Rome - Appian Way- Diocletian's Baths 15/7/10

Port de San Sebastian, the beginning of the Appian Way

On the battlements of the Port de San Sebastian, the gate through which the Appian Way passes through the city walls into Rome.

Via Appia Antica

Outside wall of Diocletian's baths.
Shopping note: new top and bag!

Anna was museum-ed out and wanted to do some shopping and laundry, but Riccardo and I still had to visit Diocletian's Baths. We had walked past it several times as it is straight opposite Termini Train station, but had no idea until we went in that it was such an oasis of green and quiet in the middle of this very noisy, dusty, concrete part of town. There was not much to see of the baths, just lots of marble and statues.

For most of the last millenium the baths have been a convent and church with this beautiful tranquil garden in the central courtyard.

Not much left of the baths.

Diocletian's baths from across the road.

And to finish off our last day in Rome we popped into another museum,
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, also very close to Termini.
The first marvel we found there was the vault and coin collection. We entered the vault through huge metal doors, 50 cm thick. Punctuating the edges of the doors were the massive dead bolts that presumably lock the doors each night. I hoped that they wouldn't shut while I was in there because I could see no way of ever breaking through.
Even if the coins hadn't been really old and interesting the big magnifying glasses that you could program to slide over the coin you wanted to examine were fun to play with.
Because the ancient Romans liked to put their faces on the coins many of the collections were like family photo albums with noticeable likenesses between them.
And that wasn't all!!!
The top floor of the museum was devoted to preserving some of the most beautiful frescos from the walls of the Villa Farnese. Walls were painted as if they had marble pillars and panels framing "windows" and gardens, animals, flowers, trees and birds.
I am going to repaint my house just as soon as I can find copies of the paintings. This museum shop needs to improve their postcard selection!! Especially as photos were prohibited.

Rome - Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill, The Forum and Ostia Antica 14/7/10

First stop for the day is the "Bocca del Verite" or the mouth of truth. Originally a market place, you would be asked to place your hand in the mouth to show you were telling the truth about the goods you were selling. If in fact if you were lying or 'misrepresenting' the quality of your goods you could be bitten by one of the scorpions that the priests put in there.

Obviously I am quite confident that I have told no lies...

Second stop the Circus Maximus.

Here Anna and Riccardo stroll purposefully toward the only patch of shade.. it is still early... maybe 9:30 am and already hot.

I have to run around the Circus Maximus...

and photograph the gravel underfoot... centuries of roman crumblies.

Next stop is the Palatine Hill.

I have just discovered that these trees are called pins parasol.

All our New Zealand pine trees grow tall and straight, branching is actively discouraged.Umbrella pines are such a great idea when shade is needed. And the cicadas love them too!

Wildflowers grow amongst the ruins on the Palatine Hill.

Carefully recovered and restored paintings inside the Domus (House of) Augustus, Palatine Hill.


Archaeologists at work carefully washing thousands of pot shards.

Palatine Hill: really old Roman brickwork.

The Foum: Looking down from the Palatine Hill.


Constantines Arch: The Forum

The Forum in the heart of old Rome.

Excavations at the Forum are ongoing. An archaeologist working in a shady corner.

As if the ruins of Rome's ancient city centre isn't enough we catch the metro to Rome's old port, Ostia Antica for an afternoon of exploring and discovering... without the crowds.

Walking down an ancient Roman thoroughfare in Ostia Antica, Port of the city of Rome, from the days when "all roads lead to Rome" and Roma ruled the world.

In this shop/ restaurant you can still see the menu on the wall above the bench.
This is all amazing and original and thousands of years old!

After 2000 years this bar looks as good as new! We really loved Ostia Antica for the welcome break from the seething crowds of Rome.

Our best Roman Statue poses.

The ampitheatre, Ostia Antica... being set up for a Jethro Tull concert?!

These giant amphorae must have been found in the mud at the at the bottom of the port as they were encrusted with sea shells.

Mosaics from the floor of the baths.
From the baths at Ostia Antica we went off looking for a swim. After all the sea wasn't far away.

We were in for a surprise.

The beach was straight across the road from the station but we couldn't actually see the sea for buildings and fences and car parks and stuff. We headed through one car park to a gate only to be told this was a private beach for the military.

We walked on a little further and tried another club. This time we would be able to go in but for 3 euros each. We tried to explain that we did not need deck chairs, cabanas, umbrellas, showers, lockers, anything. We just wanted to walk on the beach and swim in the sea.

