Europe on a Shoestring: Riotous Rome

Well not actually riotous, but we arrived the night before the new President took over ( or Prime Minister or both, I'm not quite sure), and on our first foray into the city came across ( you couldn't miss it) the biggest crowd of protesters I'd ever seen. There must have been thousands of banner-carrying, flag waving demonstrators, and almost as many police watching the procession as well as helicopters filming it. It's even made the news in Australia, and we ( Stacey and I) were there! Later, we came across a suicide attempt at the Coliseum ( she was eventually talked down) but she had written a note asking for someone to feed her cat, which touched me. I don't actually know this was true- I heard it from an American bystander who was incredibly good looking- not many good-looking men in this part of the world- maybe I'm just getting picky in my old age! Later on, we encountered a road-block, many police measuring things on the ground and marking exhibits A, B etc. We asked one policeman for directions but forgot to ask what was happening!

Times are hard in Rome, and apparently all of Italy, but they still want to make a killing from the tourists, which I suppose I would in the same circumstances. For example, this morning, we paid 1.50 euro for a latte for breakfast just down the road, and later paid 6.50 euro for a latte in Piazza Navona which was filled with tourists, and we only bought a coffee because we wanted to use their toilets! Later we found out that you can use coffee shops' toilets for free as public toilets are rare. I wouldn't mind paying double, but more than quadruple is a bit of a rip-off!

I digress. On our first night in Rome, four of us ventured out for an Italian meal. We had arrived quite late and were not sure if we would find anything open, but Romans eat late! As were were leaving after filling up on canneloni (Elizabeth), carbonara (Stacey), ravioli (Keeley), and calzone (me), there were groups of people just arriving for dinner. It was after 10! We took a pizza home to Kiryn and Lorelle who were in bed and too tired to eat. Stacey and I sat up planning our day tomorrow. We had planned to catch a metro to the Coliseum and get there when it opened to avoid the crowds- I hate crowds! We sat up till we could sit no longer, and once we had a plan, went to bed. I slept snuggled up with Keeley in a big comfortable bed. Oh, I am going to miss her warm body in the coming winter. Oh, I am going to miss her all round. We have been through so much together.

Stacey and I started off early hoping to get to get to the Coliseum by 9 but of course, the metro was closed- a strike apparently. We managed to catch a bus which took forever to get to the Termini train station. Because of the strike, the streets were clogged with traffic and masses of demonstrators were starting to congregate at the station. At the ticket office, we reserved our seats on the 9.46am train on Sunday. We had to find somewhere to stay cheaply for another night as I really want to take the tour down to Pompeii, even though I can't really afford it. We found the Pop Inn Hostel right next to the train station. Baby, their receptionist, was every helpful and said she could book our Pompeii tour and the shuttle bus could pick us up from the hostel. Fantastic- only problem is we have to be there by 6.30am! Oh, and we have to pay in CASH!

So started the search for the ATM which would give me cash. After several ATMs and two banks, I finally gave up the quest and Stacey got the money from her account for the tour- 351 euro for the three of us. Business done, we headed off to the Coliseum arriving in time for the 1.45pm English tour which cost an extra 5 euro on top of the 12 euro ticket and was totally not worth it. She didn't even mention the second floor let alone take us there but of course, we did it ourselves and it was great- a lot about the history of Nero and the burning of Rome as well as many artefacts from Nero's villas. After walking around the Coliseum a number of times, we exited near the Roman Forum ruins, and then walked down past the Piazza Venezia where we stopped for a beer ( 8 euro each!) and to share a pizza ( only 9 euro).

We finally made it home after almost a whole day's walking and went straight out to dinner at the restaurant next door where I ate scallopini roma and drank more red wine. Then straight to bed after the longest day of walking I've had. My back recovered after a little heat treatment, but my legs ached and ached until I finally fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

With a lot of coercion from Stacey, I joined her in a stroll to Sant'Ignazio de Loyola, stopping at a few ATMs on the way to withdraw cash for Riomaggiore. Success every time! Sant'Ignazio de Loyola is the church I really wanted to see in Rome because of the trompe l'oeil painted by Father Andrea Pozzo who was a Jesuit brother and a very talented painter if you ask me. Once again, the photos don't do it justice. The big bonus was it was an undiscovered treasure as there were only a handful of tourists in the whole church and the church itself was very beautiful even without the amazing ceilings!

On the way to Sant'Ignazio, we came across the Pantheon and wandered inside marvelling at the sheer size of it. We tossed up whether or not to get an audio guide, but when we found out we could get two for 7 euro, we went for it. What a great idea. It was fantastic and I could write pages on the Pantheon ( but I won't). If you ever come to Rome, put it on your must-see list and don't forget to get the audio guide too! You won't be disappointed.

On to Trevi Fountain which was very beautiful despite the hordes of snap-happy tourists ( yeah, yeah, we were just another two!) And the find of the day! Murano glass necklaces for 2.50 euro. We bought 9 of them but am regretting I didn't buy more as no one else had seen them. My feet had had enough by this time, so I decided to head home carrying the Murano glass necklaces and Stacey's bargain purchase of a bottle of Johnny Walker which she took out of her bag and handed to me just as I was jumping on the bus. When I got off the bus at the last stop, I still faced quite a walk back home clutching a bottle of Johnny to my chest, glass necklaces in a carry bag, and 1500 euro in my purse. To say I was a little nervous is an understatement. I couldn't get home fast enough!