So after another 6 hours on the plane we arrived in Rome about 1.15pm local time for the dawn of the age of the “Anderson Visit – AV” and had our first experience of Italian “Organisation”.
Adrienne had read in her research that Italians don’t queue. And the immigration “queue” was a prime example. Most places in the world tend to use barricades where they expect long queues so they can funnel people in orderly lines creating channels 2 or 3 people wide to the place they need to get to.
Well an Italian effort at this is shaped like a V – everyone just jams into the space available at one end of the immigration hall and pushes forward in diminishing numbers as the width of the barricade gets smaller and smaller toward the single doors in front of only 3 gates dealing with “non-Euro” passports. Of course most of the time the 2 people at the “Euro only” gates sat and twiddled their thumbs.
Anyway we finally got through with the passport officer giving a cursory glance at our passports while chatting to the officer in the next booth. Then it was on to the luggage carousel. We found 1 bag after a bit of a wait but the other seemed to be missing. Luckily Adrienne overheard someone talking about the luggage handlers already taking a lot of luggage off the carousel and sure enough we found the other bag amongst another whole lot well to the side of the carousel itself.
With bags in hand it was off to immigration which is a bit like “self-assessment” it seems. The sign that says “Nothing to Declare this way” just leads you straight out of the terminal !
We had organised with the hotel to pick us up so we had to find our driver and after walking along a line of people holding up signs, we found our driver – aptly named Luigi !
We had a pretty quick trip into Rome Central and I have already picked up the general driving guidelines – you either drive fast or slow – there didn’t seem much in between. And at road merging it seems to be every man for himself as they jockey for position and the way they want to go !
Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when we finally arrived at this place ………
But luckily it looks like this now !
Temple of Hadrian
It is Albergo Cesari which has been here since 1787 – in various forms of course.
We got a few things organised then headed off on our first walking tour which Adrienne had prepared. Today our walk was around the central historical district of Rome – sometimes referred to as Renaissance Rome.
First stop, nearly outside the front door of our hotel, was the Temple of Hadrian – built in 145AD.
As you can see there are lots of people about !
Next stop down a few short alley ways we came to the Pantheon.
The Pantheon
I must say that I think I will have to persuade Adrienne to get a little flag of some sort so we can blend in with all the other tour groups wandering around following the leader. All the leaders have gone to some imagination to help distinguish their group from all the others !
We mingled with the crowds and joined the throng of others inside to admire the grand ceiling of the dome with the light streaming through the top.
Basilica di Santa Minerva Sopra Minerva
There were so many sights on our walk I just don’t have the time to go through so I’ll just have to pick out a few.
Next was the Basilica di Santa Minerva Sopra Minerva which is the only Gothic Church in Rome. The ceiling is painted a brilliant blue – I don’t think it really stood out as bright in the dark inside but the photo came out quite well.
Yes Liam, an old church already !
Largo Argentina (and cat sanctuary)
Largo Argentina is a relatively new discovery and within the excavation are the remains of 4 Republican Roman temples and Pompey’s Theatre. The temples were built between the 4th and 1st century BC.
It also houses a cat sanctuary and there are cats wandering around all over the excavation. It appears that there has been a sterilization program in place to cull the numbers and there are warning signs not to feed them – apparently they were getting too much “road kill” from the traffic which surrounds the square as the cats would try to follow anyone who fed them ! This one seemed all too oblivious to anything going on around it !
Piazza Navona
A few blocks away is Piazza Navona. It is the site of the ancient Stadium of Domatian and in the middle is the famous “Fountain of the Four Rivers” which was built in 1651 by Bernini.
Anyone who has watched the movie “Angels & Demons” (from the Dan Brown books) will know it as the fountain that Tom Hanks saves the 4th priest who was weighed down with chains by the Illuminati to try to murder him. Again this square was packed with people and street performers and peddlers – many artists trying to ply their wares and some were very good ! Of course the square is surrounded by restaurants with tables on the street front full of people …. just watching all the other people.
Chiesa di Sant Ignazio
Another beautiful church was the Chiesa di Sant Ignazio. It is a Baroque style church built in the mid 1600s. A Jesuit brother painted the fresco that adorns the ceiling and it is painted in such a way that although it is a flat ceiling, looking at it you would swear the roof was full of arches and domes. There are a couple of spots on the floor where you stand to see the illusion and realise that its just a flat roof.
We wandered a few more back alley ways to find a few spots Adrienne had read about as good eating spots so we could keep them in mind for later in our stay. Then last stop before heading back to the hotel was the Square dedicated to Russell Crowe – sorry the “Gladiator” – Marcus Aurellius. Here there is a large marble column which is said to date back to 193BS and the column depicts his various adventures and successes over his reign.
Back at the hotel at about 5.30 we were still in reasonable shape despite the lack of sleep and we got a few more things organised before heading out to a nearby restaurant – very simple but tasty for our first night – bruschetta followed by lovely fresh pizza and washed down with a little bianco. We sat and watched the crowds go by – and the cafes side by side battling each other for the passing dinner trade – before heading back to the hotel. We started our blogs but the jetlag eventually hit us like a brick and we flacked out very quickly around 9.30pm.
I have just finished this after a lovely rooftop breakfast at our hotel – more about that later – and we will soon be off for another day.