Skye and Reading
Kilmaluag & Reading
9 Kendram, Kilmaluag, Isle of Skye IV51 9UL
2 Whitby Drive, Reading, Berkehire RG1 5HW
An autumnal week in Rome
Calendar
Day 6 - 27 November 2015 Return to index page Day 2 – Monday 23 November 2015 Vatican (Day 1) Our first full day exploring Rome. Up, dressed, breakfasted and out by 09.00. A good start to the day - dry, not too warm. First stop was the Vatican, about 15 minutes on foot from the hotel. Our hotel is well placed for walking to most laces of interest.
Day 1 - 23 November 2015
Day 2 - 23 November 2015
Day 3 - 24 November 2015
Day 4 - 25 November 2015
Day 5 - 26 November 2015
How they get four people in the original Fait 500s is amazing!
Despite it being 'out of season' as we approached the Vatican the number of street hawkers and tour guides hassling us increased. A sign of the times, hawkers no longer try to sell us picture post cards of the Vatican but mobile phone selfie arms!
We reached the Vatican about 10.00 and it took us a while to work out how everthing worked; which queue was for which part of the complex. After a while we found the information office, got oursleves sorted and joined the queue for St Peter's. By then of course the queue was much longer than when we had first arrived! However, it moved quite quickly. What was slowing it up was the security checks on all persons and bags. A sign of the times.
Near the Vatican they have named a street after Angélica!
Phil outside St Peter's.
The Vatican
Photos and guide books do little justice to what it is like inside St Peter's. The size and amount of decoration is overwhellming. We walked around for about an hour. Afterwards we came out to find that the blue skies had disappeared and it was raining. The street hawkers were now selling pac-a-macs and umbrellas. Before leaving we made the trip up to the top of the dome. I can't remember how many steeps they said there were, but enough to feel knackered by the time one reached the top. The views out over Rome made it worthwhile.
The ceiling of St Peter's
Phil inside St Peter's
View of Rome looking towards the river from the top of St Peter's dome.
Back on solid ground we left the Vatican, walking towards the river along Via del Concliazone. Crossing over a bridge we headed towards Piazza Navona, stopping on the way for lunch in a small quiet backstreet cafe. We very much enjoyed wandering the narrow sidestreets around Piazza Navona. In the Piazza were the beutiful fountains. You realise how much time one could spend visiting churches and buildings. Round every corner there was another one and we were only scrtching the surface. We kept seeing things and places we knew nothing about and refering to the guide book.
Close to Piazza Navona is the Pantheon. By now the rain was steady. Fortunatly, we were semi prepared - dry on top but our feet were wet. The Pantheon was very interesting. Having spent the morning looking at religious buildings from the 1500s we were now looking at a building from a much earlier period. We look forward to more from the Roman period over the next few days. We felt the Patheon would have been heaving during the summer tourist season; it may have been wet for our visit, but it wasn't too crowded.
Afterwards, we wandered slowly back towards the river and our hotel, stopping to look in shop windows, relax over a beautiful hot chocolate (almost as good as one from Single Track but not quite). Back at the hotel we rested for a couple of hours before going out to a local cafe for an meal.
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Piazza Navona.