The second day, and already things haven't gone quite to plan.
As we went to the ticket office this morning to reserve the night train to Venice for this evening, we were told that the train was full. The unhelpful bastard of a ticket salesman rep guy then declared we could not reserve Friday night's night train from Milan because we weren't actually there. Determined not to believe that we would have to rely on last minute bookings for night trains, which would basically mean a hostel every single night, which would basically mean that three of us would return to Rennes in 3 weeks each having a debt larger than that of an average Greek, we sorted out the whole situation and booked our tickets up to Munich on Saturday, so that is now confirmed!
So tonight I am writing this blog in a different hostel just down the road in Rome, which is far more comfortable than the one we had yesterday! The little cock-up was probably a blessing in disguise, as we got to see more of the illustrious city, and most importantly, at night when it looked most beautiful.
The day was spent mostly at the Vatican (that's country no 6 for Ollie!) and included the standard trips to the museum to see the Sistine chapel and Basilica Vaticano. What I wasn't expecting at the Vatican museum was to see room upon room of glorious art before I even laid eyes on Michelangelo's iconic creation of Adam painting at the highest point of the Chapel. I know very little about art, so all I could say about the various paintings and tapestries are that they are amazingly well done with such incredible detail. What was most impressive, however, was that every single room was covered in these paintings, and there were so many it was impossible to properly scrutinise each individual piece in one visit.
Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel was incredible because there was so much, but it did not stand out as much as I thought it would, simply because there was so much art beforehand (and after, and by then our feet were hurting and we cursed all those artists who had painted those unnecessary works of art. We've seen the Sistine Chapel - we're done thank you!!!).
Basilica Vaticano was, simply, the best church I've seen! It was incredible - both on the outside and the inside. The outside has a powerful stance as the gigantic temple that can be seen from miles away, that guards the entrance to the Vatican city itself. Decorated with Latin writing and many different statues, one of which would be enough to draw a crowd in a place like Cardiff, but in the Vatican is merely an accessory, the Basilica stands colossal and proud over the grand Piazza.
On the inside, it was just epic! Covered in various paintings and sculptures depicting war and other Bible stuff, and towering above the hundreds of people in the church, making us all feel so small and insignificant. How could people actually make wonderful things like this? Especially in the 13th-15th centuries, long before cranes and JCBs. Standing in the church, looking at the high ceilings, the centuries of heritage, the tombs of past Popes that had been sainted, I actually briefly considered forming a committee to discuss over (several years) the possibility that I should further consider becoming a little bit religious!
But then I came back to my senses as we re-entered Italy and headed to the Colosseum. Unfortunately, we had another hiccup as the Colosseum closed really early and we did not know, so Itzel and I didn't manage to see the inside (Simon did though, having stayed in Rome for over 2 weeks, the lucky bastard!), but it didn't matter - we still saw the outside, and what a sight it is!
In the evening, after resting in the hostel for a little while to help our tired feet recover, we went for dinner (diavolo pizza and arrabbiata pasta - when in Rome!) and then saw the city at night again, this time with Itzel too. This, for me, was the highlight of the day. After walking past my new-found love, which I found out was called Altar de la Patria, we walked up a flight of steps flanked by angels, saw another magnificient old building (It's become standard for us in Rome), and turned into an alley.
And then we saw it. A ledge that overlooked what was for me the best part of the trip so far - a view of the ancient Forum Romanium, remains of what would have been a grand centre of the Roman Empire. There were two Arc de Triomphes in sight (well, they were arcs that the Romans would build for every victory), and in the back, with the light bouncing off, the Colosseum. And it was silent. Just silent. All we could hear was the soft hum of traffic a few miles away, and we had a view of something that was just remarkable. I could have stayed there for hours.
But the others couldn't, so we went for an ice cream in the Piazza della Rotonda, governed by the majestic Pantheon. To finish the evening we visited the Trevi Fountain. As a fan of water and water features, I loved this place! It was right in the city centre too! You go to buy a new shirt from Jack Jones, celebrate with a Maccy Ds and then turn a corner and BOOM you've arrived at a massive water feature that is centuries old. I made a wish in the fountain (that was one hell of a wishing well!) and listened to the water gush down from the large marble basins and glance past the statues.
So we returned to the hostel satisfied. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was definitely seen in one!
Next stop - Venice!
Rant over
Ollie
p.s. will have to publish photos soon because the wi-fi connection in this hostel sucks!
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