Well, the tale of my coach trip around Europe continues. Today we're in Roma and Assisi!










Flickr set of Roma photos.



On our first night in Rome, we had a sumptuous 5-course meal (two of which were pasta, much to my delight). We were entertained by a guitarist and flutist, and amused by the antics of the silly Italian waiters who put on a show for us as they served our food. I was treated to the biggest serving of pasta, served on a metal platter and topped with a flourish of parmesan cheese. As they served it up to me, one of the waiters, wiped his lips with his napkin, before leaning in, grabbing me and pretending to give me a big wet kiss. I'm sure I was quite red, because the entire tour group was watching, but it was pretty funny.

After dinner, we had a night-time drive through the streets of Rome and visited the Trevi fountain. I had been unenthused about going here, but I must say there was a sense of magic about the place, even though it was full of tourists. May have also had something to do with all the wine and hilarity at the restaurant, though. ;)


Trevi Fountain. Someone from our group took a photo of me, but I am yet to contact him to ask for a copy.

This is our crazy but lovable tour director, Vidko.



Bright and early the next morning we were whisked off to visit The Vatican. The best bits about being on the trip was the queue-jumping. We were one of the first people into the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. The public queue to get in was over three hours long! If I had been an independent traveller, it would have taken me nearly that long to navigate the city, and then I wouldn't have even bothered lining up. It was pretty exciting to see inside the Vatican Museums - hundreds of years worth of art and sculpture, including plenty of Ancient Roman stuff.

I was most amused by the way popes over the years had the ancients covered with fig leaves.

No photos from inside the museum or the Sistine Chapel, but lets just say it exceeded my expectations. I wasn't particularly enthused about seeing the Sistine Chapel for some reason, but when the tour guide gave us all the inside goss about Michelangelo's struggle with it I got more interested, and then it was pretty damn impressive! He wasn't even a painter...well, clearly he *was*, but his passion and talent was sculpture. The pope forced him to paint it. Did you know he completed it in under 4 years?? I didn't even get my piddly little thesis done in that time!


I got to see the window where popey greets his devoted masses:



We also saw inside St Peter's Basilica




St Peter's Baldachin:


I just learnt that a baldachin is a big canopy to cover an altar. There you go. The one in St Peter's is absolutely enormous and was designed by Bernini.

This massive obelisk is Egyptian, but like a lot of things in Rome it has been Christianified...or should that be crucified?




We managed all this before lunch and then we were off to see the Colosseum!!

I was far more interested in the Colosseum than in the Vatican. I'll take ancient Roman history over catholic pomp and circumstance any day. Sadly, I was utterly exhausted due to the pace of the trip. My senses were overloaded with the input of history and art and culture. It was sometimes difficult to soak it all in, especially when I was suffering insomnia and needing a bit of alone time.

But! I was still extremely excited to be inside the Colosseum. Our stunningly beautiful Roman tour guide, Alessia, took us all around and delivered wonderful commentary to our headphones. I would have liked to stay longer to take photos.




At the forefront of the next photo is the "hypogeum", a series of tunnels and networks where lions and gladiators were kept. Above this was the floor of the colosseum. Apparently the Gladiator movie has quite an accurate reconstruction of the Colosseum. Maybe I should watch it again.



Kill him!


That afternoon, mum and I decided not to do the optional excursion of the Pantheon, Spanish Steps and dinner, because we were so out of it. Instead we caught up on sleep in the hotel, re-packed our bags and spent a fortune on having our clothes washed by the hotel.

The next morning, we said goodbye to Roma, and departed for Venice, via a little town called Assisi.

This place is a pilgrimage site because St Francis (patron saint of animals and the environment) is buried here. We went inside the basilica which was dark and full of worshippers. It would have been good to look around the town a bit more, but I was quite happy sitting in the piazza watching the world go by.

Here's another bike photo to add to my series.


And here endeth my Roman tale. I threw at least one coin into the Trevi fountain so that ensures I'll be back to Rome one day. :)



Next stop, Venice!

Tags: assisi, flickr, globus, italy, photos, rome