We visited the restaurant and made full use of our money off vouchers and free welcome drink that we'd been given at reception. We had sparkling wine and pork with potatoes for 9€ each. It was delicious and probably the closest thing that resembles a meal at home that we've had in a long time. When we got back an Italian family had pitched a tent next to us, they had a cute puppy named Jago. He was five months old and as keen to play as Oscar. There weren't too many people around so we let them off their leads to have a play. They ran around like a pair of lunatics, in and out of pitches and under camper vans, trying to get into the odd tent to look for food as they went. They also stopped to cock their legs on one tent, luckily there wasn't anyone around to see. We shared a couple of bottles of wine and played cards and got an early night ready for Rome the following day.
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| Oscar & Jago |
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| Waiting for the shuttle bus |
The campsite offered a free shuttle bus service to Prima Porta train station. We haven't quite mastered the early starts yet so we managed to get on the 11 o'clock bus and were overwhelmed by French students, there must have been about 30 of them. The bus was so crowded, before we'd even set off Kayleigh had been hit in the head with a backpack whilst an unapologetic young lad stamped on her foot. We paid 3€ each for the train which took about 40 minutes to reach Flaminio station. Once off the train we started our journey at Piazza Del Popolo, situated at the head of a triangle of roads known as The Trident. The Piazza took about 3 centuries to be constructed due to the alternation of various Popes. Piazza Del Popolo is mainly know as a pedestrian area but is frequented as a popular concert and event venue. We unsuccessfully traipsed around in search of a tourist information point before admitting defeat and buying an overpriced map from a newsstand. With so much to see and just one day, we sensibly decided to sit down and plan our route. Over a few Corona's of course!!
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| Planning our sightseeing route |
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| Being tourists at the Colloseum |
First stop the Colloseum. En route we saw the Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Vittoriano Piazza Veneziawe. We reached the Colloseum, it's real name, Flavian Amphitheatre. We read that construction was started by Vespian in 72AD and was finished by his son Titus 8 years later. Jewish prisoners were employed in its construction and it finished up able to hold 50,000 spectators. We stood for what felt like forever in the blistering heat like a pair of gawping idiots, taking way too many photos before heading to the Roman Forum and The Palatine. The most celebrated place in Ancient Rome, although we were keen to see the remains of the ancient temples, the queues were astronomical and the mid day sun was unbearable.
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| The Roman Forum |
Keen to stay on the move and out of the sun we headed to the Vatican City. We crossed the Ponte Palatino over the river Tevere and walked right the way along the riverside to Vatican City. We walked through St. Peter's Square, apparently the most imposing in Rome, 240 meters wide and 340 long and headed for The Vatican. The square was absolutely crawling, groups frantically chasing their tour guides and Chinese and American tourists making full use of their selfie sticks. Jac was particularly impressed by the 140 statues of Saints that adorn the colonnade.
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| Vatican City |
We learnt that The Vatican has been home to the Pope(s) for six centuries, 266 have sat on the throne of St Peter in an uninterrupted line and the Vatican City is an independent state ruled by the Supreme Pontiff (the Pope). It's all interesting stuff!
Next we headed to St. Angel Castle or Castel Sant' Angelo. A beautiful red brick, fortress type building built by Emporor Adrianas. Originally built as an imperial tomb which also held famous prisoners and today a museum of art and military history. Outside the castle the road was lined on both sides with chaotic souvenir stalls selling tacky Pope themed memorabilia and overpriced food trailers selling everything from beer and Pringles to pizza. Still, in true tourist form, we paid the crazy prices and bought some souvenirs.
It was a boiling hot day and we must have walked miles. By evening the heat wasn't getting any less intense so we decided to head back towards the train station, we crossed back to the other side of the river via the Ponte Margherita and decided it was time for a sit down and a drink. Oscar had been taking advantage of many of the 2000 drinking fountains that Rome possess to stay refreshed during the day so when we reached a restaurant he happily collapsed under a chair for a nap. Generally when visiting a bar or restaurant in Italy between 6-9pm you are given free snacks, taking full advantage we ordered two large beers and enjoyed free olives and crisps and watched the sunset.
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| Watching the sunset |
As we were walking back across the square to head to the station a Michael Jackson tribute started dancing, within the first 30 seconds of Thriller the square was packed with people applauding and putting money into a hat. Not wanting to be outdone, a little Chinese baby waddled up behind him and started dancing too! The crowd was cheering a taking pictures and the baby was loving all the attention. We arrived back at the campsite around 10pm and all three of us were out like a light.
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