Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Back From Italy
Italy is lovely. Especially Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast- rocky headlands jutting out into turquoise waters, revealing lovely little coves, tiny villages perched high on the cliffs, defying gravity, punctuated by loads of lemon and orange trees. We did see plenty, although sadly it wasn't a walking tour so not really an endurance adventure. but an adventure in it's own right.
It was tiring traveling down, as we needed to check in for our flight at 6am, which necessitated catching a National Express coach at 12:15am from Leicester and travelling through the night- meaning very little sleep! We arrived at Naples airport and we met by our tour leader, Lambros, for a taxi ride to Rome. We recovered a little and made our way up the road for a slice of pizza;
Saturday we had two tours, an optional one of the Vatican and one included tour of the Colisseum and Forum. Both me and Anne had opted for the Vatican one, which included the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican is a city within a city- completely separate from Rome. As we walked through hall after hall decorated with richly decorated ceilings, ornate tapestries and ancient marble statues, I was struck by how much wealth is held by the church. We didn't see the Pope though.
After a peek at the Sistine Chapel (complete with guards constantly telling everyone to shut up and respect the silence) we were taken into St Peter's Basilica, which is huge- resplendent in marble and statues. There is a bronze statue of St Peter here, with a queue of people waiting to touch his right foot as it is supposed to bring luck. As a result, the right foot of the statue is wearing away.
The Bronze Statue of St Peter
We walked out through the square of the Vatican, looking back at the impressive facade of St Peter's Basilica;
We could see the 'mile long queue' of people waiting to get in- sometimes it pays to book with a tour company!
The next tour was one I had been looking forwards to- the Colisseum and Roman Forum. I have wanted to see the Colisseum for such a long time, and it was every inch as impressive as I'd imagined, although the stone blocks which made up its construction were full of holes, as the bronze 'pins' which had been placed to keep them together had been robbed out centuries before and melted down.
Arch Of Constantine
As we went inside I noticed that there are two levels to the Colisseum, an upper and lower level. Our guide explained that there are stairs to access the upper level, and that although there are signed advising that these should not be used (I don't think they are ancient but they are quite steep and slippery so it's a health and safety thing), most people ignore them- there is even an exhibition at the top.
Of course, I decided to go up the stairs and walk all the way around the top deck, trying to visualise the Colisseum (or the Flavian Amphitheatre to give it its original name) in its heyday; if I closed my eyes I could just about imagine that the chatter of people were the excited murmuring of some long dead Roman audience.
Following the Collisseum we walked through the area of the Roman Forum, one of the main areas for people doing business etc in ancient Rome. It seemed a huge jumble of fallen stones and bits of buildings, but what was still standing was quite impressive, including one building with its original bronze doors. I tried to get creative with a few black and white shots;
Anne has some mobility difficulties due to a severe back injury so I kept her company by walking at the back of the group with her. We went on an optional meal that night, and afterwards were guided to the Trevi Fountain to see it lit up- I threw a coin over my shoulder, facing away from the fountain, to guarantee my return to Rome.
Trevi Fountain At Night
Sunday we decided to take an optional little trip to the Porta Portese fleamarket- quite a lot like an English one really, lots and lots of stalls selling the same kind of things- clothes, 'pound shop style' electical items and a few antiques. We did get a few bargains, but as we only had a set amount of time before the bus was due to collect us, we knew trying to see all of it was impossible. Anne said 'you could spend all day here', but once we reached the top of the road we had been walking up, we decided to walk down the opposite road a little way before cutting across to our original road.
At least, that was what we intended... what actually happened is that we realised we were hopelessly lost! After wandering for what seemed like ages and asking Italian policeman and being directed into circles ('we have passed that beggar with one arm three times!'), we bumped into another guy from our tour group, Mike. Unfortunately, Mike was just as lost as we were!
