Day 43 Rome, Italy

Day 43 Rome, Italy

Overwhelming, overload, crowds, shuffling, impressive, awesome…..

We arrived in the port of Livorno, our entrance to the hour and half road trip to Rome. There were eight of us who used the private tour company of Romeinlimo, the same tour company used in Naples and will use in Florence. Brian had pre organised these tours.

First stop, Colosseum, the most feared arena in the world. Bouts between gladiators rarely ended in death as the game's sponsor had to pay the owner of the killed gladiator 100 times the gladiator's value. The arena could be flooded for naval battles, then dried and sanded in just a few hours for the gladiators to battle against animals or one another. Over the centuries, two-thirds of the original stone has been taken to construct other buildings. Our guide purchased the tickets before we arrived at the Colosseum so we could by-pass the lengthy queue. Yahoo!

After the Colosseum we stopped on the top of a hill (one of the seven hills of Rome) to view the area overlooking the disused Circus Maximus, once an arena used for chariot races by Nero and Brutus Maximus. On the opposite side from us, we could see Palatine Hill where the palatial ruins of wealthy Roman Citizens remain. We moved onto the remains of the Roman Forum, a collection of ruins and the site where Caesar's body had been burned. Alongside the Forum we saw the Capitoline Hill, popularly known as the 'wedding cake'. The statute and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier face Piazza Venezia, one of the largest squares in the city. When we were walking around the Forum area a woman dressed in rags, head covered and bent over her walking stick begged with her cup as we walked past. Her scarf was covering her face, so we had no idea of her age.

We had lunch at a little Pizza place just alongside the Pantheon. A temple built in a circular design with a single chamber. Apparently one of the greatest tributes to Roman architecture, the magnificent dome is made of reinforced concrete, with no internal support and all the light comes through a large central opening at the top. This is where Galileo had been condemned by the Catholic Church for his observations that the earth revolved around the sun. The painter Raphael is buried here.

We stopped and threw a coin into the beautifully sculpted Trevi Fountain before heading to the Vatican City. Brian had already pre-purchased tickets on the net before we had left home for the 2pm entry, otherwise we would have stood in a queue for goodness how long. Thanks to Brian.

The Vatican's museum complex houses the greatest collection of art in the world. From the time we entered the Vatican we shuffled along the galleries of beautiful statues, paintings and tapestries with the rest of the tourists. We walked through The Sistine Chapel of Michelangelo's frescoes before going into St Peter's Square and Basilica. Beautiful, breath taking masterpieces from Bramante, Bernini, Michelangelo and Raphael.

An impressive, monumental city. By the time we arrived back to the ship we were exhausted and overloaded with dates, art and history. I am pleased we joined a physio exercise gym to prepare for the expected stairs and steps we would climb during our sightseeing several months before leaving home as I am sure we would not have managed. Hint for anyone intending not to miss out on any of the sights; strengthen your leg muscles. Thank you to Sky and Rueben.