Here Comes The Sun
After some gorgeous high 20's days in Positano we sadly left and headed to Pompeii, where it was expected to be mid 30's. Pompeii had a population of about 20,000 at the time of the eruption and the number of buildings that have been uncovered is quite phenomenal. We spent about 5 1/2 hours walking around finding shade whenever we could but also taking in the sights. Some of the frescoes that have been uncovered are still in very good condition and of course there are quite a few human and animal bodies that have been preserved in the ash. It is surprising how much detail they know about daily life in Pompeii before the eruption and we were able to view bakeries, large expensive homes, communal baths and a brothel.. It was all very interesting, especially with Vesuvius easily visible in the background. The heat was getting to us by the end, but as with many Italian cities, there were water fountains in the street for us to refill our water bottles.
Back in the car at around 3:00pm we decided to take the tollway again due to the time. 2 hours and 11 euros later we arrived in Rome and found our apartment, which is bigger than our Paris apartment and about 400 metres from a Metro station. Out for tea to a funky local restaurant then back in time to catch the last half of the Grand Prix and see Ricciardo record his first win. (An Aussie for those who don't follow Formula 1)
Our first day in Rome was also bloody hot, getting to 35 degrees. We again made very good use of the regular water fountains, going through 9 water bottles between us for the day - plus a coke. But we had a very good day, catching a train to Circus Maximus before starting our daily walk. Circus Maximus was a bit disappointing as there was very little remaining. We passed several small churches and could see ruins to our right, but were not sure what they actually were. We went into a beautiful building that is now the National Immigration Museum, for two reasons. One it was free and two because they had a roof top terrace that gave reasonable views of the area. We could see several landmark buildings from here including The Colosseum and various cathedrals and columns.
We queued for a short time in the heat for the Roman Forum - and realised that the ruins we had seen earlier were all part of it. The Roman Forum was the centre of Roman life with buildings able to be traced back to 800 BC, though not surprisingly none of these remain. What does remain ranges from around 5 BC to the first and second century AD. The area set aside for the Roman Forum and associated Palentine Hill would easily be the equivalent of the Melbourne CBD. I find it quite amazing how much space is kept for all the historical artefacts in Rome, Naples (Pompeii) and other European cities.
Some ruins from 2 BC
Across the road from the Roman Forum was the Colosseum and it was great to actually see it for real. It is quite huge and was capable of seating 75,000. We saw models of how Gladiators, slaves and animals were kept below arena level and could be brought up through different trap doors. Apparently a typical day at the Coliseum consisted of slaves versus wild animals (bears, lions, boars), followed by jugglers and magicians, executions during the luncheon break, more jugglers etc, then the Gladiators fighting - often to the death depending whether the Emperor and spectators enjoyed the 'show'. Quite a violent day obviously but they put sand down to soak up the blood. The floor itself is missing these days but that allows you to see the narrow corridors of the basement area.
Next stop was the Trevi Fountain, but unfortunately is was fenced off for repair and had no water in it. That didn't stop people throwing coins in, supposedly cementing a future return to Rome.
Our final destination was The Pantheon, another Basilica but with beautiful columns out the front. The Pantheon has no windows but gets all its light from a 9 metre circular skylight. Very impressive building.
By now we were fairly exhausted so caught a bus to a train station, then the train home. Did some grocery shopping and enjoyed a home cooked meal back in the apartment.
Back in the car at around 3:00pm we decided to take the tollway again due to the time. 2 hours and 11 euros later we arrived in Rome and found our apartment, which is bigger than our Paris apartment and about 400 metres from a Metro station. Out for tea to a funky local restaurant then back in time to catch the last half of the Grand Prix and see Ricciardo record his first win. (An Aussie for those who don't follow Formula 1)
Our first day in Rome was also bloody hot, getting to 35 degrees. We again made very good use of the regular water fountains, going through 9 water bottles between us for the day - plus a coke. But we had a very good day, catching a train to Circus Maximus before starting our daily walk. Circus Maximus was a bit disappointing as there was very little remaining. We passed several small churches and could see ruins to our right, but were not sure what they actually were. We went into a beautiful building that is now the National Immigration Museum, for two reasons. One it was free and two because they had a roof top terrace that gave reasonable views of the area. We could see several landmark buildings from here including The Colosseum and various cathedrals and columns.
We queued for a short time in the heat for the Roman Forum - and realised that the ruins we had seen earlier were all part of it. The Roman Forum was the centre of Roman life with buildings able to be traced back to 800 BC, though not surprisingly none of these remain. What does remain ranges from around 5 BC to the first and second century AD. The area set aside for the Roman Forum and associated Palentine Hill would easily be the equivalent of the Melbourne CBD. I find it quite amazing how much space is kept for all the historical artefacts in Rome, Naples (Pompeii) and other European cities.
Some ruins from 2 BC
Across the road from the Roman Forum was the Colosseum and it was great to actually see it for real. It is quite huge and was capable of seating 75,000. We saw models of how Gladiators, slaves and animals were kept below arena level and could be brought up through different trap doors. Apparently a typical day at the Coliseum consisted of slaves versus wild animals (bears, lions, boars), followed by jugglers and magicians, executions during the luncheon break, more jugglers etc, then the Gladiators fighting - often to the death depending whether the Emperor and spectators enjoyed the 'show'. Quite a violent day obviously but they put sand down to soak up the blood. The floor itself is missing these days but that allows you to see the narrow corridors of the basement area.
Next stop was the Trevi Fountain, but unfortunately is was fenced off for repair and had no water in it. That didn't stop people throwing coins in, supposedly cementing a future return to Rome.
Our final destination was The Pantheon, another Basilica but with beautiful columns out the front. The Pantheon has no windows but gets all its light from a 9 metre circular skylight. Very impressive building.
By now we were fairly exhausted so caught a bus to a train station, then the train home. Did some grocery shopping and enjoyed a home cooked meal back in the apartment.
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