Sage and I started our epic Italian adventure with two flights on British Airways from Toronto to London and then London to Rome. The red eye flights are aptly named. Thankfully Sage got quite a few hours of sleep on both flights.
When we arrived in Rome, we had a couple of hours to spare before we needed to meet our shuttle to our hotel. It was very fortunate that we had these couple of hours as the passport check at security was the most disorganized procedure I have ever encountered. There was no line up. There were hundreds of people and at the most, only 5 security guards open (sometimes down to 3 guards only). Apparently, the folks who were waiting with us had never heard of a line up before. We were like sheep in a fenced in area. We were hot, sweaty, and I increasingly became more frustrated. People were so rude, pushing and shoving. If we did not participate in the pushing and shoving, we would still be there now. Once we did, eventually get through security - which was the easiest security I have ever been through, stamp the passport, no questions, move on - we found our luggage and moved to find our shuttle. Sage found them for us and we had a bit of time to spare.
We met our coach driver who took us to the city. It was a 40 minute drive to the hotel. This drive lasted a wee bit longer as there was a political protest happening on that day and it was blocking a lot of major routes. The police had surrounded the area where our hotel was located. Eventually, our guide, Liz met us down the street from the hotel and we walked up to check in. Liz is a Scottish woman who has been living in Italy for 30 years.
Sage and I settled in our room and took a wee break before we were to head out to dinner. The bus took us to the restaurant which was located directly across the street from The Colosseum. Liz welcomed us and provided us with some information about the upcoming days. Sage and I chose to participate in the first three optional excursions, which I will explain later.
Dinner consisted of wine, cheese, bread, salad, lasagna, and a couple of tasty desserts. I also tried an esspresso, first without sugar, then with a wee bit of sugar, then with a lot of sugar. In the end, I did not finish the esspresso and have satisfied my curiousity about tasting espresso and have learned that I am happy with coffee.
Our first optional excursion took place on Saturday evening after dinner. We were taken by our coach for an Illuminated Tour of the City of Rome. This tour lasted about one hour and Liz pointed out some of the sites. We stopped at St. Peter's Church and Sage and I were able to get off of the coach and snap a couple of pictures of St. Peter's lit up at night. As you may have guessed, by the end of the tour, we were both exhausted. We collapsed into bed by 11 and slept the sleep of a satisfied tourist.
Sunday was a full day in Rome. We started off with a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel. Our group was to meet at 8 on the coach. At this time, we met Eleana, our tour guide for our time in Rome. Our first stop was a group photo at The Arch of Constantine which is located next to The Colosseum.
As we were traveling with a group, we were able to by pass the line ups into The Colosseum, which was great as the lines were forming already. Eleana guided us for a bit then let us have about a half hour on our own to explore. The Colosseum is a very impressive structure. Parts of the structure are being revitalized and have scaffolding covering them. Fortunately, we were still able to view and take unobstructed pictures of the colosseum from different points around it.
We were able to climb stairs up to the second level and view the entire stadium from that vantage point. Looking down to where the stage would have been we were able to see the underground rooms where gladiators and animals would have been held until it was their turn to preform. The floor of the stage area is missing completely but there is a partially rebuild stage to show what it would have been like in its prime.
The seating areas for the guests of the events are all missing now. Originally they would have been made of marble but all of the material has been recycles and reused in other structures around Rome. In rainy weather, the Colosseum may have been covered by a large tarpauline in order to avoid getting wet. On rare occasions, the Colosseum would have been flooded and sea battles recreated for the benefit of the guests.
The next part of our day was an optional excursion entitled Piazzas and Fountains. As the name describes, we saw a lot of piazzas and fountains. On the way, we passed by The Circus and the ruins of the Emperor's Palace. Neither of these areas are lighted up at night time. Our excursion included a walk around Rome. We visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (which was also under restoration and therefore dry), and the Partheon. Along the way, Eleana pointed out a variety of other buildings such as the Palace of Justice and the Senate.
The Partheon was a surprise for me. The outside was impressive but the inside was unbelievable. I was especially interested in the intentional hole in the ceiling. Eleana explained that as the sun shone through the hole it cast its light on to different parts of the ceiling throughout different times of the year. It was visible to us this day as it was sunny out. Also of interest was the fact that the Partheon has precisely the same diameter as height.
Part way through this excursion, we had a hour break for lunch. Sage and I found a pizza and gelato place so we ate pizza and gelato. I enjoyed the coffee flavour and Sage enjoyed the banana flavour. We strolled around the streets as we enjoyed my first taste of gelato (not Sage's first taste of gelato).
The next optional excursion that we joined in was a trip to the Catacombs. We journeyed underground to an elaborate labyrinth of tombs. Where the public is able to venture, all of the tombs have been opened up and the bones removed to a different section. Our guide explained to us that the Catacombs were designed to bury people underground in this manner because Rome was full and there was not space for burial elsewhere. Relatives would visit the dead once a year as a sign of respect and leave a small oil lamp at the site of the burial. It is unimaginable to me that people would spend so much time underground digging these maze like tunnels.
On our way to St. Paul's church, we passed by the ruins of an ancient bath. Impressive in size, we were told that it could accomodate 1500 people at a time. Eleana wanted to show this church to us as a contrast to St. Peter's church. St. Paul's church is surrounded by a large pillared garden. Inside, the church also housed a lot of pillars. The ceiling was impressively squared off and golden. Around the top edge of the walls were the portriats of every pope starting with Peter and ending with Francis.
It was time for us to head back to our hotel. We now had free time and it was about 5:30. Sage and I wanted to head back to the Colosseum to take pictures of it lighted up at night. Our hotel was two streets away from the Colosseum so it was a really short walk. After that, we decided to grab some dinner. What better to eat than pizza. We took this back to our room, ate, and got ready for sleep. We both marvelled at what people are able to accomplish in one day!
We had a very early wake up call on Monday morning. All of the tourists needed to be on the bus by 7:30 packed up, checked out, and ready to leave. We were heading to The Vatican Musuem, The Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's. As we toured through the muesum, Eleana provided us with ongoing dialouge about artifacts that we were seeing. There were such things as bronze items, tapestries, and black pottery. We were also led up a spiral walkway that allowed for exceptional views of Rome from on high.
Finally, the Sistine Chapel. Before we entered, Eleana provided us with some overview of the history of the Michelangelo, the chapel, and some of the paintings. It was interesting to find out that Michelangelo worked on the chapel at two different times in his life. The ceiling was painted over four years when he was in his twenties. The wall was completed about 30 years laters. To me, it was amazing to see how three dimentional these paintings appeared. From the human beings to the painting of drapery on the side walls, the illusion of dimension is very convincing.
The last part of the tour in Rome was visiting St. Peter's church. This church is huge, ornate, and beautiful. We were able to see The Pieta which was just beautiful. As well, we walked around and saw a number of different dead popes on display, and beautiful mosaics that you would thing are actually paintings and can't believe are mosaics. The pillars in St. Peter's Square are lined up in a curve along either side of the church representing a welcoming of all visitors to the church. As we walked through this welcoming area, we were actually concluding our visit to Rome. We ended with some lunch and a gelato (coffe for me and pistachio for Sage) and hopped on the bus heading north to Assisi.
It seems like everywhere that we turned in Rome there was something impressive to see. It is a marvel to be able to look upon all of the sculptures, paintings, and buildings and think about all of the effort that has gone in to these creations.
*I hope that I have not overused to word impressive!
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