![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cheatingbulldogs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Roma.jpg\" "\\"Flavian")
<\/a><\/p>\nI probably spent more time than most people in the Colloseum, but I was really enjoying it despite the annoying tour groups being pushy. Since it was still relatively early I headed over to the Roman forum next, exploring the grounds thoroughly and again trying to imagine what it looked like in the past. The sheer volume of ruins from various roman eras somewhat threatens to overwhelm you as you explore. The massive arches of the basilica are particularly impressive when you consider that it would cover a sizable chunk of the forum if in one piece today. More than anything there was just a feeling of history. Pretty much anything in sight was at least 1800 years old and filled with stories. The tiny area where Julius Caesar\u2019s corpse was burned, the roman senate buildings, Caligula\u2019s palace above, all these places from the stories I\u2019ve read since childhood. Of course it\u2019s more of a visual thing than anything, see the photo album on facebook for more.<\/p>\n
After exploring a bit of Palatine hill (until they got ready to kick us out) I headed up the street and passed the Vittoria Emanuel II or wedding cake monument that many Romans (rightly) feel looks kind of stupid and out of place near the ancient roman ruins. On the other side was Trajan\u2019s column then on a few streets over to probably my second most anticipated sight: The Pantheon. Originally a pagan temple to all the gods of Rome, it has been coopted like so many other things by the Catholic church. I’m really not sure how you make a giant pagan temple into a cathedral simply by slapping a few crosses on it, but I supposed I should be thankfully they didn’t tear it down. Built by Hadrian it was the largest dome in the world for over 1000 years until Il Duomo in Florence I believe. It was massively influential on the St. Peter\u2019s dome (and other domes in the Vatican) and is a marvel of architectural skill. Basically half of a giant sphere perfectly nested its base, it has an opening called the oculus at the top that lets in the only light (and rain when it comes.) It also once had bronze statues including what was supposedly an amazing imperial eagle on the pediment, but one of the popes melted it down for doors and cannons and various fittings for St. Peter\u2019s. Way to go yet again papacy.<\/p>\n
Since I\u2019d read about a tasty sounding pasta place near the Pantheon I hunted it down and had a delicious meal before heading onward to the Fountain of Trevi. I\u2019d heard it was busy at night, I suppose it makes sense that Friday night is the busiest. Approaching the square I heard the noise of the crowd but was still blown away by the number of people enjoying the fountain and the people watching. The fountain itself is quite impressive as well, the contrast of the figures with the unfinished stone really makes it pop. It really was incredibly packed though so I found a place to toss in a coin (legend has it this will bring you back to Rome) and headed onward to the Spanish steps. I\u2019ve got to say, I really don\u2019t see what the fuss is about the steps, they\u2019re nice and all but basically just a mass of people sitting on a stairway… It\u2019s also one of the new hotspots for gypsy pickpockets. Since I was exhausted and it was just before 9 with the A-line of the metro shutting down I hopped aboard and back to my hotel.<\/p>\n The next day was Vatican day since everything there would be shut down Sunday. I walked south from my hotel and got in the line that snaked round the Vatican wall but thankfully didn\u2019t look too crazy. It wasn\u2019t and within about 30 minutes I was inside the museum and my last new country for the trip. The museum was on and off great, certain parts were fantastic but far too packed with people all pushing towards the Sistine chapel, other parts seemed to be roped off just because the Saturday crowds were too large to risk people crowding through them. The entire Egyptian area was closed off to my disgust. Highlights were definitely the Etruscan section, by far the best collection of their artifacts I\u2019ve ever seen and really neat in showing the base for a lot of Roman art (most of what wasn\u2019t influenced by the Greeks was Etruscan instead essentially.) Because it took a slight detour off the main route it was also mercifully less crowded. Unfortunately the massive crowds combined with the markedly worse air conditioning that characterizes Italian museums meant that everyone was basically a giant puddle by the time we got to the Sistine chapel. The last approach to the chapel is an unending hallway of glitz and glamour and lets you know where the collection plate money has been going for the last two millennia. I\u2019m glossing over a lot of this but this post is already turning into a \u201cfirst I saw this, then that\u201d type thing and that\u2019s kind of boring. Suffice it to say I saw some lovely paintings and sculpture. The Sistine Chapel itself really is incredible and if I had one suggestion for friends visiting Rome it\u2019s to prepare for it before you go into the room. Read up on the orientation and structure of the ceiling to get the most out of it because even on a slow day I\u2019m sure it\u2019s full of people all staring upward and elbowing you in the spleen. The relentless calls of no photo, no video (why? If you don\u2019t use a flash?) and SHHHH, silencio get incredibly annoying as well. Personally I think a large hum of conversation about the ceiling is far preferable to someone shouting every 20 seconds for contemplation but they didn\u2019t ask me.<\/p>\n Unfortunately the shortcut from the Chapel to St. Peter\u2019s was closed that day, but I decided to go see what the line for the Basilica looked like regardless. Again it wasn\u2019t too bad (I think everyone had just gotten into the museum ahead of me since I did sleep in a bit) and I went to have a look. Every single guidebook mentions the dress code for the Vatican (covered shoulders and knees, pants for gentleman and at the very least a long skirt for women) yet there were still people being turned away at the checkpoint. I mean seriously, you couldn\u2019t have at least done a web search on where you were going? Imagine turning back at that point on summer days when you waited in line for 2.5 hours in the blazing hot 38 degree weather. The church itself is incredibly vast and ridiculous inside and truly seems to be a monument to the avarice of the papacy over the centuries. Little wonder that the funding of the place by papal indulgence was one of the causative factors of the Reformation. It must have represented everything that the reformers thought was wrong with the Roman church. It\u2019s truly ridiculous inside, gorgeous but so over the top as a place of worship that it makes the palaces of even the most deluded emperors and kings look drab by comparison. Walking back to my hotel for a shower I stopped randomly at a delicious looking gelataria and later found it listed in both guidebooks as a top pick for quality and massive portions.<\/p>\n My last day in Rome was a little harder to plan. It was unfortunately Sunday which meant a large number of the religious sites as well as many restaurants and stores would be closed. I decided to do a bit of a walking\/museum tour and started at the Piazza de Popolo before heading southwards. I ended up passing the Spanish steps and fountain of trevi again as well as the fashionable shopping area between before heading over closer to the train station. Thankfully the National Museum of Rome wasn\u2019t and I was able to check out a wonderful collection, mostly of sculptures that had once been scattered around smaller museums but were now consolidated here.<\/p>\n After the museum I visited a few smaller piazza, hit the Pantheon to see the light shining in it properly instead of the dusk of my first visit then headed south to see the sacred area with some of the oldest ruins in Rome. The south end of the area is now a cat sanctuary of all things so as you watch the ruins there will be at least 5 cats in view most of the time. After I\u2019d been past it the previous night I realized that behind the Vittorio Emmanuel II monument was the Michelangelo designed plaza of the Capitoline so I backtracked to see the reproduction of the Marcus Aurelius cavalry statue now housed in the museum. Sadly by this point I was fairly museum saturated and I knew I wouldn\u2019t get much out of it in the hour or so remaining til closing so I skipped this one and just enjoyed the view over the forum.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n