By the time we had made it back to our staring point the bus was long gone- Porta Portese was far enough from the centre of Rome to be off the maps in our guide books, so Mike suggested catching a bus. We saw one coming and clambered on board, asking the driver if it went to the centre. Unfortunately he couldn't speak English so just kind of grunted and drove off with us on board. So now we were on a bus, without a clue how to buy a ticket or where it was going!
After a while we noticed that people seemed to be just hopping on and off. I also realised we were nearing the Colisseum, where there was sure to be a Metro station, so when the bus stopped, we scrambled off. I know now that we should have bought a ticket at a kiosk and the driver could have asked to see it... but we survived! The Metro seems to be a very good way of seeing Rome- we bought an all day ticket for 4 Euros and carried on exploring (Mike returned to the hotel as he was taking an optional dinner extension).
Me and Anne went to St Paul's Basilica- not quite on the same scale as St Peter's but nice. We also had our first proper ice cream here- Italian ice cream is to die for...
St Peter's Basilica
We went to see the Trevi Fountain again in daylight, and as they were nearby, took in the Spanish Steps. This is a popular meeting place- I walked all of the way up them to the church at the top, which gave a fantastic view over the square and surrounding streets.
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps
Monday was a busy day, as we were travelling to Vesuvius, Pompeii and then taking a ferry over to the Isle of Capri. This meant leaving the hotel at 7am, we managed it- just- even though we managed to lock ourselves out of our hotel room putting the cases outside the door!
It was another lovely sunny day in Rome, but as we drove south, the sun disappeared into cloud and it became quite chilly. By the time we drove up the windy road around the lower sloped of Vesuvius, we drove through the cloud cover to glorious sunshine. The bus dropped us off at a place known as the 'checkpoint', where there were shops and a row of portaloos. Lambros advised us that there is a track to the summit crater, which takes about 20 minutes walking.
Ascending Vesuvius
Anne decided not to do it, but she knew I would! The path was quite a steep climb, covered with loose black soil and loads and loads of school groups. I made it up the the top quite quickly, which I think surprised most of the group as they had been used to me walking at Anne's speed! The summit was amazing- a huge crater, filled not with lava but gravel (I suspect that the lava would be at a lower level). It was so huge I had trouble getting a shot of the whole thing.
The Summit Of Vesuvius
Interestingly enough, if Vesuvius were to erupt with the same fury as AD79, when Pompeii was destroyed, most of modern day Naples would be in the danger zone! I read that they can monitor volcanic activity on the mountain and would have chance to evacuate, but this would mean potentially evacuating some 500,000 people!
There is a path along the lower rim of the crater, which looks as though it carries on further, but the way is blocked by a shop and no entry sign, although I did see a group of people walking along the higher rim so presumably walking tours may be available.
I was eager to get back down to look in the large shop at the 'checkpoint', so had a brilliantly exhilirating run down the track, dodging tourists!
After lunch, it was time to visit Pompeii... another place I'd always wanted to see. The clouds had by now completely melted, leaving another hot and sunny day. There was certainly an atmosphere at Pompeii, but unfortunately it was slightly spoilt for me by the hordes of tour groups, especially rowdy, bored kids who weren't really interested. There was also a lot more modern metalwork then I anticipated- I realise that they have to protect the ruins but there seemed to be a fair few metal ramps, barriers and road work type signs.
Tombs Cut Out Of The Rock
Shop Selling Hot Food
It is still very atmospheric though, and a snapshot of Roman life that suddenly ended on a fateful day in AD79. I did manage to embarrass myself though as we walked through a brothel, then further up the street Anne and I caught up with the group and I noticed that several of them were taking photos of a small carving on a wall. I asked one of our group members what it was, and he told me it was a 'symbol of the street'. I said 'But what is it?' he leaned fowards and whispered- 'It's a dick!'
Pompeii Street
Artifacts And Pottery From Pompeii
Just off the Forum was a building housing lots of pottery urns and columns which had been found during excavations. There were also plaster casts of the victims, including a poor dog twisted in agony.
