First full day in Italy - Tuesday October 7, 2014 0 Rome

A great day for touring Rome.  It was about 23 degrees in the late afternoon and cooled off nicely this evening.

Started the day with a very good breakfast but still wondering why when has coffee her in Rome, the coffee cups are baby cups and there is only a 1/2" of coffee in it.  And I am drinking decaf.  The coffee is good but just not enough. Anyways it was a treat to have a really good hot breakfast plus bacon and prosciutto for breakfast along with some nice cheeses.....guess what was for lunch???  It was a picnic lunch for us.

We took the Hop ON Hop Off 110 bus to the Coliseum and toured that first thing this morning and it was pretty amazing.  The centre open floor area is still full of ruins and now a floor is being laid over half of the inside area which is what the original  one would have had.  It will be awesome to stand out there on the floor to get a sense of what the gladiators saw when they entered the stadium.  We climbed several stories and viewed the scene again from a higher perspective and each time, it is awesome to stand there and take it all in.  We carefully came down the stairs as they were a little slanted downward.  Nothing like the Great Wall of China but these were long flights of stairs.

From there we went to see the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill.  The Roman Forum was quite a ruin but enough to get an idea of the formal original building.  Then we climbed up a bit to the Palatine Hill.  I saw a crow-type bird which I have to look up.  This the highest hill in Rome and the vistas are wonderful day. 

We had our picnic lunch by the National Museum a stunning building built in the last 18th century and it is white and grand and just a beautifully designed grand building.  During lunch we people watched the street and saw the whole spectrum of humans come by. We talked with several people and met another Canadian from Fort Erie who told us the Trevi Fountain was shut down and not to bother going, there were renovations going on.  So no tossing a coin into that fountain for us.

We took the Hop On Bus to St Peter's Basilica inside the Vatican walls and we had to wait in a lineup that moved quickly and had an hour inside the church. It is a huge church with lots of wonderful art and it is mainly a homage to the popes who have served.  I think in earlier times, once elected Pope, a pope would start thinking about his "art mark" on the Basilica  and during his Pope years this would a side project so there would be an artistic legacy from each pope.  It was quite surprising.  This church is a legacy of the popes that have served.  It was full of people, everyone moving around and stopping with each viewpoint having many things to look at.  Also I notice and was surprised to find that  there are few stained glass windows here, the windows are clear glass. 

The first niche in the church when one enters is Michelangelo's La Pie ta.  She is not behind glass now and there was a huge crowd of people taking photos.  But she is up high and can be seen quite clearly.  The whole place is full of artwork, designs and all kinds of niches and side chapels.  The cupolas are wonderful works of art and there a legions of cherubs, some of the lifting old popes upward - this must have been a humble pope to have that minor type of art work as his legacy.

We stood in the square and it is impressive Bernini's columns of saints and popes looking down, truly a wonderful vista. 

By this time, it was just Debbie and I going onto the Spanish Steps which are old and probably could use some rejuvenation work.  There were tons of people from all over.  We took photos and had a sit on the stairs like everyone else.  The place has a vitality to it.

We made it back to the hotel using the Hop on Bus in time to comb hair and go on to supper which had to be shortened as we were going to ride the Hop On Bus for the complete run without getting off for the last run of the day to see Rome at dark.  There was a full moon over Rome tonight and I love a full moon and it was glowing brightly over the various historic monuments, fountains, buildings and churches of Rome.  This ride took over an hour bringing us back to near our hotel around 9:45 pm and then we saw the night market.  We were out with Jharna and Selena and Deb and myself and we did some shopping there. 

So a full day of touring but it was nicely paced and I was not tired but cold when I got off that last bus ride (on top of the bus in the open seats which we have been riding in all of the time).  It had cooled off and I had a sweater on and a scarf around my neck but it had cooled off enough to be chilly for me.  The other girls were not cold though.

So Rome has been great today!

Barb & Debbie in Rome  - the first photo is not mine, don't know how it got there....