Rome/Pompeii, Italy

Once we were beginning to get close to Rome, everything started to go a bit wrong. First of all, it was Sunday and all of the petrol stations were running by automated machines which we took at least three attempts at working out in Italian. Even then, we somehow paid €20 in cash in order to receive no fuel. Then, on reaching the Rome Camping Village, my Dad managed to get a key stuck in the sliding side door so that we could neither open it nor get the key out.

The whole of the next day was spent at the Rome Mercedes Garage (typically as far away from the campsite as it could plausably be) while we struggled with the language barrier, played dominoes and stared out the window at the glorious sunshine we were missing out on.
 

Having wasted a day and a half, we were determined to make our last day in the capital count and caught the bus and metro into the city centre around 8am. Our first stop, the Colloseum, is probably Rome's most spectacular and recognisable sight. The huge oval shaped arena is a miraculous feat of towering walls, archs, tiers and an underground level which housed a few devious trap doors and caged animals to test whoever was fighting above.

 

 

Just outside the Colloseum is the big Constantine Arch and the remains of aincient Rome on Palatine Hill including the Forum, Stadium and what feels like an endless supply of basilicas and temples. There is a great viewpoint from the top of the hill looking down on the pillars and archways of the old Senate.

Beside the ruins of the ancient Forum is the Senate Palace, the seat of the city government. Flanking the building on either side are equally grand museums while a statue of Marcus Aurelius adorns the centre of the square. Just down the road from here is the magnificently carved tower which has the tale of a victorious battle scrolling all the way up to the top.
 

Heading north brings you to two more of Rome's numerous sights - the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. The fountain, which is a huge white stone facade with a statue of Neptune and his sea horses, is undeniably pretty if you can shift past the swathes of sightseeing photographers to get near it. The custom here is to throw a coin into the fountain to ensure safe travels - after yesterday's fiasco, it was worth a shot! The Spanish Steps which lead up from the Piazza to the streets above are an equally big tourist magnet but to my mind nowhere near as interesting to see.

We finally had time to cross one of the many impressive bridges over the Tiber River to get to the little sovereign state of the Vatican City. This tiny country of it's own is based around the huge St Peter's Square where the surrounding semi-circular collonades are topped with various statues of saints. An one end is the imposing St Peter's Basilica, a huge and ludicrously decorated church inside and out. Lined with gold, the internal archways, ceilings and elliptical domes also contain their own treasury and the alledged tomb of St Peter himself.

For a little bit extra, you can go through the Vatican Museum - a series of galleries which are hundreds of metres long each and crammed full of paintings and objects. At the end of all these walkways is the crowning glory of the Sistine Chapel. This little building, the Pope's personal chapel, was famously painted by Michaelangelo over 4 solid years and features that famous image of man touching fingers with God right in the centre of the ceiling.

Rome is a city which you would be hard pushed to see in a week so trying to cram all the sights into a day doesn't really do the place justice but our tight schedule meant that the next morning we were off to Pompeii.

The road from Rome to Naples saw the worst in Italian drivers where the business of driving seems to come third or fourth in their list of priorities behind the wheel. The place was full of people on the phone with the car straddling two lanes in the busy traffic while another prime culprit was the undertaking motorbike. After a crash course in defensive driving and self preservation we passed Mt Vesuvius and got to Pompeii where we booked into Zeus Camping about 100m walk from the main entrance.

Compared to the ancient ruins of Rome, it is hard for Pompeii to compete but the place was much bigger than I expected and, in places, very well preserved. The majority of the site is full of little roofless houses (collapsed and preserved when the town was decended upon by ash and molten rock) but the area is full of stone, brick and plaster columns with some rocky roads and substantial archways thrown in every now and again.
  

Probably the highlight is the huge ampitheatre at one end, which is like a smaller version of the Colloseum. Many of the little shops still have their marble counters with food preserving hollows while the bakery still has the stones used for grinding flour. Perhaps the most thought-provoking part though can be found with the old pots and other objects found during excavation. Where people had been caught by the volcano and perished, their bodies rotted away leaving a space behind in their exact body position. Plaster casts are one display to show some of these.

The next day it was time for my Dad to fly back from Naples. It was good to catch up with him and spend some quailty time together but now I am back on my own and heading north once again with a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time.