Hotel Parco Tirano
Another early wake up and breakfast so we could be on the road by 7:30am to visit the Vatican and St Peter's Basicila (optional). When we arrived, people were already lining up to get in. Again, as a tour group and prebooked, we went to our special line and were inside within 15 minutes. Our local guide was Francesco.
First part was the vatican Gardens. Although there were around 100 people in there, it was amazingly peaceful. There are trees and plants from all over the world. As per other gardens, it is very formally laid out. There are 'notice'boards with pictures and details about the Sistine Chapel and other areas, that the guides can use to explain the art, as you are not allowed to chatter in the chapel itself and no photos at all are allowed.
Despite the legends and a large touch of Hollywood, Michaelangelo did not paint the Chapel laying on his back; he did it standing up. He had scaffolding made to reach the ceiling and the records of this exist. Originally he didn't even want to paint it but the influence of a pope is great. When it was eventually shown to the Pope and cardinals, one of them was incensed that the people were naked. Never upset an artist - in the bottom right hand corner of Hell, there is a man depicted as the devil with a snake around him - it is a portrait of that cardinal. The face of god is the Pope - way to score brownie points with the big guy, Michael!
We went into the Vatican Museum galleries. Every wall and ceiling is decorated. Some of them are done in fresco that you would swear is carving but it just painted. There was a long gallery full of ancient statues; another of tapestries that were hundreds of years old; and one of maps - to scale paintings of Italy that must have measured 4 metres square.
Then the big moment - the Chapel. It was packed even at that hour. We just stood there mouths agape. You hear all the stories and don't quite believe them but the impact is real. The colours are vibrant and you are just astonished that one man did all this! It is also a lot bigger than I imagined it would be.
Then we made our way to St Peter's Basilica. My reaction was (silently) Holy Shit! The place is on a massive scale! The dome soars upwards from an enormous building underneath. Interesting fact - the diameter of the dome is the same as the length of the Sistine Chapel so the dome would fit over the chapel. Thanks Francesco! The large bridge looking thing in the centre is solid brass. Once again, intricate carvings, gilding and paintings everywhere.
We walked out of the church into St Peter's square. This is enormous! It was full of chairs as there had been a ceremony canonising someone or another the previous day. There was a long long long line of people waiting, mostly in the sun, to get inside. Once again, I was glad I was on a prebooked tour. After some free time to grab a drink or souvenirs, we were off again to the bus to pick up those who hadn't been with us.
Our next tour (included) was the Colosseum. Like most of the others, I didn't realise that it wasn't just an empty shell. We passed through the gates ( once again, bypassing a long line) and inside. Nearly all the original marble covering is gone, recycled into other buildings. But the tiers for the spectators are there - the most important being at the bottom close to the action with the general public up the top. Parts still have a semblence of a roof so you can imagine what it looked like. The arena itself is the eye opener. You can see all the passages and rooms that held the gladiators and the animals. This used to be covered with a wooden floor and then with sand (to soak up the blood). Franceso said that the Russell Crowe movie was a pretty good interpretation of how it was. Some of the gladiators were slaves, others were free born, fighting for the money and/or glory.
After that
there was a visit just across the way to the ruins of the Roman Forum. By that time, my feet were all walked out and I opted not to do it. Some of us sat in the shade alternately being harassed by the pedlars or watching as they scattered when the polizi arrived. Fascinating. Then it was back to the hotel for a quick shower to get ready for the dinner out. I took advantage of the shower to stomp some clothes into cleaniness and hung them on the balcony.
Our evening's optional dinner and entertainment was a trip to the Pope's summer residence, Castelli Gandolfi and a dinner at Frascati. Originally I hadn't been going to take this, but I was glad I did. The village is quite cute, high up in the mountains. The view of the lake is just beautiful; I could wake up to that every morning; the air crisp and clear. You can understand why he goes there all summer and if he is ill. We didn't actually see any more than the outside of the residence but I liked the village.
Then off again to Frascati for dinner - another village. It was in a local deli/food place where locals were coming in to buy goods or dinners to take away. All the salads, olive oil, cheese, meats, wine are made by owner. The food was wonderful - antipasto of olives, cheese, proscuitto and a slice of the best cold cooked porked I have ever tasted; followed by penne pasta with a tomato sauce and a creamy mushroom sauce; then it was salad of tomatoes and lettuce with oil dressing and a roast slice of veal with potatoes cooked in rosemary and olive oil; then they brought out the pizzas! It was the size of a large one in Australia - the first with vegetables and the second a margarita. Our table of 7 could only eat half the first one and had to refuse the second. All this was accompanied by bread and foccacia which is very thin and flavoured with herbs, and a nice white wine. Dessert was some cinnamon biscuits and then espresso with a little milk.
Our entertainment was, I think, the owner playing accordian and a girl who was obviously classically trained, singing. Her name was Sabrina Testa; some of the crew bought her CD. Lovely voice for the songs.
We rolled back to the bus and Patricia put on a Dean Martin CD to listen to while we drove back through the Italian countyside. Perfecto!
By the time I got back and logged on, my internet had only minutes to go. Should have gone the cheaper option! The clothes had all dried and we had to pack our bags and carryons for Greece.