The overdressed woman on the gate was not swayed... if we would not pay we would have to walk 30 minutes ( about 3 kms) down the road to find a free beach.

We gave in and payed.

It was worth it to see kilometers and kilometers of deck chairs and umbrellas. And the people... of all shapes and sizes... all tanned a uniform glossy chestnut brown. The water was warmish and pretty grotty with plastic bags and other rubbish in it. I guess with a sun loungers 20 deep every metre for kms thats a lot of people and a lot of rubbish.

A drink at the bar across the road and back into Rome.

Rome - Vatican City 13/7/10

The broken toe from a statue and Anna's toe for comparison.

One of the millions of treasures in the Vatican Museum.

We lined up bright and early for our visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Even at eight in the morning it is getting hot and we are greatful that the queue is still shaded by the wall of the Vatican. Imagine standing there once the line gets really long and the sun is shining straight down! We are very pleased we made an early start. Touts are selling water, fans, guided tours that allow you to skip the queues, scarves and anything else you might need... at a price.

The Lonely Planet guide suggests that you allow 5 1/2 hours to see the Vatican Museums... I question whether you can see it all even then.
On comparing photos at the end it seems Riccardo has photos of exhibits of interest to him, Anna has ceilings and I have floors!

A huge bowl cut from a single piece of marble.

The floor beneath is covered in an incredible mosaic.

Mosaic floor.
Looking back from the Egyptian rooms.

Intricate carving and beautiful marble pillars.

Incredible paintings.

Being an Intrepid traveller I loved the map room, a long corridor lined with maps of the Holy Roman Empire as they knew it. I had to have a photo of Italy...

I love the rich colours of this painting and the skill that painted such gorgeous fabrics and intricate lace, falling in a folds that catch the light in a way that suggests life and movement.

Leaving via the famous double helix spiral staircase. Anna and Riccardo at top left.

Wedding photos on the Bridge over the Tiber.

From the Vatican we walked to the Tiber and followed it to Augustus' Mausoleum. Riccardo had to go in although you could see most of the enormous carved tomb through the glass walls. Anna and I chilled out in the air-conditioned shop while we waited... by far the better option.

We used our bus tour tickets to go round Rome and back to the Hotel. Some of us had a siesta and some of us got busy on the internet.

Livorno to Rome

It was generally agreed that after the last few non stop days of sightseeing and travelling that today should be a rest day... I might even have time to catch up my blog...
All we had to do was get up and pack, taxi to the train, Train to Rome and walk across the road to our hotel. Rest , recover and plan my final few days.

Here Riccardo shoulders 20kg of pack up the steps at Livorno Station, our jumping off point for Florence and Venice.

More splashes of sunshine as we whistle past fields of hay, sunflowers and corn.

Glimpses of the coast road, beaches, headlands, holiday homes and yet more blue sky and azure seas.
Once in Rome the hotel turned out to be even closer to the train station than we had planned so we were settled in no time and looking for something to do. Eager not to waste a minute we were off again in search of lunch.

Anna and I sit down eagerly to a rare restaurant meal... bought brand name water in a glass bottle and some vegetables sounds like a real treat. We even order deep fried zuchini flowers while Riccardo played it safe with pizza and chips.

Lunch: 8 euros; 4 pieces of aubergine, 4 slices of zuchini, 3 small pieces of roast potato and 2 chunks of capsicum. Lucky Riccardo shared his pizza with us!!!

Next we caught the double decker open top bus tour. A bargain as you can get on and off when you like and the ticket is valid for 48 hours... as we got ours at 3pm we had 3 days use out of it!

Egyptian obelisks are quite common in Rome. Some are real and some are copies.

Castel San Angelo, with a statue of St Peter at this end of the bridge.

This is the Emperor Hadrian's Mausoleum and a museum. Lots of marble busts and a mangonel.

More statues on more bridges, and Castel San Angelo again.

A wall/ viaduct connects the castel with the Vatican.

Dinner: 3 euro; Supermarket salad with nuts, cheese and dressing.

Roast chicken 5 euro.

A far more satisfying meal than lunch, especially as we had fresh peaches to follow!

A stroll along Rome's streets in the cool of the evening seemed like a good idea. We would be able to enjoy the sights without the crowds or the heat. ( still 38-40 degrees during the day)

Me and lots of friends at the Trevi fountain.

Crowds at the Trevi fountain.

Trajan's Arcades... The first shopping mall in the world.

The Colosseum at night.