Pompeii Forum
We were at Pompeii for almost 2 hours, yet I felt as though there was a lot more to see.
Howver we were due to catch the 4:30pm ferry from Naples to Capri. The crossing was smooth and took around an hour, I was very impressed by my first sight of Capri- it was beautiful.
Capri
It was tiring traveling down, as we needed to check in for our flight at 6am, which necessitated catching a National Express coach at 12:15am from Leicester and travelling through the night- meaning very little sleep! We arrived at Naples airport and we met by our tour leader, Lambros, for a taxi ride to Rome. We recovered a little and made our way up the road for a slice of pizza;
Saturday we had two tours, an optional one of the Vatican and one included tour of the Colisseum and Forum. Both me and Anne had opted for the Vatican one, which included the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican is a city within a city- completely separate from Rome. As we walked through hall after hall decorated with richly decorated ceilings, ornate tapestries and ancient marble statues, I was struck by how much wealth is held by the church. We didn't see the Pope though.
After a peek at the Sistine Chapel (complete with guards constantly telling everyone to shut up and respect the silence) we were taken into St Peter's Basilica, which is huge- resplendent in marble and statues. There is a bronze statue of St Peter here, with a queue of people waiting to touch his right foot as it is supposed to bring luck. As a result, the right foot of the statue is wearing away.
We walked out through the square of the Vatican, looking back at the impressive facade of St Peter's Basilica;
We could see the 'mile long queue' of people waiting to get in- sometimes it pays to book with a tour company!
The next tour was one I had been looking forwards to- the Colisseum and Roman Forum. I have wanted to see the Colisseum for such a long time, and it was every inch as impressive as I'd imagined, although the stone blocks which made up its construction were full of holes, as the bronze 'pins' which had been placed to keep them together had been robbed out centuries before and melted down.
As we went inside I noticed that there are two levels to the Colisseum, an upper and lower level. Our guide explained that there are stairs to access the upper level, and that although there are signed advising that these should not be used (I don't think they are ancient but they are quite steep and slippery so it's a health and safety thing), most people ignore them- there is even an exhibition at the top.
Of course, I decided to go up the stairs and walk all the way around the top deck, trying to visualise the Colisseum (or the Flavian Amphitheatre to give it its original name) in its heyday; if I closed my eyes I could just about imagine that the chatter of people were the excited murmuring of some long dead Roman audience.
Following the Collisseum we walked through the area of the Roman Forum, one of the main areas for people doing business etc in ancient Rome. It seemed a huge jumble of fallen stones and bits of buildings, but what was still standing was quite impressive, including one building with its original bronze doors. I tried to get creative with a few black and white shots;
Anne has some mobility difficulties due to a severe back injury so I kept her company by walking at the back of the group with her. We went on an optional meal that night, and afterwards were guided to the Trevi Fountain to see it lit up- I threw a coin over my shoulder, facing away from the fountain, to guarantee my return to Rome.
Sunday we decided to take an optional little trip to the Porta Portese fleamarket- quite a lot like an English one really, lots and lots of stalls selling the same kind of things- clothes, 'pound shop style' electical items and a few antiques. We did get a few bargains, but as we only had a set amount of time before the bus was due to collect us, we knew trying to see all of it was impossible. Anne said 'you could spend all day here', but once we reached the top of the road we had been walking up, we decided to walk down the opposite road a little way before cutting across to our original road.
At least, that was what we intended... what actually happened is that we realised we were hopelessly lost! After wandering for what seemed like ages and asking Italian policeman and being directed into circles ('we have passed that beggar with one arm three times!'), we bumped into another guy from our tour group, Mike. Unfortunately, Mike was just as lost as we were!
By the time we had made it back to our staring point the bus was long gone- Porta Portese was far enough from the centre of Rome to be off the maps in our guide books, so Mike suggested catching a bus. We saw one coming and clambered on board, asking the driver if it went to the centre. Unfortunately he couldn't speak English so just kind of grunted and drove off with us on board. So now we were on a bus, without a clue how to buy a ticket or where it was going!
