friends, romans, countrymen

Rome. Sunny, dynamic and touristy - Exactly opposite that of Paris, except maybe for the last point. We reached the Eternal City on a day where the blue skies ruled and where the temperatures reached a sweltering 18degC. As soon as I got out of the metro station, off went the North Face jacket and on came the Oakleys. =P

Apparently I was not the only person who thought of doing that, as at that same moment, I met like 456889345 other tourists who were equally skimpily dressed and whose eyes were equally well protected. Indeed, Rome is a very touristy place.

We headed out first to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum as they were very close to where we stayed. Luckily the Romans have yet to acquire the en-bloc or upgrading fervour which we have back home if not we would not have the chance to visit all these historical landmarks. Jokes aside, it was simply spine tingling to imagine the gladiatorial battles which were once held, or just to stand in the centre of power of the world's once-greatest civilization.

il colosseo

inside it

ruins of the forum

shadows of the past

Just to show that the Monday blues can still haunt you even when you're on vacation, it rained on the next day, which was a Monday. Luckily I had already planned on going to Pisa for the day, which involved a total of 6 hours on the train, and which probably saved us from getting soaked too much. Anyway due to the weather I also did not manage to get too up and personal with the leaning tower. But seeing that it was going to topple over, I decided to give it a hand:

easy does it

The next day was much more interesting as we went to the Vatican. A country inside a city! Amazing. Amazingly luxurious as well, as I could see where all the tithes from the Catholics go to from the marbled flooring all the way to the painted ceiling frescoes in St Peter's Basilica. Anyway as an Atheist I still contributed to the Pope's salary by paying to go up the the basilica's dome, as well as to enter the Sistine Chapel. Maybe that will buy me a few days out of purgatory in the future.

the vatican - 100% catholic

meeting the pope

inside the basilica

keeping guard against the infidels

(olio) dome

michelangelo's masterpiece

Then we went to worship the only God I know - the shopping God. We shopped until all the shops were closed and then we went to the Spanish steps. Headed back the other way and reached the Trevi fountain. Did the touisty thing and tossed in a 1 cent coin in the hope of coming back one day. With all the thousands of people tossing in coins as well, no wonder Rome has so many tourists; they just keep returning!

the Trevi fountain

Then there's Wednesday. Wow I had so many days! The sky was clear and I went up the Vittoriano monument. Nice timing. The monument is basically a superbly lavish and over-the-top pompous memorial honouring the first Italian king. In any case, it offered great 360° panoramic views of the city. Then I walked some more because it was so nice to be out in the sun, and then I ran out of time and I went back to pick up the two ladies for lunch and to catch our train. Next stop: the Cinque Terre!

il vittoriano

monument to the unknown soldier

as far as the eye can see

downtown Rome

More photos here if you are interested.