The Vatican Museums

Well, what else can be said about the Vatican Museums but...spectacular.

Antiquities preserved (after being stolen & brought back to Italy/France) from ancient Egypt, including a well-preserved mummy. And the statues - corridors of them to behold.

Then there's the paintings & frescoes from the greats including Raphael & Michelangelo. I spent 4 hours here while many of the tourists on the 'See Rome in a half day' tour rushed by some incredible works by Dali & Chagall, as well as many others.

And all the while I couldn't help but wonder at all the wealth the Catholic Church holds, & how much actually gets channelled to those in need.

Pantheon

Permanent home to Raphael & many Italian kings (all tombed that is), the Pantheon is an architectural wonder. And with free entry, you can join the hordes of tourists flocking to the domed structure to marvel at its greatness. But be careful of the pickpockets.

Wandering Around Roma

Strolling through Roma was lovely with all its architectural wonders dotted on neaarlt every corner. Its piazzas & cobblestoned alleyways welcomed you to its community. I did find it hard to get some good food here though as much of it was targeted at the "I'll pretty much accept anything you throw at me" tourist market. But even the local places couldn't enliven my taste buds.

Musei Capitolini

The oldest antiquities museum in the world, the Capitoline Museum was a veritable feast of art. Recognised as one of the best museums/galleries in Roma, it was a treasure trove of paintings & sculptures from some of the greats. It took me at least 3 hours to get all the way through, in a thorough fashion, of course.

Palatine Hill & the Roman Forum

It was a hot & humid day, & walking around all the ruins scattered about Palatine Hill really took it out of me. Especially as I'd forgot to buy water earlier & I was not going to spend 2 euros buting a small bottle of water.

I walked through the ruins, most of which were very ruined & struggled to make sense of it all - which ruin was which?

Then I came to the Roman Forum area & the ruins that you'd typically expect to see - giant columns, arches, tablets, temples, etc - were waiting there as they had for centuries beforehand. Although much of it had been decimated by people throughout time taking the valuable marble for building other works, it was still a wonderful sight to behold.

Colosseum

Just a few blocks walk from my hotel, the colosseum came into view. And what an inspiring sight it was. This imposing structure, contrasting sharply against the modern traffic whirling around it, graphically represented the grand & barbaric nature of Roman times gone by.

Walking through the Colosseum, you get a taste of what it must have been like for spectators, gladiators & victims as the theatrical performances were staged to appease the restless natives.

Under the stage that lined the Colosseum floor lay hallways & rooms designed to hold wild animals from around the globe & the unfortunates who would be sacrificed, including many Christians.

Rome - First Impressions

My first impressions of Rome were - boisterous, dirty, impersonal, busy, touristy, unfriendly, difficult, almost dangerous city. And I would like to report that this impression changed in the 5 days I was there. But, unfortunately, it didn't.
There were bucketloads of American toursists who seemed to complain at every given opportunity. No wonder the Romans seem to be so fed up with tourists in general - they inundate their city & walk right over the top of everything.
But the sights were certainly worth the visit...

22nd June - Florence to Rome

At the train station I met a nice young woman from London called Samantha who was also heading to Rome on her extensive travels. The regional train cost only 16 Euros compared with the 45 Euros being asked for the high-speed train. But of course it took twice as long to get there (about 3½ hours).
My hotel (Novecento) was a couple of Metro stops away so it took about 15 mins to get there all up. The room is lovely & it's quiet (hard to get in Rome). Only 1o mins from the Colosseum, I hope it will be a pleasant place to stay.