After a while we noticed that people seemed to be just hopping on and off. I also realised we were nearing the Colisseum, where there was sure to be a Metro station, so when the bus stopped, we scrambled off. I know now that we should have bought a ticket at a kiosk and the driver could have asked to see it... but we survived! The Metro seems to be a very good way of seeing Rome- we bought an all day ticket for 4 Euros and carried on exploring (Mike returned to the hotel as he was taking an optional dinner extension).
Me and Anne went to St Paul's Basilica- not quite on the same scale as St Peter's but nice. We also had our first proper ice cream here- Italian ice cream is to die for...
We went to see the Trevi Fountain again in daylight, and as they were nearby, took in the Spanish Steps. This is a popular meeting place- I walked all of the way up them to the church at the top, which gave a fantastic view over the square and surrounding streets.
Monday was a busy day, as we were travelling to Vesuvius, Pompeii and then taking a ferry over to the Isle of Capri. This meant leaving the hotel at 7am, we managed it- just- even though we managed to lock ourselves out of our hotel room putting the cases outside the door!
It was another lovely sunny day in Rome, but as we drove south, the sun disappeared into cloud and it became quite chilly. By the time we drove up the windy road around the lower sloped of Vesuvius, we drove through the cloud cover to glorious sunshine. The bus dropped us off at a place known as the 'checkpoint', where there were shops and a row of portaloos. Lambros advised us that there is a track to the summit crater, which takes about 20 minutes walking.
Anne decided not to do it, but she knew I would! The path was quite a steep climb, covered with loose black soil and loads and loads of school groups. I made it up the the top quite quickly, which I think surprised most of the group as they had been used to me walking at Anne's speed! The summit was amazing- a huge crater, filled not with lava but gravel (I suspect that the lava would be at a lower level). It was so huge I had trouble getting a shot of the whole thing.
Interestingly enough, if Vesuvius were to erupt with the same fury as AD79, when Pompeii was destroyed, most of modern day Naples would be in the danger zone! I read that they can monitor volcanic activity on the mountain and would have chance to evacuate, but this would mean potentially evacuating some 500,000 people!
There is a path along the lower rim of the crater, which looks as though it carries on further, but the way is blocked by a shop and no entry sign, although I did see a group of people walking along the higher rim so presumably walking tours may be available.
I was eager to get back down to look in the large shop at the 'checkpoint', so had a brilliantly exhilirating run down the track, dodging tourists!
After lunch, it was time to visit Pompeii... another place I'd always wanted to see. The clouds had by now completely melted, leaving another hot and sunny day. There was certainly an atmosphere at Pompeii, but unfortunately it was slightly spoilt for me by the hordes of tour groups, especially rowdy, bored kids who weren't really interested. There was also a lot more modern metalwork then I anticipated- I realise that they have to protect the ruins but there seemed to be a fair few metal ramps, barriers and road work type signs.
It is still very atmospheric though, and a snapshot of Roman life that suddenly ended on a fateful day in AD79. I did manage to embarrass myself though as we walked through a brothel, then further up the street Anne and I caught up with the group and I noticed that several of them were taking photos of a small carving on a wall. I asked one of our group members what it was, and he told me it was a 'symbol of the street'. I said 'But what is it?' he leaned fowards and whispered- 'It's a dick!'
Just off the Forum was a building housing lots of pottery urns and columns which had been found during excavations. There were also plaster casts of the victims, including a poor dog twisted in agony.
We were at Pompeii for almost 2 hours, yet I felt as though there was a lot more to see.
Howver we were due to catch the 4:30pm ferry from Naples to Capri. The crossing was smooth and took around an hour, I was very impressed by my first sight of Capri- it was beautiful.
Labels: Capri, Italy, Pompeii, Rome, Vesuvius
Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home
<< Home
