Day #24
Breakfast
(See day #21 for Breakfast description ;)
Train
After breakfast we got a train from Cornelia to Termini. We planned to see the maximum number of monuments today. We got off the train station and went to the bus statoin to get the 714 bus. Amy wanted to go to the (Domitini) Catacombs and the guide said we had to get a 714 bus then change to 218 bus.
We got off the 714 bus and waited. After about 30 min the 218 bus turned up, but it was packed with people and it went straight past without stopping. We then waited for another 30 min (in the Sun) and finally gave up. As we were walking away (about 30m from the bus stop) the 218 turned up again but failed to stop (and it was packed with people). The day was not looking good. We knew the San Giovanni Metro Station was around so we walked to it.
We got the train from San Giovanni to Termini, and it was packed as well. I was getting free sex from the guy behind me :(, and I felt a lot of jostling on my pockets and at this point I started getting worried that we would be pickpocketed (my wallet has been kept in my front pocket for the whole holidays and this was probably a good thing at this point). It was so crowded that when the door opened and more people tried to enter, everybody (all the Italians anyway) started yelling something in Italian that I didnt understand (probably something like "FULL!"). Eventually we got back to Termini (Termini is like Central Station in Brisbane).
After this we changed platforms to the Coloseo train to see if we could visit the Coloseum. This platform was packed with people so we were starting to get despondent. We finally decided in desparation to get a "Day Tour" bus.
We walked to the "start" point (Point #1) of the "Ciao Roma" day tour bus. We had pizza lunch at a nearby restaurant.
The bus was run by about half dozen young people. I was impressed with their organisational ability. I guess running 1 bus may not be too hard but I thought it was a good effort anyway. This was up "hop on-hop off" tour, which means the bus went past once every 30 min and we could hop off and get back on the next round. We got off at the Colosseum (I could not help myself and kept humming the Roman theme from Civiilisation ;).
Colosseum
I am very disappointed with the Colosseum. It is all old, run-down and is falling apart. Half the structure has gone, and there has been no maintenance or rennovation has been done for centuries. You would think that these Italians could put some new plaster down, or give it a paint job.
But seriously ;) It is huge and impressive looking. The down side was that the queue was huge and it took us over an hour to get in (I had decided that I was going not going to miss another monument - after 4 hours of trying to get to 1 - so we perserved through the queue). Rude people kept trying to push in and pass Amy & I at any opportunity. I kept getting frustrated and told Amy to protect her flank. She got very frustrated and was ready to kill the women behind her that kept bumping into her.
But finally we got in and looked around. I don't if looking at the stone was worth the queue, but combined with knowing what the Colosseum is, and its history I would say it was definitely worth it (If you dont know anything about Roman History, you will be disappointed). The thing that pleased me most was that I set foot on the ancient structure.
It is a stone structure of about 3 levels (although we could only get up 2 levels - the top level looked ruined). I think it is pretty much the model for modern sports stadiums and walking around it felt very much like being at the Gabba. I could almost imagine an AFL game going on in the centre. This stadium could even seat 55,000.
We then walked up to Constantine's Arch, which apart from the historical significance, just looked like a 10m high arch.
After this we got back on the Bus. It was now about 3pm and we decided not to chance another queue. There were people everywhere. I have learnt my lesson about Rome in Easter. Dont go there then. Pick another day, I dont know which day but not Easter.
On the bus, we went past Mussilini's palace (it wasnt called that - he just appropriated it), then we went into the Vatican, and passed several other ancient buildings (including Hadrians Mauseleum and the Spanish Steps), we got off the bus at Point #11 which we knew had a metro station nearby.
We got on the train at Babereni Station and I was most pleased to see that it was almost empty. This was real Italy, no tourists (except us ;) just Italians trying to get home. Tourists are like a blight in Italy. They were bad in Venice but it was real horror in Rome. Having said that, I was still happy because this was a learning experience and I learnt as much about modern culture than I did about ancient Roman culture (if not more).
Finally we came to an Internet Cafe so that I could transfer funds (man I hope none of these guys put keyboard loggers on these machines :( ). After this I go to an ATM and get more money out (as we were getting low).
Dinner
We have dinner again at the nice restaurant but this time have pasta instead of pizza (for something different ;). One of my favourite parts of Italy is the food. It is outstanding.
Sleep
We crash, in preparation of tomorrow's flight to London.
