DAY 7 EUROPE TRIP - ROME

23 May 2009


DAY 7 EUROPE TRIP
ROME

Our feet have been getting a good work out in Rome. It is hard walking through uneven cobbled pathways. Each day they are getting tired that little quicker. The hot weather is not helping either. We have been walking around with bottles of water refilling them at each water fountain as we come across them.

Today we decided to focus on central Rome. It was interesting to observe the meshing of various civilisations, of various architectural periods and the blending of the old with the new.

We are very comfortable in getting around on buses. After getting out at Teatro Argentina we explored the streets as we made our way to the Pantheon. It was amazing to see the number of shops selling church vestments and clothing for nuns and monks. Some of the vestments were works of art. The woven panels on some looked absolutely beautiful.

We continued on past squares with interesting monuments

via the Basilica S Maria Sopra Minerva.

The stained glass windows were just beautiful. No crowds here so we were able to absorb the ambience of our environment.

Then onto the Pantheon –

an awe inspiring building 142 feet high and 142 feet wide – the perfect hemisphere resting in a cylinder with a 9 metre opening at the top to capture the light at different angles at different times of the year.

The walls are 25 feet thick. What a building! Roman gods once ringed it. Now an altar takes central stage.

Raphel, Vittorio Emanuale, King of Italy and his successor Umberto 1 are buried here.

Men dressed as gladiators mill around the crowds.

Then onto Piazza Navona we went to admire and soak in the baroque architecture and the atmosphere of a Saturday morning in the piazza. A jazz band was playing near Bernini’s Fontana del Moro.

We admired Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and then the 19th century restored Fontana di Nettuno.

We wandered through the various artists’ stands and then a band came marching along filling the square with more music.

So we stopped at café to enjoy the music, the atmosphere and get some refreshments. We all received surprises with our orders. The iced coffee was nothing like the ones at home. It was served in a cocktail glass and was of a very thick consistency – like homemade ice cream before it is frozen. A bruschetta with 4 cheeses was a small very thin slice of bread with cheese spread on it. I thought I ordered a soft drink and ended up with chilled lemon liquor. What a joke! So there is me sipping liquor at 11.00 am in the morning. We will never forget it. By the way it was very nice.

Slowly we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. It was crowded here and very little shade around. Hubby and I threw a coin into the fountain to ensure we would return to Rome.

On the way to Trevi Fountain we passed an amazing column – Colona Ditraiano depicting stories of a particular battle.

It was so intricately carved that you could have spent hours examining it.

Slowly we wound our way around to the Spanish Steps.

At the base of the Spanish Steps there was the Keats-Shelley house. We were hoping to find somewhere to sit in the shade but there was nothing here. So we slowly made our way back towards the Altare Della Patria. We stopped at a café, as our feet were so tired and indulged in some refreshments. My sister-in-law and her hubby shared a small 4 slice pizza and had and a coffee each. My hubby had a sandwich and a coffee, whilst I indulged in a gelato. In Australia a sandwich usually consists of 2 pieces of bread. Here it is one piece of bread cut in half. Anyway we paid 30 euros or $60 Australian dollars for this refreshment stop. Our two refreshments stops together cost $100 Aussie dollars. What a shock. After a decent rest we continued on to the Altare Della Patria

and then onto the Colosseum for some postcards of gladiators. However, we couldn’t get to the shop that had them without going into the Colosseum so we finally headed home after another fabulous day.