Rome

We arrived into Rome by train from Civitavecchia. The ticket had been cheap but the train was very busy. On arrival in the station we had to get our bearings as we knew we were close enough to walk to our hotel but there are several exits! Ten minutes later we had arrived and climbed the stairs to the first floor reception. This is a common occurrence in Rome and the lift only operates from the first floor so it was a good job we are reasonably fit!

Our rooms had been refurbished but the breakfast room was behind schedule so we were told that breakfast during our stay would be available in a restaurant just down the road. We never did see what the hotel would have provided, but the restaurant staff were friendly, continental breakfast was as expected and it was lovely to sit out in the early morning sun.

We had had enough of trains and decided that where we could, we would walk round the city. The next day we tackled the Colliseum with a guide. We’ve seen so many films depicting ancient Rome but the guide was entertaining and brought it to life for us. After lunch we walked the forum area and the Palatine Hill hearing more gory stories of life in ancient times and the death of Caesar.

The next day we took our only metro journey out to the Vatican City as we had an early start. I have always thought of Rome as a fairly large city but there are very few metro lines and I doubt that anyone would get lost using it. The only thing you have to remember are coins for the machines otherwise you will be forever queuing to buy tickets. Again, we had opted for a guide to see St. Peter's Basilica as a good guide makes things so much more interesting than reading from a guide book! No pictures can do this place justice and whether you are religious or not, you can’t deny it’s an amazing building. The guides here work with headsets and headphones so if you want to linger for pictures or just to take in the atmosphere you can still hear your guide if you fall behind the group. As we were then breaking for lunch you could stay longer so long as you remembered where & when to meet for the other half of the tour. The Vatican City has no official border control but you can buy cards and stamps within the world's smallest sovereign state and so long as you post them inside the city limits they will bear the Vatican City postmark. Interestingly enough this holy state also has it's own telephone system, banking system, radio station and pharmacy but the guards that protect the Pope are Swiss! This has been the case since 1506 and they can often be seen on sentry duty in colourful ceremonial uniform.

Our guide for the afternoon’s museum tour was very passionate about the arts. We heard the life story of Michelangelo and how the famous ceiling came to be painted. There has been huge restoration work done and now all the well known images of the chapel are under copyright to the Japanese businesses who paid for it to be completed. The before and after samples show that it was a costly and time consuming task which has taken almost 20 years to finish. The Sistine Chapel is worth seeing – it’s a remarkable achievement but my favourite part of the day was the gallery of maps.

We had five days in the city and found our way to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain by day and night and several gelateria. I'm not a huge fan of ice cream normally but they have a huge selection of flavours and we all found a new favourite. The designer shops are in abundance and the young Italian women look like they shop there! Wherever you are in the city you’re likely to stumble upon a stunning building sooner or later or an ornate fountain to fill your water bottle. It may be hot in the summer but the crowds and heavy traffic were eerily absent as so many locals leave the city in the summer and head for the beach or the mountains. We enjoyed our taste of culture and vowed to watch ‘Gladiator’ all over again when we got home!