Travel Journal

Rome (Jul 2007)

Carpe diem! With Adam and Mark on school trips, Laura and I headed for Rome. Only two nights away, but with an early departure and late return, we had three long days in this most extraordinary city. Without the bambini we walked miles, looked round churches, museums and piazzas, and walked some more. Fantastic!

From the Spanish Steps to the Trevi Fountain

Our hotel, the Valadier, was just below Piazza del Popolo and a short walk from Piazza di Spagna.

We spent our first day discovering the heart of Rome - the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon - churches on every corner, fountains in every square, restaurants on every pavement and scaffolding on every monument (well, almost)! From the river Tiber we continued our meandering tour through the city, taking in the sites - Castel Sant'Angelo, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Farnese, Palazzo Spada and the Trevi Fountain.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we were too exhausted to venture any further than the adjoining restaurant for our evening meal.

The Roman Forum and the Colosseum

Day two was reserved for the ancient city. We took a taxi to the Piazza Venezia (overshadowed by the immense Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II), and made our way to the Roman Forum via Piazza del Campidoglio. The Forum was incredible - it'll be even better once it's finished! ;-)

The Palatino rises above the Forum to the south. More remarkable 2000 year-old survivors and a bit of peace and quiet. Really good tip: pay the entry fee for the Palatino because the ticket not only gets you into the Colosseum, but allows you to jump the queue! And as for the Colosseum ... awesome!

San Clemente, a quarter of a mile from the Colosseum, is an incredible opportunity to walk through history ... working your way down from the 12th-century church through a 5th-century church to a 2nd-century Mithraic temple. Another three quarters of a mile takes you to San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral church of Rome - very impressive.

We headed back to the Campo de' Fiori for a meal and retraced our steps back to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo. Along the way we stumbled upon an open-air concert. Unfortunately we were only in time for the final encore.

The Vatican Museums and St Peter's Basilica

Day three was for Vatican City. The queue for the Vatican Museums must have been a mile long - no exageration! Amazingly, it took less than an hour to get to the entrance. Some of the rooms, including the Sistine Chapel, were a bit too crowded for comfort, but what an experience!

Last stop on our whistle-stop tour was St Peter's Basilica and the Piazza. More queueing, firstly to get into the basilica and then to climb to the top of the cupola, but so very worth the wait - the views from the top (both inside and out) are just spectacular.