Today I went out nice and early to avoid the crowds and at 8.30 the streets are very quite. I took the 64 bus to the Vatican City and missed my stop so ended up walking around the walls of the city which is quite a pleasant walk and you get to see the dome from different perspectives.
I had wondered where all the people were but was soon to find out when I got to the entrance to the Vatican City, there they all were a huge crowd of people all waiting to get into the museum and I was now last in that queue.
It was so worth the wait. I can't even being to describe the sights that you will see.
If you are coming to Rome, the Vatican museum is a must see site and apparently if you go after 12.30 it is a lot quieter, but whenever you go, don't get dragged along with the crowds, just go at your own pace so that you have time to saviour the art.
Of course it is Raphael's stanze and Michelangelo's frescoes that are the stars of the show although the supporting cast are also breathtaking including the picture gallery or Pinacoteca, where Raphael's Transfiguration and Leonardo's St Jerome hang. The gallery of maps is also stunning, but nothing prepares you for the beauty of the Raphael rooms or the Sistine Chapel. When you see the work of these two artists you are truly blown away. The Sistine Chapel is so beautiful, when I saw it, I cried. You are forbidden to take photographs in the Sistine Chapel and that's not such a bad thing because it gives you time to enjoy and appreciate this masterpiece.
I bought a large poster of the fresco work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and rather than lump it around Rome for the day and then worry how I would carry it home without bending and crushing it, I just posted it to myself back home from the Vatican Post Office.
By the time I got out of there it was 1pm so I jumped back onto the 64 bus and headed in the opposite direction. I got of at Piazza dell'Ara Coeli and climbed even more steps to Piazza del Campidoglio. From there I took the lift up to the very top for the most stunning views of the city. From up there you can see Rome 360° and it was fabulous.
After that I tried to go to the Spanish Steps and got lost on the way. I took the bus in the wrong direction and ended out on the outskirts of the city. Don't let anyone tell you that the Italians are not helpful. I walked into a supermarket and asked for directions. Not one person could speak English but between the four of them they managed to give me great directions for getting back into the centre of Rome and were really nice about it.
Eventually I made it to the Steps and as expected there were swarms of people all over them, relaxing, chatting, just being there. Up the stairs the view is good, but I think I was spoiled by the panoramic views earlier in the day, so back to the bottom of the stairs. I've done so many stairs lately, that it is starting to hurt coming down them just as much as going up them. Hopefully they will be the last set that I will climb for a while. I think that I must have climbed up and down about a thousand steps in the last 24 hours.
The fountain at the bottom of the Steps is supposed to have the sweetest water in Rome so like the other tourists I filled my empty water bottle. Now it could be that I was just so thirsty that anything would have been wonderful, but it did taste extra sweet, even nicer that the water that you can get at the Vatican. Who knows?
A little meander down Via Condotti to check out what's fresh with Armani & Co and then into an ice cream parlour for my daily reward of ice cream just to undo all the good that those steps must have done. Down past the Parliament buildings and onto the last stop of my sight seeing for the day, Fontana di Trevi. My sister Anne told me to go at night to see it at its best and by this time it was 8pm. I remember thinking just before I turned the corner, I hope this lives up to expectation, believe me it does. It is the most spectacular fountain that I have ever seen. However, the crowds of people make it impossible to take any kind of a good photograph. I have been told that like the Spanish Steps, if you want to see these without tourists, you have to go between 2am and 7am, not tonight Josephine, it's bed for me as I have to be up early to catch my flight to Milan.
P.S. I have so many insect bites on my body now that I surely must have lost weight.
Sheila
Next stop was
Sheila Hogg
Sheila Hogg Photography
www.sheilahogg.co.uk
email: contact@sheilahogg.co.uk
Tel: 07525028805
I had wondered where all the people were but was soon to find out when I got to the entrance to the Vatican City, there they all were a huge crowd of people all waiting to get into the museum and I was now last in that queue.
It was so worth the wait. I can't even being to describe the sights that you will see.
If you are coming to Rome, the Vatican museum is a must see site and apparently if you go after 12.30 it is a lot quieter, but whenever you go, don't get dragged along with the crowds, just go at your own pace so that you have time to saviour the art.
Of course it is Raphael's stanze and Michelangelo's frescoes that are the stars of the show although the supporting cast are also breathtaking including the picture gallery or Pinacoteca, where Raphael's Transfiguration and Leonardo's St Jerome hang. The gallery of maps is also stunning, but nothing prepares you for the beauty of the Raphael rooms or the Sistine Chapel. When you see the work of these two artists you are truly blown away. The Sistine Chapel is so beautiful, when I saw it, I cried. You are forbidden to take photographs in the Sistine Chapel and that's not such a bad thing because it gives you time to enjoy and appreciate this masterpiece.
I bought a large poster of the fresco work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and rather than lump it around Rome for the day and then worry how I would carry it home without bending and crushing it, I just posted it to myself back home from the Vatican Post Office.
By the time I got out of there it was 1pm so I jumped back onto the 64 bus and headed in the opposite direction. I got of at Piazza dell'Ara Coeli and climbed even more steps to Piazza del Campidoglio. From there I took the lift up to the very top for the most stunning views of the city. From up there you can see Rome 360° and it was fabulous.
After that I tried to go to the Spanish Steps and got lost on the way. I took the bus in the wrong direction and ended out on the outskirts of the city. Don't let anyone tell you that the Italians are not helpful. I walked into a supermarket and asked for directions. Not one person could speak English but between the four of them they managed to give me great directions for getting back into the centre of Rome and were really nice about it.
Eventually I made it to the Steps and as expected there were swarms of people all over them, relaxing, chatting, just being there. Up the stairs the view is good, but I think I was spoiled by the panoramic views earlier in the day, so back to the bottom of the stairs. I've done so many stairs lately, that it is starting to hurt coming down them just as much as going up them. Hopefully they will be the last set that I will climb for a while. I think that I must have climbed up and down about a thousand steps in the last 24 hours.
The fountain at the bottom of the Steps is supposed to have the sweetest water in Rome so like the other tourists I filled my empty water bottle. Now it could be that I was just so thirsty that anything would have been wonderful, but it did taste extra sweet, even nicer that the water that you can get at the Vatican. Who knows?
A little meander down Via Condotti to check out what's fresh with Armani & Co and then into an ice cream parlour for my daily reward of ice cream just to undo all the good that those steps must have done. Down past the Parliament buildings and onto the last stop of my sight seeing for the day, Fontana di Trevi. My sister Anne told me to go at night to see it at its best and by this time it was 8pm. I remember thinking just before I turned the corner, I hope this lives up to expectation, believe me it does. It is the most spectacular fountain that I have ever seen. However, the crowds of people make it impossible to take any kind of a good photograph. I have been told that like the Spanish Steps, if you want to see these without tourists, you have to go between 2am and 7am, not tonight Josephine, it's bed for me as I have to be up early to catch my flight to Milan.
P.S. I have so many insect bites on my body now that I surely must have lost weight.
Sheila
Next stop was
Sheila Hogg Photography
www.sheilahogg.co.uk
email: contact@sheilahogg.co.uk
Tel: 07525028805
So jealous Sheila, sounds like you are having a fantastic time. Keep safe and have a good one! Can't wait to see what you will be up to tomorrow!!
ReplyDeleteHello Sheila,
ReplyDeleteHave you found an Italian stallion yet and did you throw a coin in the fountain.Looking forward to seeing all the pictures when you come back. Take care of yourself and hope you enjoy France as much as Italy.
Love Wendy