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So after the onslaught that was Florence we were slightly dreading what Rome was going to be like, so much so that instead of heading straight there we decided to stop over for one night in Siena, which actually turned into two nights because we loved it so much. Although before I go into Siena I have to tell you about a little town called San Gimignano. It's on the outskirts of Florence, but we missed the turn off for it and ended up on the back road into it, but oh my God what a road! Rolling Tuscan hills, vineyards and rumbly houses dotted about with San Gimignano sitting proud on a hill in the distance with its four towers soaring above the rest of the town. It was seriously something you'd see on a holiday program or on an advert for Italy (although I doubt Italy needs to advertise judging by the hordes of tourists everywhere!). Unfortunately though, that was the best bit of this town. Yes it's a very charming, walled, medieval town that apparently sells that best ice cream in the world, but I just felt that there was no soul to the place, and like Florence it's completely sold out to tourism and in the process they've both lost whatever it was that made them famous in the first place.
Then it was onto wonderful Siena, which we both just loved. The thing about this town is that it's still Italian and what I mean by that is that there are Italian's walking about the streets in work clothes or chatting with friends: it was a normal town. It had normal shops that sold proper clothes; there wasn't an I ♥ Italy t-shirt in sight! Don't get me wrong this town has sites and a few tourist shops but it just fitted in with the town, it didn't overwhelm it. So we wondered through the streets oohing and aahing at all the wonderful things we were seeing, then when we took a turn down this narrow little alley way we came out at the horseshoe shaped square the town is famous for. It really is an impressive sight and its where they have a bareback horse race once a year in summer where the only rule is that you can't grab the reins of another horse. This square is big but it doesn't seem nearly big enough to hold a horse race in and it really would be something to see, but with the fencing, sandy track and seating a permanent feature you can get a feel for what it would be like, and it just feels so genuine. I then donned my paper skirt and put my scarf around my shoulders before paying a visit to the Duomo di Siena, which I have to say, is up there as one of my favourites. We've seen a lot of churches and I mean a lot, so when you go into one like this it really stands out. It actually had a bit of an Egyptian feel with its black and white striped pillars and the library room was so beautifully painted in rich colours of gold, red and blue but overall it was just being in this space that was so special. Like Gaudi with Sagrada Familia the architect of this church put his heart and soul into it, spending years of his life dedicated to every detail (he even carved the intricate pulpit with his father) and you can feel that when you are in this church, it's just magic!
So onto Rome and we spent our first evening there setting up camp, (can you believe you can camp in Rome!) And what a camp site, it had the most pristine swimming pool I've ever seen, its own tourist info, two restaurants and the best bit, 'deluxe' toilets, which is what they called them, but oh my god they were! With dressing tables, mirrors everywhere and a proper room to shower in with places to put your stuff. I know I should probably be talking about the Colosseum right now but it was such a luxury to have a nice bathroom. To anyone who's ever camped or stayed in hostels or even some hotels you know the bathrooms can generally leave a lot to be desired, well I've had 6 weeks of that so this place was heaven to me, it's the little things you miss! Well enough about the toilets and onto what we actually did in Rome! So our three full days in this city were meant to start with a free walking tour but despite showing up on time and waiting for about 40 minutes we never saw any sign of any tour so with no actual plan of what to do instead we headed across the street to the Forum. As I have no imagination when it comes to visualising what ruins would have looked like it was lost on me and then disaster struck, Darren's camera stopped working, which wouldn't have been such a disaster if I hadn't already left mine behind in Belfast. So now we're using an iphone as our main camera, but with a help of a few apps that Darren has painstakingly researched and been learning we should have a few descent and jazzed up pictures for you to see. So all in all it wasn't really the best start to our Roman holiday but we persevered and headed to the Colosseum, easily one of the most iconic structures in the world and it doesn't disappoint but the building we headed to next was probably one of my favourites in Rome. Nicknamed the 'wedding cake' and apparently hated by the current Roman population, the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, is a very dominant and gleaming white building which houses the war museum. I really liked it simply because in my mind it's what buildings would have looked like in ancient Rome, but then this knowledge is based on what Hollywood have shown me ancient Rome looks like which probably isn't the most accurate source! The rest of the day we just spent wondering the streets but randomly and unknowingly passed the Pantheon (which was closed), the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps. I think we just followed the well-worn path of the thousands of people who've gone before us but it was some journey to just to get to the metro station.
