Hurray! We landed in Rome and right away we were off. The weather was fantastic and we arrived at the main bus and train terminal around noon. Our hostel was only a short walk away and located in a building that we would later come to know as ‘The standard hostel building’; mainly a dark and worn out building but go 2 or more stories above the street and it’s a cosy world of bunk beds in shared dorms and a tiny kitchen that everyone will attempt and succeed to fit into during free pasta night. After setting down our bags and getting directions from the front desk, we set out into the big, wide and sunny world of Rome. And somehow almost immediately Andrew was able t capture a man on a vespa going by. Eddie Izzard entered into our heads and it became a running joke for us – as always. After about twenty minutes of walking we ended up in a front of a very large, white building with statues at every crest. We later found out this was the monument for the unknown soldier and is also one of the most hated sights for the locals as they consider it an eyesore. There was also a giant column and ruins that looked as there had been many pillars. It was around this point that I spotted the Coliseum off in the distance. Andrew however did not spot it as he was still checking out the buildings around us. When he wanted to stop to check the map I moved him slightly to the right – pointing his head in the direction of the Coliseum – and asked him if we really needed to do that. The next couple of seconds were he thought about it, spotted the Coliseum and then recognized it for what it was was beautiful. I wished I had filmed it on camera. We bought our tickets and made our way in, hassled by offers of tour guides all the way. It looks exactly like the pictures and footage I have seen of it on t.v except smaller on the inside than you would think.. It is a pity that all the marble and statues that would have once decorated it have been stripped off or fallen and destroyed through the centuries. There were plenty of people walking around but it wasn’t an uncomfortable number as May is still not high season. As we walked around and paused to take pictures we were approached by a middle aged couple to take their picture and get ours taken in return. When I handed over the camera to the woman and posed with Andrew she lifted it up and very elfishly called out ‘Say Sex!” They were Canadians from British Columbia with a tour and they had spunk. I like people with spunk. 
After a few hours of wandering around the Coliseum we moved onto the joint sight of the Palatine, which is right across from the Coliseum. I don’t know what it means, but what it is is a hill on which once rested the most wealthy addresses in all of Rome. Down the slope within the same area was the Roman Forum or as we actors refer to it: Where Julius Caesar uttered “Et Tu Brute?” and someone else said “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears!” By this point we had spent almost six hours looking at ruins, so you could say we were all ruined out.
The following day we woke up bright and early (and a bit bleary eyed) to go to the Vatican. We took the Metro which was much wider and more roomy than the tube in London, and arrived only a 10 minute walk away from Vatican City at around 8:30 a.m. The beauty of arriving so early meant that there were no crowds and some of the cleaners were still at work. La Pieta was still being wiped down by one of the few people who are permitted behind her glass protection and there was a zamboni cleaning all the marble floors in preparation for the thousands of people who would soon be walking all over them. Immediately we made our way to the summit of St. Peters Dome – a massive undertaking for someone (me) who is not the most fond of heights. We took the savings of 2 euros and climbed the stairs rather than taking the lift. At the first opening we were still within the dome and immediately over the canopy of the high alter. Directly below our feet were the six feet tall letters that quoted “You are Peter…” and around us were the amazing mosaics that can be seen from the ground but from where we were standing were HUGE. From there we climbed even higher and onto a slant to get to the peak where we were greeted with a view of Rome in the morning. It’s blue and dusty. And white and brown. And loud and ancient. You have to see it for yourself. After a very careful descent we took a stroll through the Basilica and then made our way to a lunch of Pizza and pasta. After lunch it was off to the Vatican museums. (Note: If the Basilica is free then they really make up their weight in this fare – it is 14 euros each to enter the museums and there is no special price if all you want to see is the Sistine Chapel – it’s at the end of the tour and no sooner.) Although the tour takes you through artwork of all the Italian masters, Botticelli, Da Vinci, the Roman statues that stood all across Rome, amazing frescoes and mosaics, everyone is really just there to see the Chapel. There is no point trying to take a picture of it – for one there are the guards stationed everywhere constantly repeating ‘No Pictures’ and secondly it is so ill lit to preserve the paint that no camera, no matter how expensive would be able to do it justice. As per before, the pictures in your art books are probably the clearest you will see. With that done we headed through the streets of Rome to stop at the Piazza Navona (Gelato!), the Pantheon (big but boring) and the Trevi Fountain (stunning, just stunning.) All that was left to do was topple into bed and sleep. Don’t ask me how many stairs I had climbed in those first 2 days – I had stopped counting when I reached one thousand.
After a few hours of wandering around the Coliseum we moved onto the joint sight of the Palatine, which is right across from the Coliseum. I don’t know what it means, but what it is is a hill on which once rested the most wealthy addresses in all of Rome. Down the slope within the same area was the Roman Forum or as we actors refer to it: Where Julius Caesar uttered “Et Tu Brute?” and someone else said “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears!” By this point we had spent almost six hours looking at ruins, so you could say we were all ruined out.The following day we woke up bright and early (and a bit bleary eyed) to go to the Vatican. We took the Metro which was much wider and more roomy than the tube in London, and arrived only a 10 minute walk away from Vatican City at around 8:30 a.m. The beauty of arriving so early meant that there were no crowds and some of the cleaners were still at work. La Pieta was still being wiped down by one of the few people who are permitted behind her glass protection and there was a zamboni cleaning all the marble floors in preparation for the thousands of people who would soon be walking all over them. Immediately we made our way to the summit of St. Peters Dome – a massive undertaking for someone (me) who is not the most fond of heights. We took the savings of 2 euros and climbed the stairs rather than taking the lift. At the first opening we were still within the dome and immediately over the canopy of the high alter. Directly below our feet were the six feet tall letters that quoted “You are Peter…” and around us were the amazing mosaics that can be seen from the ground but from where we were standing were HUGE. From there we climbed even higher and onto a slant to get to the peak where we were greeted with a view of Rome in the morning. It’s blue and dusty. And white and brown. And loud and ancient. You have to see it for yourself. After a very careful descent we took a stroll through the Basilica and then made our way to a lunch of Pizza and pasta. After lunch it was off to the Vatican museums. (Note: If the Basilica is free then they really make up their weight in this fare – it is 14 euros each to enter the museums and there is no special price if all you want to see is the Sistine Chapel – it’s at the end of the tour and no sooner.) Although the tour takes you through artwork of all the Italian masters, Botticelli, Da Vinci, the Roman statues that stood all across Rome, amazing frescoes and mosaics, everyone is really just there to see the Chapel. There is no point trying to take a picture of it – for one there are the guards stationed everywhere constantly repeating ‘No Pictures’ and secondly it is so ill lit to preserve the paint that no camera, no matter how expensive would be able to do it justice. As per before, the pictures in your art books are probably the clearest you will see. With that done we headed through the streets of Rome to stop at the Piazza Navona (Gelato!), the Pantheon (big but boring) and the Trevi Fountain (stunning, just stunning.) All that was left to do was topple into bed and sleep. Don’t ask me how many stairs I had climbed in those first 2 days – I had stopped counting when I reached one thousand.
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