PAUL AND LI

We kicked off our stay in Rome with a free spaghetti party on the terrace roof of our hostel where we could see the top of the colosseum (when in Rome…).

We made the colosseum our first stop the next day and wandered around inside, imagining what it might have been like, covered in marble, nearly 2000 years ago. Then, keeping with the historic theme, we explored the Roman Forum where temples once stood and Palatine Hill where emperors lived. We also saw the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, a massive building sized monument (see the photos).

With a lot to see and only 3 days to do it, we made the most of the extended day light, embarking on a lengthy walk of Rome after dinner. First we stopped at the Trevi Fountain, enjoying some gelato with a few hundred of our closest friends, and threw a coin over our shoulders "to ensure our return to Rome" (only 1c each though, we don't place much stock in fountain-luck). Next we made our way to the 'enchanting' Spanish Steps to find…a whole lot of steps, more people, and more hawkers. Paul left one rose 'seller' in no doubt of his lack of intention to buy by whacking a hand (shoved in Li's face) with his guide book (see, we knew it would come in handy). Continuing ono our way we stopped at Piazza del Popolo where we were serenaded with some groovy saxophone music and Li persuaded Paul to part with a few cents for the musician. Our last stop was the terrace high above the piazza where we were treated to some lovely night-time views of the city including the Vatican. Our grand plan of catching the metro was upset when we found out that the 'Eternal city' has a metro system which stops at 10pm, and so it was a long walk home.

Day 2 we made the Pantheon our first destination. While not that exciting from the outside, the interior is quite amazing, the focus of course being the giant (9m) hole in the ceiling. This is even more amazing when you realise what an architectural feat it is without reinforced concrete. Apparently, in all our present-day wisdom, they're still not sure they could repeat it with the same materials. We continued our trip through Piazza del Navona and then happened upon a delightful little…wouldn't you know it…gelato store! It was hidden in a little side street and up a quaint little alley, looking absolutely lovely filled with weird and wonderful flavours. So we had to try out the goods.

Then it was across the River Tiber to Castle Sant' Angelo which was originally intended as Hadrian's mausoleum - great place for a fortification wouldn't you say? Just down the river was the Vatican so we ducked in to check out the line for St. Peter's and decided it was definitely a good plan to get there early on.

Following more recommendations we walked on through a 'park' learning a valuable lesson - don't trust the maps. Unfortunately the park, though it was lovely when we eventually found it, was about 20m higher than the road on all sides. So our garden stroll was a little different to planned. Trastevere district was on the other side. It's quite a happening little area with jazz bars, cafes and street stalls. Then, we were stuffed, so we turned our heads for home, pausing at the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains) and saw the chains and Michelangelo's statue 'Moses'.

That night we walked along one of the 'most famous streets in the world' Via Veneto, famed for it's elegance. It was quite nice, but we weren't sure why all the restaurateurs paid us any attention when our budget (and most other people's) clearly would only stretch to the napkins!

Our last day in Rome saw us getting up super early to get to St Peter's Basilica as it opened at 7am. Our roommates couldn't believe our commitment but it served us well 'cause we got in without a wait and the place was almost empty. Half an hour later the crowds arrived. We've decided that at some point the church had way too much money as every inch of the place is covered with statues, paintings or mosaics. The huge bronze alter canopy was also quite a sight (it's 29m - taller than the obelisk outside) and, as we found out at the Pantheon, this metal was originally covering the Roman temple's portico. We found the bronze statue of St Peter and Michelangelo's 'Pieta' too, and snapped a couple of pics through the protective glass. Then it was on public transport out to Apia Antica (the Appian Way) which is the location of most of the open catacombs in the city. Our book had promised us a scenic walk among wildflowers, but there were more walls for the first km or two after we got off the bus, and no footpath (ahhh! risking life and limb in Roman traffic). We kept walking and were rewarded with some interesting ruins, and a gradually widening street. Then we found a bus to take us to the metro, but unfortunately you can't buy tickets on the bus and nowhere around sold them so we had to just get on and buy our ticket later when we got to the station.

Rome was great fun, and we don't think we wore ourselves out too much (although we did go home and sleep for a couple of hours that last day).