A Spreading of Wings: Roaming around in Roma

We were fortunate that Florence to Rome is such a short distance. We got to have a bit of a sleep in and a comparatively late start. The trip was reasonably straight forward, only a little bit more traffic that would hint at the chaos that we would find in Rome.

We got to Rome in the early afternon and went straight to Vatican City. There were people everywhere and alot of groups in national dress or waving national flags. The reason for the chaos being more than the traditional level was that the following day was one of the biggest days for the Vatican for several hundred years. In simple terms it was to be the canonisation of former pope John Paul the second. Anyway, we went through the Vatican City. We got to see through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and even St Peters Basilica. Some of the stuff they have in there, apart from being very old, is spectacular in its design and execution. I was slightly disappointed with the standard of some of the painting in the Sistine chapel. Rather than being disappointed due to the quality I think it was because of how much I had it built up in my mind and expected it to be another level above anything I had seen before. Countering this, we got to enter the basilica the day before the canonisation and could visit the resting place of a man who the following day would become a saint. It was sort of mind blowing to think about. Walking out into St Peters square there were people camped out to make sure that they had a place in the square for the ceremony.

The next day was a Sunday and we faced it with a mixture of excitement, frustration and nervousness. Today was the day that two former popes were being canonised. One of these popes was one of the quickest to be canonised in history. To top it all off it was the first time in 600 years that Mass was being led by two popes. All of this combined to mean that there were an extra couple of million people in Rome. With only a day to see everything and massive crowds, we had to carefully plan our day. We started at the Vatican at 10am to see if we could get close enough to see the Pope. The closest we could get before the crowds were more tightly packed than a music concert, was two blocks from St Peters square. We couldn't physically get any closer. We got to see some of the ceremony on a distant screen. After fighting our way clear of the crushing crowd, we passed by St Angelo's castle (hideout of the Illuminati in Angels and Demons) and over the Tiber river on our way to the Spanish Steps. While a large staircase, they weren't overly impressive. After climbing them we followed the road down to the Church of the Capuchin Monks. We did the tour through to see the bone crypts they have. A few hundred years ago someone arranged the bones of over 3000 monks into an artistic display. It was really spectacular, while also being a bit spooky and eerie. For something a bit lighter we headed to the Trevi fountain and along with a crowd of other people donated to receive a wish. It also turns out that in close proximity to the fountain is a place that sells both pizza by the slice and probably the best gelati that I tried in Italy.

We had a tour of the Coliseum planned so walked from the fountain via the National monument and Emmanuel building to the coliseum. This bit of walk was more what I had expected of Rome. There were old ruins and statues, links back to ancient Rome. Since we arrived early for the tour, I sat on some grass in front of the Coliseum and Roman Forum and took the time just to soak in where we were and let the awe of what had happened there just wash over me. It was a surreal feeling. The tour through the Colosseum and Forum was good. No matter what I had heard previously, it had not managed to limit how it felt to be there and the majesty of it all. The only criticism I had wasn't really valid. When the Christian church took over Rome most temples etc were converted to churchs. This to me made them seem less special, but on the flip side, this has caused them to be preserved so that they still exist for me to visit. At the end of the tour the rain started. It was the first time it had rained on the tour when we were out and about. I decided to head up Capitoline hill to the ruins of the temple of Jupiter before going to the Pantheon. Again an impressive building, made more interesting by the rain coming in through the circular opening in the roof. We had a meeting time at the train station to get back to our campsite, so we headed to the Metro station in the pouring rain. After running into a crowd waving to the Spanish ambassador we made it to find the station closed due to the massive crowd of people trying to use it. Three of us made it into the line when the station reopened before they cut the rest of the group off. We stood in an unmoving line for about half an hour before thinking that gelati was a better idea. It turns out that viagra gelati has no flavour, but bacoa chocolate is delicious. Eventually we gave up waiting and took a taxi to the train station arriving 5min before the last train. The others it appeared had found another way and were already there. With all of the excitment of the day, I skipped the party that night had tried to have a relatively early night.

Rome was busy, hectic, full of people, history and sights to see. I saw what I had decided was my bare minimum, so will have to return to see the rest. Being there at a time when history was being made was special. I remember when John Paul the second was Pope, so to be there when he became a saint was unreal. Thank you Italy, now for Greece.