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven.
After lunch we stopped at the local gelato stand and walked to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was mobbed with tourists of course and was not quite what Nancy had expected. Audrey Hepburn was not there. It was getting late and we headed back to the hotel, stopping to pick up some snacks from a street vendor near the train station which is just down the street from the hotel.
We woke up to a light rain on Wednesday which was our day to go to Vatican City. The Vatican is also the furthest sightseeing point on our agenda. We decided to take the Metro. The Vatican was 5 stops away. A previous trip on the Metro about 9 years ago ended up being very expensive thanks to a group of gypsies. I guess they have moved on to bigger and better things, or institutions, as I did not see them this trip. Although I think I did have a small run-in with their older brothers on the return trip.
After lunch we stopped at the local gelato stand and walked to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was mobbed with tourists of course and was not quite what Nancy had expected. Audrey Hepburn was not there. It was getting late and we headed back to the hotel, stopping to pick up some snacks from a street vendor near the train station which is just down the street from the hotel.
We woke up to a light rain on Wednesday which was our day to go to Vatican City. The Vatican is also the furthest sightseeing point on our agenda. We decided to take the Metro. The Vatican was 5 stops away. A previous trip on the Metro about 9 years ago ended up being very expensive thanks to a group of gypsies. I guess they have moved on to bigger and better things, or institutions, as I did not see them this trip. Although I think I did have a small run-in with their older brothers on the return trip.
St. Peter's BasilicaWednesday is Papal Audience day, a weekly 4 hour event. We did see him on the big screen TV in St. Peter’s Square but I am not sure where he was. He was not in the magnificent Basilica with the thousands of tourists. For reasons unknown the Cupola (dome) was closed and we opted not to stand in line to see the Sistine Chapel. We stopped for lunch and then took the Metro to the Piazza di Spagna which is where the Spanish Steps are located. They are just that, a lot of steps. Audrey was not here either so we headed back to the hotel. After the obligatory trip to the Hard Rock for yet another shirt, we called it a day.
Rome is very different than either Amsterdam or Berlin. Amsterdam is old, but nothing in comparison to Rome. Berlin is largely modern steel and glass. Rome, or at least the part we saw, has ruins and excavations scattered throughout, few of Berlin’s modern buildings and many stone and plaster buildings set in pastels and ochre. And yes, almost as many churches as Texas.
It also has:
3 people who do not smoke - the Surgeon General apparently not well known here
Legendary frenetic traffic
Vespas, in lieu of Amsterdam’s bicycles, are everywhere and come at you from every direction
More hawkers per square kilometer than any other place on the planet
More French teenage groups than Japanese tourists
It’s a great city. Tomorrow it’s back “home” to Amsterdam to get ready for Sean’s visit.
Rome is very different than either Amsterdam or Berlin. Amsterdam is old, but nothing in comparison to Rome. Berlin is largely modern steel and glass. Rome, or at least the part we saw, has ruins and excavations scattered throughout, few of Berlin’s modern buildings and many stone and plaster buildings set in pastels and ochre. And yes, almost as many churches as Texas.
It also has:
3 people who do not smoke - the Surgeon General apparently not well known here
Legendary frenetic traffic
Vespas, in lieu of Amsterdam’s bicycles, are everywhere and come at you from every direction
More hawkers per square kilometer than any other place on the planet
More French teenage groups than Japanese tourists
It’s a great city. Tomorrow it’s back “home” to Amsterdam to get ready for Sean’s visit.
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