Another early wake up and breakfast so we could be on the road by 7:30am to visit the Vatican and St Peter's Basicila (optional). When we arrived, people were already lining up to get in. Again, as a tour group and prebooked, we went to our special line and were inside within 15 minutes. Our local guide was Francesco.
First part was the vatican Gardens. Although there were around 100 people in there, it was amazingly peaceful. There are trees and plants from all over the world. As per other gardens, it is very formally laid out. There are 'notice'boards with pictures and details about the Sistine Chapel and other areas, that the guides can use to explain the art, as you are not allowed to chatter in the chapel itself and no photos at all are allowed.
Despite the legends and a large touch of Hollywood, Michaelangelo did not paint the Chapel laying on his back; he did it standing up. He had scaffolding made to reach the ceiling and the records of this exist. Originally he didn't even want to paint it but the influence of a pope is great. When it was eventually shown to the Pope and cardinals, one of them was incensed that the people were naked. Never upset an artist - in the bottom right hand corner of Hell, there is a man depicted as the devil with a snake around him - it is a portrait of that cardinal. The face of god is the Pope - way to score brownie points with the big guy, Michael!
We went into the Vatican Museum galleries. Every wall and ceiling is decorated. Some of them are done in fresco that you would swear is carving but it just painted. There was a long gallery full of ancient statues; another of tapestries that were hundreds of years old; and one of maps - to scale paintings of Italy that must have measured 4 metres square.
Then the big moment - the Chapel. It was packed even at that hour. We just stood there mouths agape. You hear all the stories and don't quite believe them but the impact is real. The colours are vibrant and you are just astonished that one man did all this! It is also a lot bigger than I imagined it would be.
Then we made our way to St Peter's Basilica. My reaction was (silently) Holy Shit! The place is on a massive scale! The dome soars upwards from an enormous building underneath. Interesting fact - the diameter of the dome is the same as the length of the Sistine Chapel so the dome would fit over the chapel. Thanks Francesco! The large bridge looking thing in the centre is solid brass. Once again, intricate carvings, gilding and paintings everywhere.
We walked out of the church into St Peter's square. This is enormous! It was full of chairs as there had been a ceremony canonising someone or another the previous day. There was a long long long line of people waiting, mostly in the sun, to get inside. Once again, I was glad I was on a prebooked tour. After some free time to grab a drink or souvenirs, we were off again to the bus to pick up those who hadn't been with us.
Our next tour (included) was the Colosseum. Like most of the others, I didn't realise that it wasn't just an empty shell. We passed through the gates ( once again, bypassing a long line) and inside. Nearly all the original marble covering is gone, recycled into other buildings. But the tiers for the spectators are there - the most important being at the bottom close to the action with the general public up the top. Parts still have a semblence of a roof so you can imagine what it looked like. The arena itself is the eye opener. You can see all the passages and rooms that held the gladiators and the animals. This used to be covered with a wooden floor and then with sand (to soak up the blood). Franceso said that the Russell Crowe movie was a pretty good interpretation of how it was. Some of the gladiators were slaves, others were free born, fighting for the money and/or glory.
After that
there was a visit just across the way to the ruins of the Roman Forum. By that time, my feet were all walked out and I opted not to do it. Some of us sat in the shade alternately being harassed by the pedlars or watching as they scattered when the polizi arrived. Fascinating. Then it was back to the hotel for a quick shower to get ready for the dinner out. I took advantage of the shower to stomp some clothes into cleaniness and hung them on the balcony.
Our evening's optional dinner and entertainment was a trip to the Pope's summer residence, Castelli Gandolfi and a dinner at Frascati. Originally I hadn't been going to take this, but I was glad I did. The village is quite cute, high up in the mountains. The view of the lake is just beautiful; I could wake up to that every morning; the air crisp and clear. You can understand why he goes there all summer and if he is ill. We didn't actually see any more than the outside of the residence but I liked the village.
Then off again to Frascati for dinner - another village. It was in a local deli/food place where locals were coming in to buy goods or dinners to take away. All the salads, olive oil, cheese, meats, wine are made by owner. The food was wonderful - antipasto of olives, cheese, proscuitto and a slice of the best cold cooked porked I have ever tasted; followed by penne pasta with a tomato sauce and a creamy mushroom sauce; then it was salad of tomatoes and lettuce with oil dressing and a roast slice of veal with potatoes cooked in rosemary and olive oil; then they brought out the pizzas! It was the size of a large one in Australia - the first with vegetables and the second a margarita. Our table of 7 could only eat half the first one and had to refuse the second. All this was accompanied by bread and foccacia which is very thin and flavoured with herbs, and a nice white wine. Dessert was some cinnamon biscuits and then espresso with a little milk.
Our entertainment was, I think, the owner playing accordian and a girl who was obviously classically trained, singing. Her name was Sabrina Testa; some of the crew bought her CD. Lovely voice for the songs.
We rolled back to the bus and Patricia put on a Dean Martin CD to listen to while we drove back through the Italian countyside. Perfecto!
By the time I got back and logged on, my internet had only minutes to go. Should have gone the cheaper option! The clothes had all dried and we had to pack our bags and carryons for Greece.
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