The next day was Sunday, in fact it was the last Sunday of June which meant the Sistine Chapel was free to get into and knowing how crazy the queues are normally we got up to catch the first train at 6am so we'd be near the front of the queue when it opened at 9am. Not having looked up exactly where the Sistine Chapel was, we headed to St Peter's Square, following two girls who were running in front of us. We just joined the end of a queue, and guess what.. it was the wrong queue. We were in fact lining up for St Peter's Bascilica, which wasn't exactly a disappointment. This is a church on a giant scale; the roof feels like it's a mile above your head and the candlesticks on the alter are man sized, everything is epically grand, but then how could I expect anything less from the seat of the Catholic Church. After our visit to this wonderful church, it was still only about 8am so we went to get in the right queue for the Sistine Chapel. But when we got there I wouldn't be lying if I told you there was about 10,000 people in front of us! Where there was no one when we raced towards St Peter's Square at 6.45am the queue now stretched for 1.2 kilometres (we actually worked this out on google maps). I have never seen anything like it and what's crazier is that people were still joining it. Needless to say we decided that maybe we wouldn't be seeing the Sistine Chapel after all and headed to the Castel Sant'Angelo instead, and with its stunning views over Rome it was definitely the right decision.
An old proverb says that anyone who goes to Rome without seeing the Pantheon goes and comes back an ass, so on our last day that was our first stop. When we walked in there was this angelic music and I remember thinking that it was such a nice touch and that it really added to the magnificence of the place and its huge dome, but it actually turned out to be a real live choir. They were incredibly good so we took a seat and listened to the music. It was such a treat and I felt to so grateful that we just happened to be there to see them because only a few songs later they were finished, but then they did an encore outside so we got to enjoy that too. We then headed to another church only a few streets away called Sant'Ignazio's which is a nice enough church but it's the paintings on the ceiling that make it so special. They just have such depth and clarity to them and the figures look like they're projecting off the ceiling, but the most amazing part of the church is how they used optical illusions in the paintings to expand the space, it was incredible. Feeling a bit frazzled and exhausted from walking so much over the last few days we headed to the Villa Borghese gardens to spend the afternoon chilling in the sunshine, which was so perfect. Although Darren did have a bit of trouble when he went to the public toilet and was refused entry by a toilet bouncer for not wearing a t-shirt, as this apparently means you can't pee!
We've definitely found Italy to be a country who love their rules and there just seems to be only one way to do things. I've had numerous times when I've been told by strangers to do this or that, one woman even re-arranged the way I'd put my groceries on the conveyor belt! At the end of the day though, this is their country and you've got to respect their rules, but as they say: "when in Rome…."
Clare
- comments
Steve Love reading your blogs Clare... So jealous of you both! You guys are doing a top job and thanks for sharing it with us. Can't wait to see you guys again soon. Keep up the hard work of Europe in summer. Looking forward to the next blog or pictures. Tell Dazz to keep the shirt on!
Clare Thanks Steve! It's always good getting feedback!! We'll keep up the good work (if you could call this work, ha ha). Good luck with the new house, can't wait to visit you guys in it!
Donna Aarrgghh - hate reading these wonderful stories of your travels, while I am stuck here paying of our last fabulous adventure!!!! So glad you are having such a fabulous time guys. We miss you tho, Ben just asked when we are going to see you again???
pat Hi! Clare, Every thought of getting a job writing for one of those travel mags. you would be great, you make me want to pack my bags and go to look at all these beautiful places, keep sending the blog, makes my day. luv pat.