e_header.jpg)
London to Rome – Saturday 16th July
The taxi ride is easy and fast, but the driver tries us to £50.00 – the agreed amount was £42.00, how cheeky. Rather than argue with him we walk away – just hope there is no retribution at home.
Stanstead Airport is absolutely packed – people are everywhere. Perhaps British school holidays have started. Bruce and Hayden queue for 20 minutes to buy us an orange juice and croissant for breakfast.
It is a 1½ hour flight. Elisse hasn’t slept in the few hours we were at home, she talked to her parents, booked transport to Stratford and generally recovered from her exciting concert. She sleeps on the flight.
We circle Rome, get a great view of Vatican City and the sights.
Anthony is there to meet us – a lovely friendly greeting. We pile into his little Fiat Punto.
His ‘residence’ is magnificent – Italian, marble, cool, spacious. There is a wonderful garden with an impressive vegetable patch and a stunning Bouganvillia.
We are installed into a double room, Hayden and Elisse are given single rooms each, all with en suites. Anthony has gone to the trouble of putting name tags on the door – it is all very welcoming.
After a wash up and a cool drink we go out to explore Rome. Anthony has arranged metro tickets for us, which are also good on the buses.
He shows us St Mary Major and explains the layout of a basilica – 3 naves separated by columns. The art work on the floor draws you to the altar. The baptismal font is at the entrance or outside the front door. Paradise is represented above the altar. He points out the artwork and explains the styles and the importance of the icons, people, animals, birds, ivy,…
He then takes us to St Clements, stopping first at the Colosseum. It is amazing to walk out of the metro and see the Colosseum in front of you. Anthony explains how the traffic has been restricted and we notice how much more accessible the ruins are and how much quieter the streets are.
St Clements is on three levels – 1st century, 4th-5th century was built on top of those foundations and 12th century built on those foundations. It was common practice to shear everything off at the ground, fill the foundations with the rubble and build on top, so over the years Rome has got higher and higher.
Recent excavations, which are still in progress, have uncovered these foundations. It’s fantastic. There are 1st century houses, streets, aqueducts.
Somewhere in between the ruins and churches we stop for lunch at an ‘Insalata’ bar. We all choose different salads, salmon, mushroom and avocado, bacon and walnuts, tuna and egg. They are great and just what we need after a very long morning.
We head home for a rest, for Elisse to sleep to catch up on last night. A cold beer ensures a restful siesta!
We head out in the cool of the evening to explore the squares. Rome comes to life when the sun goes down and the air cools. Anthony points out architectural features one after another – proportions of buildings, squares, towers,… we see fountains, statues and monuments. Bruce is particularly taken by the Bernini statues, Hayden and Elisse love the Trevi Fountain, I love seeing the people sitting, eating and drinking.
We are about to drop when Anthony finds us a great area to eat. We choose a ristorante that has a breeze running through it as it is a very warm evening.
Hayden and Anthony have beef steak, Bruce has chicken, Elisse pasta con funghi and I have veal. Elisse is already impressing Anthony with her Italian accent, she has been learning out of a book.
We are all exhausted and glad to get home and to bed.
Rome – Sunday 17th July
Breakfast at 9:00am. Anthony has researched a tour of Rome for us and drops us off at the Termini (rail station). The bus tour is available but the queues are horrendous so we choose the more expensive Roma Christiana tour. It is good to get on top of the bus and take in the views.
Some areas, such as the Colosseum, are closed to traffic on Sundays so the tour was not quite as described in the brochure – ah Italia!
We decide to get off at the Vatican and spend an hour there and get onto the next bus. After a ½ hour wait to go through the security check, Elisse is not allowed in because she is wearing shorts. Bruce and I have a quick look, then back onto the bus then a taxi back to the community.
Anthony has planned for us to have lunch with the community. Lunch is cold rice salad, enormous T-bone steaks with garlic beans and chips, salad, crème brulee made by Brother Peter from Leeds and Limoncella – a delicious lemon liqueur made by the generalissimo.
Anthony has booked for us to see the Villa Borghese at the 3:00pm to 5:00pm session. You have 2 hours to see it, that is all.
Anthony and Bruce have a great time sharing their appreciation of the art and architecture. We start on the second floor picture gallery. It isn’t just the art that hangs from the walls, it is also the decoration. Each room has its own decoration, its own theme and colours, richly painted walls – frescos or mosaics, columns, windows, verandas all form part of the decoration.
Then we go to the first floor to see the statues, especially Bernini’s, and art by Caravaggio. We panic as we can see our precious two hours ticking away, wanting to see as much as possible but lingering on the treasures.
From there Anthony drops us at St Peter’s and appropriately dressed we go in and explore it. It is truly huge and so richly decorated. All the great churches of the world are measured – there are marks for St Paul’s Cathedral and many others.
We fit in a gelati and sort out our train tickets before returning to the community.
From there Anthony drives us to the mountains east of Rome to see Lago Albano in the dusk and eat porchetta in the village of Frascati, overlooking the lights of Rome.
Porchetta is a favourite Roman treat, cold roast pork can be bought at a number of small stalls in the village. Add some bread, cheese and olives and take it to one of the many tables overlooking the city lights. Here you can order wine, Frascati of course, and dig into the BYO food.
It is nearly midnight when we get back and Anthony drives into the community and sets of the alarm. He doesn’t know how to stop it, but is sure someone will sort it out for him.
Rome – Monday 18th July
Elisse has done her research and chosen the Isle of Elba for two days of sun and sea. She and Hayden leave us at Termini. It is the last time we will see them for how long?
Anthony, Bruce and I go on to the Vatican and stand in a kilometre long queue for 1½ hours to visit the Vatican Museum. It is Monday in Rome and most museums are closed so this one is sure to be busy.
It is huge! We are forced to follow the one-way path through it – the statues, the tapestries, the maps, the hanging art and finally into the Sistine Chapel where we spend at least an hour in awe of the magnificent work.
No photos and silence. The guards constantly yell for silence – like strict school masters.
We stand and we sit. We discuss and view in solitary wonder. In all we spend an hour in the chapel looking at the beautiful frescos. They have been cleaned and are magnificent. Michelangelo’s ceiling and front wall, bright blues, rich golds and purples, brilliant greens. The story of creation, the life of Moses and of Jesus. The richly painted curtains. The marble inlaid floors. It is all so beautiful.
When we leave we are exhausted and exhilarated. After lunch we re-walk the entire museum to reach Rafael’s rooms. Again there are stunning frescos supporting the beautiful art work.
We return to the community for a beer and a short rest before heading out in the cool evening.
Anthony takes us to Capital Hill ‘Campiologlia’. The sun is lower, it is hazy and there is a breeze. We view the Roman ruins from all angles and Anthony continues to tell us what is what and how it was used. The Romans have lived a very sophisticated lifestyle.
We walk through the tiny streets, looking for the turtle fountain. When we find it, it is under repair L. We find Piazza Fiore – the flower market square, then wind our way through the streets to reach the Tiber. We cross the river at Isola Tiber, and wander through the tiny streets to Santa Maria in Trasevera, a famous community church with more stunning frescoes and mosaics. They glimmer in the night lights.
Anthony tells the story of this church run by lay people who started it as young adults to support homeless youth and lonely elderly people. It has reached out to provide support for many Romans and helped brokered peace around the world, most notably for Angola(?)
We stop at nearby ’Il Vigaro’ for dinner. Bruce has spaghetti marinara, it comes wrapped in foil shaped like a swan. Anthony has ravioli and I have amatriciana. We catch the last bus home and manage the journey in record time!
Next page: Rome to Cinque Terra
