Along with London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong....Rome is just one of those cities you need to visit!
The Alps.
It's so old and every thing is so beautiful, so much so that at first
it's a little overwhelming and your camera battery dies within half an
hour of stepping off the bus. After a couple of days, you just sort of
except that every thing is amazing and unbelievably, start to take it
for granted.
Rome had to be on the bucket list, there must be millions of
things to see but for a first time tourist to Rome, these were on the
top of my list:
On the day the Colosseum officially opened, 5,000 animals were killed.
During its history, it has been estimated that over 500,000 people and
over a million animals were killed there. They had all these pulley and weight systems in place and would raise trees, hills and even waves into the arena to create a show for spectators.
You're suppose to throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, which means that you will return to Rome. I'm not entirely sure which shoulder it is, I went for my left.
The fountain is hidden down all these back streets, once you've weaved your way down to it, you are greeted by tourists from every country and somewhere in the middle of all of them, stands the fountain. It gets crazily busy, especially in summer but if you go for dinner in the area first (try the fried artichoke) and visit the fountain late at night, you stand a much better chance of getting to see it in all it's glory.
This was actually my birthday, I could think of worse things to do. Dress and bag - French Connection, shoes - ASOS, Fountain - all Rome's.
Random fact -
In ancient Rome, an infant was placed at the father’s feet shortly
after birth. If the father took the child into his arms, it showed he accepted
responsibility for its upbringing. If the baby was not accepted, it was
be abandoned and left to die. Harsh!
Turns out it rains almost as much in Rome as it does in England! (Or at least in April it does).
The
umbrella is from the incredible
MOMA museum in New York - I got terribly drunk in what I presume was the only Irish bar in Rome that night and left said umbrella in the taxi on the way back to the hotel. This means I will just have to go back to New York for another!
Walking around Rome, I found another set of stairs which I much prefered than the crowded Spanish ones. That's the thing about Rome and every city for that matter, everyone finds their own bit.
Unfortunately there was a service taking place when we got there so we couldn't go in however it was just next door to my favourite church with a midnight sky ceiling.
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
Sorry for the quality of the photo, you simply can't capture the reality on a screen. I'd like this painted on my bedroom ceiling please.
And of course, the last thing on my Rome must sees....
Vatican city is the world's smallest state. A state within a city.
One of the worlds most famous statues -
Laocoön and his sons. I wish I'd paid a bit more attention at university to be able to tell you about this properly. From what I can recall, Laocoon was killed for attempting to expose the ruse of the Trojan horse by throwing a stake at the horse. The snake was sent by Poseidon to kill Laocoon and the Trojans interpreted this as the horse being a sacred object. I'm not sure where his sons come in to play on this.
The Vatican is the busiest place on earth. I recommend going with a tour group - it's a little more money but you skip the queues (which can take hours!) and get a little history as you go. This is the map room, a looonggg corridor with hand painted maps of the ancient world line the walls, whilst the most detailed ceiling I have ever seen, runs overhead. I actually preferred this ceiling than the one in the Sistine Chapel.
Speaking of which...
You're really not suppose to take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel and
they are very strict about it, but I managed to sneaked a few in.
It's true what they say, you can really only appreciate it in person, no book or film will ever be able to fully tell you what it feels like to stand with your neck craned and your mouth open, looking up at it.
For another few pennies, you can climb to the top of St Peters, it gets a little claustrophobic in the dome and is most definitely not disabled access but if you can make it, it's worth the it for the view.
Random fact -
In response to a 73 B.C. revolt against Rome by Spartacus the gladiator,
6,000 slaves were crucified. You really should watch the film with Kirk Douglas. 'I am Spartacus. No I'm Spartacus!'
I'm sure this lion has a proper name and is probably the one slain by
Hercules but I choose to call him Alfred. Alfred the lion, has certain ring to it, don't you think?
In the Disney film Hercules, there is a clip of Hercules with a lion skin draped over his shoulders having a portrait painted - this is a link back to the above mentioned story but also, if you look really closely at the clip, you can see the lion skin is actually Scar from the film The Lion King (which in turn is based on the Shakespeare play -
Macbeth).
Rome can be pretty expensive with all the tours/attractions however most
are worth it and there are plenty of free things to see too.
Top tips -
Try the ice cream (best in the west)
Visit the squares
Walk - every thing is so close together and all you need is a decent map - taxi's should only be required for returning from the Irish bar!
Eat street food - a lot cheaper and you won't find better pizza!
