Yesterday started, after some more research, back at Villa Borghese hunting the elusive Superman/Batman statue. We went to exactly where Google maps said it should be and found nothing. Looks like it was a temporary thing.
So we headed down to Piazza Spagna and the Spanish Steps, which we actually found and got some photos of. We then wandered down the famed Via dei Condotti, home to shops like Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Bulgari, Hermes and the Ferrari store where purchases were made.
We knew the luck couldn't hold out though, we'd gone the wrong direction so needed to double back and retrace our steps to eventually arrive at the Cartutian Crypts where monk's bones are stored rather than buried. Of course continuing what is becoming a familiar theme it was closed between 12 and 3pm and we were there about 1pm. A sign said Hard Rock was just around the corner so we decided aircon, burgers and shakes sounded like a win.
We had booked the underground tour of the Colosseum so couldn't hang around for the crypts to reopen and headed to the nearest Metro. We planned on getting there early as we thought picking up pre-booked tickets might prove to be a hassle. We were pleasantly surprised however and it was extremely easy, so that meant we had almost an hour to look around before our guided tour started.
The underground tour was awesome, we got to go underneath the stadium floor and to the third level, where the public aren't normally allowed. We heard all about how the animals would be winched onto the stadium, along with scenery and sets for staged "hunts". Later in the afternoon the gladiators would perform for the crowds and contrary to popular belief weren't slaves, but rather skilled athletes trained in camps just outside the arena.
It was amazing to think we were walking on the same paths and corridors Romans had done some 2000 years ago.
Today saw us reverting back to bad luck, predicted temps of 36 degrees and doing the Imperial Forum and Palatine, a place offering very little in the way of shade.
After wandering around the ruins for a while we headed to Il Vittoriano, a building that looks old but was only built from 1911 to 1935. We joked, seeing as in the 15th century the church pillaged the ancient imperial buildings and palaces for marble and bronze did the modern government pillage the churches to build a monument to Victor Emmanuel, the first king of Italy :)
By the time we'd walked there and up the front stairs Nell had had enough so she left me to endure to hot, stuffy elevator ride to the roof alone. The panoramic view from the roof was amazing, but even I conceded defeat and had to get out of the heat.
We had spent as long as we could stand in the mid day sun, so decided to head into the shade, get some lunch and recover.
We thought we'd go to Piazza Venezia where surely there'd be somewhere to eat. Wrong! After wandering seemingly aimlessly for 20 minutes and consulting the map, we figured out that the giant roundabout we'd been walking around was the Piazza, and there was not a restaurant to be seen!
Next on the sightseeing list was Chiesa del Gesu, apparently a lovely Baroque church that is amazing inside. We'll have to trust the guide books though because for no reason we could see it was closed.
We were determined to get our own back and tick off a sight that defeated us earlier, the Pantheon. Good to get out of the sun and what better place than a 1st century engineering marvel sporting what is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The tomb of Raphael being there was just a bonus.
Just to make sure I wasn't getting too cocky a pigeon crapped on my new watch. Lucky it's waterproof and there was a tap nearby.
Next we headed off to Campo dei Fiori. Once again lady luck is a fickle mistress and we turned up just in time to watch them pack up the stalls and pack all their goods away. No market for us, just a statue of a guy with worse luck than us, he was burnt alive on the spot of the statue because his ideas were deemed dangerous.
We walked back to the bus stop and crammed onto a packed, sweaty bus. One other positive point for the day; the bus ride home wasn't too long.
Location:Rome, Italy
Brilliant photos
ReplyDelete