Ciao a tutti!
After our seemingly endless second leg from Singapore to Rome, we
were all relieved to arrive safely. Passing through Italian Immigration
smoothly, we soon had our bags collected and were on the Airport Express into
the centre of Rome. Some girls were heard to say that they were used to their
parents taking care of moving their luggage for them, so it's just as well that
they are now learning to be independent.
After checking into our hotel, our first stop as we set off to
explore some of the sights in the beautiful sunshine was back to the train
station to pick up a quick snack. The girls had their first experience of
negotiating to get something by going first to the cashier and ordering, and
then moving along the counter to collect their food and drinks. By this stage I
really needed a coffee, and Nancy needed to 'take the edge off' her hunger by
rediscovering ciambelle.
As we arrived on Palm Sunday, our next stop was to check out
the services happening in Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal
cathedrals of Rome. The grandeur of the gold roof, Baroque statues and
glittering mosaics, all mingling with the scent of incense was rather
impressive. Instead of palms though, the Italians bring in olive branches as
the symbol of the day. The midday mass began with three cardinals, accompanied
by singing. It was very traditional with many of the parts sung rather than
said, and priests still taking confessions and dispensing blessings in the
booths around the edge of the church.
Emerging blinking back into the sunshine and unexpected warmth, we
then wound our way to the Trinità dei Monti and down the Spanish Steps. Along
with many others, we meandered down the fashion street of the via Condotti –
window shopping only of course! – and on to the Trevi Fountain. Sadly it’s
under restoration at the moment so the water was drained and we were restricted
to throwing our coins in from a temporary bridge. On the plus side, we were
able to get much closer to the actual fountain because of the works going on.
Blood sugar levels were then restored with our first taste of Italian gelati.
Continuing our loop, we braved the traffic of Piazza Venezia and
checked out both the Vittoriano (the monument to Vittorio Emmanuele II, the
last king of Italy) and the balcony from which Mussolini addressed the crowds
in his propaganda speeches about recapturing the glory of the Roman Empire
before WWII.
At this point, Jasmyn turned around and made the exciting
discovery that the Roman Forum stretched behind them, culminating in the
Colosseum at the end. This resulted in a number of excited squeals, a sudden
rediscovery of energy, and a plethora of photos being snapped.
Being on the go by now for rather a long time, we decided that was
quite enough. Restorative showers and naps are calling, before an early dinner
and an early night before we set off to Naples in the morning to explore the
amazing sights of Pompeii.
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