We're in Rome!

This post is a bit dated now as I am so far behind with blogging. Nearly two weeks ago we went to Rome for a long week-end. We went to Rome on our honeymoon and had thrown some coins into the Trevi Fountain and knew that we were destined to return some day - 15 years later we are back in Rome!

We got up extra early to fly by Easyjet - up at 3.45 a.m. to be at the airport and ready to fly a few hours later. The good thing about flying out early though is that it does give you an extra day away.

We were picked up at the airport by taxi and driven to our hotel. We immediately unpacked and headed for the Spanish Steps. The area at the bottom of the 138 steps was swamped with tourists and street sellers doing their utmost to make every male buy a red rose for their girlfriend / wife at an exhorbitant price. There weren't many takers ... does that mean that romance is dead or that people just wouldn't want to carry a rose with them around Rome on a very hot day!

At the bottom of the steps you could have a ride around town - this must have been expensive as there didn't seem to be many takers. I felt sorry for the horses standing around in the heat.We had agreed in advance that we would walk a lot during this holiday as by ambling along at a leisurely pace you generally spot things that you wouldn't otherwise see if you were in a taxi or, in a horse drawn carriage and even if you did, you just couldn't ask the driver to stop every five minutes just because you've seen something of interest!

At the bottom of the Spanish Steps there was a wonderful statue. There are so many in Rome!

Another photo from the same statue as above.

By now it was nearly lunch-time. Dotted around Rome are many clocks which are used by local restaurants etc to advertise.

We headed for the Trevi Fountain where Anita Ekberg bathed in "La Dolce Vita" and where in "Three Coins in a Fountain" we learnt to throw coins backwards over our shoulder to ensure a return visit to Rome.

If the Spanish Steps area was deep with tourists this place was just simply heaving. It made taking photos very difficult - even holding a camera was tricky as people elbowed past to get their photo taken first. Most had a small point and click camera and not a heavy SLR like me so I was shoved out of the way on more than one occasion! There were also many street sellers - this time selling a squishy ball that turned into a flat splodge when it was thrown on the ground - a bit pointless if you ask me but, the sellers seemed to be doing a roaring trade with youngsters!

A view of the Trevi Fountain from the steps of a nearby Church. A shame that you can't see the water in this photo but just getting a photo without somebody's head appearing in the lens at the last minute proved virtually impossible which is why I headed for the Church's steps.

We ate some slices of take-away pizza for lunch at the Trevi Fountain and then went into the nearby Church for some respite from the crowds!

Many of the Churches in Rome are highly decorative with some tremendous works of art.

I liked the simplicity of the these artworks which were near to the main altar.

After a look around the Church we made off towards another landmark - Il Vittoriano - which looks a bit like a "Wedding Cake" - we rode the lift to the top for some panoramic views - I had to be gently persuaded to go into the glass lift as I don't really do heights. I made a sign of the cross as the lift was starting its upward climb which had a few tourists smiling!

More on Il Vittoriano tomorrow - the views from the top were spectacular.

I hope that you have had a Happy Easter. We have just come back from London where we went on a street art tour around Shoreditch and Brick Lane and saw works by Banksy, C215, Lister and many others. More on that in a later post. We also went to see "War Horse" at the New London Theatre, Drury Lane. It was absolutely fantastic - a five minute standing ovation at the end said it all!

Until next time.

June.