Rome 8/10/12

We set our alarm for 5.30am as we had to be at breakfast by 6.30 and ready to leave at 7.30am. Again we had a continental breakfast with an amazing array of food. The only difference this morning was that we were unable to have toast. No bread, only pastries available, so I opted for a croissant – yummy! We were joined by two sisters – Margaret and Claudia – who were from NSW doing the tour also. I’m guessing they will be lots of fun to be with as we explore Europe!

We all met in the foyer to receive our ear phones and wireless receivers, found the coach driver – Ferdinando (who had not received his wake up call) then headed onto the coach for our first trip together. He coach seats 48 people and there are only 28 people on tour, which means we will get the opportunity to spread out a little, though we have to rotate seats each day so you get a different view from the coach! As we drove through the streets of Rome, we were given full instructions by Patricia on how the day would run. The journey into town was interesting as sights we saw were becoming familiar as we had been to some of them already.

The first main stop for today was a tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. We had a bit of a scare initially as we thought Michael wouldn’t be able to join us as he was wearing shorts (Patricia forgot to warn everyone that shorts and short skirts were not allowed – no knees allowed!). However we discovered that his shorts were in fact long enough to cover his knees, so all was ok! Like the other main tourist ‘hot spots’ we had been to, this was no exception! There were hundreds of people here to witness what was a stunning place. We had a local guide join us with what was to become our lifeline – her trusty pink scarf tied to an umbrella stick! Like an airport, we had to put all bags and cameras through the security screening as well as ourselves. So many people here – quite overwhelming! First things first – while the guide purchased our tickets, a quick bathroom visit was in order then it was off into the Human Sea around the Vatican Museums!

 

There were so many photo opportunities throughout the museums, our guide was informative, walked at a pace easily followed and gave us plenty of time to capture the beauty and magnificence of what we saw! We did however loose one of our group members at some point during the tour. A gorgeous elderly gentleman by the name of Walter, who had travelled by himself from Australia, apparently had a touch of Alzheimer’s and knees that didn’t work so well. He got swept away in the Human Sea at one point and it took a great deal of work on the part of our tour guide and a very helpful taxi driver to locate him. 

The whole of Vatican City is walled off from the streets of Rome and as we found out that you actually leave Italy when you enter it as it is a separate country of its own. The first area we visited was the courtyard of the Pinecone. Very simple grassed area full of history with 3 boards in groups all around the perimeter of this area which as the guide explained showed detail of the painting in the Sistine Chapel that had been painted by Michelangelo and the meaning behind them. There was also a massive bronze sculpture called ‘Sphere within Sphere’ created by artist Arnaldo Pomodoro in 1990 for the Vatican Museums.

Back inside to wander through the galleries. The Vatican Collection is one of the largest in the world as it is several mini museums that make up Vatican Museums

·         Pinacoteca

·         Tapestries

·         Ceramics (18^th & 19^th) Century

·         Miniature mosaics

And so on.

We moved through each of the different galleries in absolute awe, not thinking it could get any better, and then the next one would be! The Sistine Chapel is truly amazing, the only place were photos are not allowed, and is something that must be seen in real life! Breathtaking buildings, painted walls & ceilings and statues centuries old all in one place. A stunning once in a life time visit.

 

Then we moved on to St Peters of Basilica Church. It is more like a collection of cathedrals. Impressive is an understatement. The largest church in the world it has a 218 metre long naive. The Basilicas dome is the world’s largest. The interior, which includes 45 altars, is decorated by famous artists. Swiss Guards guard the Vatican City and all entrants to the army must be Swiss, Catholic and must take the oath of loyalty to the Pope. Speaking of the Pope, we were shown where he lives, and when we went outside into St Peers square, they were dismantling chairs as there had been an outdoor event with the Pope in attendance only just yesterday! Probably just as well we missed it; we wouldn’t have been able to move with all those extra people around. The square represents the core of the Vatican City, the smallest state in the world.

This tour took about 2 hours and we then had 45 minutes to shop or grab a bite to eat. Michael and I decided to share a Gelato as it had been reasonably warm and we were not particularly hungry! Back onto the bus and we headed off to our next stop – the Colosseum!

 This building is immense!! It could have accommodated about 55,000 spectators who could enter the building through one of the 80 entrances it had. Above the ground are four storeys, the upper storey was seating for lower classes and women; the lowest storey was preserved for prominent citizens. Below the ground were rooms with mechanical devices and cages containing wild animals. The cages could be hoisted enabling the animals to appear in the middle of the arena. Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games. Those games were a symbol of prestige and power and also a way for an emperor to increase his popularity. Games were held for whole days or even several in a row. They usually started with comical acts & displays of exotic animals and ended with fights to death between animals and gladiators or between gladiators. These fighters were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals.

We finished our tour of the Colosseum then went on to the Roman Forum. Here triumphal processions took place, elections were held and senates were assembled. It looked like a disorderly collection of ruins but with a bit of imagination the Roman Empire came back to life! Remains of many buildings from different periods are visible; the forum was littered with temples, basilicas & triumphal arches. There were 3 triumphal arches built and used by the Emperors to commemorate their victories, one of which is still remaining.

After an exhausting but amazing 7 hours of history, we headed back to our hotel where we had the rest of the day free as the optional tour we were going to do that evening was cancelled due to lack of numbers. We headed down to the bar for a cold drink and chatted with Claudia, Margaret and Sue (another Aussie who was doing the trip). We got on famously with these 3 ladies, and ended up all having dinner together before everyone went their separate ways for an early night!