Day 3 Rome Wanderings (June 23)

Sorry were late, poor or no internet connections at our first two hotels plus a packed schedule.

Rome is just so busy, tourist buses by the hundreds, tourists by the hundreds of thousands, sometimes it seems like a battle just to walk from point A to point B. 

After Mum had a brief argument with some arrogant Italian chap at the post office and another one with the ATM’s that refused to give us much needed cash we walked to the Pantheon not knowing what to expect.  The walk was worth it as it almost takes your breath away being a perfectly preserved 1800 year old Roman building.  Today a church, the inside is pink marble with a massive domed roof, the only window being a 9 metre opening at the centre of the dome. 

Just around the corner from where we stayed is the huge white Monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle II which also houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Truly spectacular to us Aussies unused to such things it is a relatively modern white “marble” structure but in a such a grandiose fashion the locals call it the wedding cake.  It was designed in 1885 and completed in 1935 as a monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle, the king of the first unified Italy.  It unfortunately hacked into much of the ancient Roman ruins on the Capitoline Hill where it is sited.  The kings statue on the horse is sited above the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the horse so huge that on completion the team of architects sat inside the body of the horse and had dinner!!  Two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas also stand out from many places in the city.

Old image of dinner inside the body of the horse statue

Inside the base of the horse statue to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

After a good wander around this Caroline found an unlikely looking church, Santa Maria Aracoeli. Inside was an obviously very old place of worship, the marble floor that was carved with faces and sculptures and names of people buried there have worn away by the passing of many feet over hundreds of years.

Basilica Santa Maria in Aracoeli

We then moved our hotel to meet up with the tour, this hotel being some 8 or more km outside of the historic Rome.  Gone are the old buildings and replaced by multi-storey apartment buildings, which is where the majority of Romans live.  Not attractive and covered in many instances with graffiti. 

Dinner was back in historic Rome for a typically Italian ristorante dinner, hosted by a very forward Guiseppe who took a (light hearted) fancy to all the women, especially “Carolina”.

Time to hit the sack at about 10pm ‘cos we are all stuffed from walking in the 30 degree heat.  Wake up call is 6am tomorrow morning.