And we're nearing the end of the Italy posts. We had said goodbye to Sue and J the previous evening (with a few rounds of Set and a couple of games of 500). It was now our last day in Rome. We had decided to venture outside the city walls and head to the Catacombs. We certainly picked the right day to head underground. The weather was dreadful. Our last remaining hours in Rome and it was cold and wet.

We had originally decided to visit the Catacombs of San Callisto. However, on our way there we had to quickly change our plans when we discovered they were closed. (We must really learn how to read a guidebook properly.) Luckily, we were able to visit the Catacombs of San Sebastiano instead.

I'm morbidly fascinated with catacombs. I'd imagined exploring musty, dark, underground tunnels filled with skulls and bones, hearing the scurrying patter of rats. I might have been holding a flaming torch in my vision too. My mind had obviously been heavily influenced by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

My mental picture wasn't quite accurate. There were tunnels, but they weren't filled skulls or bones. (Respect for the dead and all that *G*). Didn't hear any rats either. But, I wasn't disappointed at all. Our visit to the catacombs was fascinating and very interesting.

Highlights:

• We've visited another word origin. The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are the origin of the word catacomb, meaning underground cemetery. The word catacomb, derived from Greek, actually described the terrain around San Sebastiano. Our guide told us that it meant "near the cave" (there is a quarry nearby) and it was used as an location identifier for these particular burial grounds. Over time it has come to mean any underground burial ground.
  
  
• The catacombs are the original burial place of St Peter and St Paul. The St Peter and St Paul from the New Testament. These kind of details really put it into perspective the lengthy history of a city like Rome. It's easy to say something is 2,000 years old but what does that really mean? To learn that St Peter and St Paul were buried there makes me think "wow! That's old!"
  
  
• More Roman graffiti. This time from visitors on religious pilgrimages. They would scrawl the names of St Peter and St Paul on the walls as a form of prayer.
  
  
• In the basilica above the catacombs, you can see evidence of fossils in the marble floor.
  
  

Tuesday afternoon saw us completing a tourist marathon. It was J and Sue's last day in Rome and there were still heaps of tourist sites to tick off your typical must-see list for Rome. Specifically, the Roman Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

Here is the condensed version:

Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is what remains of the centre of ancient Rome. There is little remaining of the temples, basilicas and administrative buildings that were once there, but I was surprised to see how much is still intact. It's over 2,000 years old. You'd think many of the buildings would have been demolished in the name of progress. (Which is what happened to many of the old sandstone buildings in Sydney's Rocks area in the 70s.)


Lunch on the Spanish Steps
At the Spanish Steps we rested for a while and munched on a slice of takeaway pizza for lunch. It was very hard to appreciate the Spanish Steps because they are the very definition of a tourist trap. The place is infested with men trying to push junk at naïve tourists. We spent the whole time at the Spanish Steps trying to avoid eye contact with the hawkers and repelling unwelcome advances. "No I do not want to buy that thing that makes a stupid clicking noise." "No I do not want buy that stupid ball that can be twisted into different shapes." They really spoil the ambience of the location. Although, it was funny to watch hawkers scatter when the police appeared.


Trevi Fountain
There is a legend that if you toss some coins over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain that something good will happen. The problem is, after some extensive research, I've found several different theories on how you should throw your coin in, how many coins you should throw in and what each coin represents.

Some say, throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain for good luck. Some say, if you toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain you will return to Rome. Lonely Planet says, the 1^st coin is a wish to return to Rome, the 2^nd promises that you will fall in love with an Italian and a 3^rd secures a marriage with that Italian. But lots of websites mention that the third coin actually means divorce. (Apparently the three coins wish was established by the film Three Coins in the Fountain. Although in the film it was three different coins by three different women).

How you should throw the coin is also under debate. Over your shoulder. Over your shoulder with your right hand. Or over your left shoulder with your right hand.

Whatever the legend, a lot of coins are thrown into the Trevi Fountain. The money is collected each evening and used to fund a supermarket for Rome's poor. Almost 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. (One homeless man made a lucrative career by collecting those "wishes". He would wade through the fountain each evening and gather up to 1,000 euros a night. He was just cutting out the middle man.)

In case you were wondering, Andrew and I threw one coin each into the fountain. It remains to be seen if we will make it back to Rome.


Pantheon
I was awestruck by the Pantheon. I spent several minutes just gazing up and admiring the beautiful dome. It was built in 125 AD and it is said that Emperor Hadrian may have helped with the design. I think it's an impressive building by today's standards let alone 2^nd century standards.


Piazza Navona
By this stage we were very weary. The Piazza was the site of ancient Roman games such as chariot races. I tried to encourage the group to hold an impromptu chariot race, but nobody was interested. We spent a few minutes wandering apathetically before finally heading off in search of a scoop of much deserved gelato.


And that's our experience of Rome's most famous and most touristy attractions. My picks are the Pantheon and the jaffa gelato at Da Quinto gelateria near Piazza Navona.

More photos on Flickr...

We headed to the Colosseum early in the morning to once again try to escape the crowds. We decided to sign up with a guided tour to skip the long queue for tickets. (I'd definitely had enough queuing the day before.)

Colosseum trivia:

• The Colosseum is responsible for changing the meaning of the word arena. In Latin arena translates to sand. In Roman times, the floor of the Colosseum was covered in sand so people would often say "let's go to the arena". This is why in English, arena means sporting stadium and not sand. (In Spanish, arena still means sand.)
  
  
• A popular legend tells us that the thumbs up gesture dates back to gladiatorial contests in Roman times. At the end of the contest the victor would look to the emperor for direction. If the emperor made the thumbs up gesture, meaning keep your sword up, the loser would be spared. Recent research suggests that this story is completely incorrect; an urban myth popularised by Hollywood (including Ridley Scott's Gladiator). Historians have discovered that the gesture for saving the loser was actually thumb inside a closed fist, meaning sword sheathed. (I knew this trivia tidbit before entering the Colosseum. I was really pleased when our guide got it right. It meant that the other stuff she told us was probably right too!)
  
  
• The Colosseum could seat a crowd of around 50,000 spectators. Even at full capacity, the stadium could be cleared in a matter of minutes. The Colosseum had 80 exits which could be use by people leaving the arena. Spectators accessed and left their seats via passageways called vomitoria. (Sounds a bit gross, doesn't it?) The name vomitoria comes from the Latin word for a rapid discharge. (It's also the root of our word vomit.)
  
  
• The Colosseum was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in July 2007. It's the third new wonder that Andrew and I have visited on our recent travels. The Great Wall of China and Machu Picchu are the other two we've been lucky enough to see. (Hopefully we'll be able to tick off Petra next year.)
  
  

Another childhood dream ticked off. Did it live up to my childhood imaginings? Not quite. I thought it would be bigger. I thought there would be more of it. Almost 2,000 years old, the Colosseum is suffering from old age. It has been damaged by vandals, earthquakes, pollution and the nearby train line and it's only a shadow of the exciting place it once was. I'll just have to close my eyes and imagine it in its glory days.


More photos on Flickr...

After the Vatican Museums, the next stop on the agenda was St Peter's Basilica. Before heading to St Peter's, we did stop to rest our weary feet and squeeze in a couple of rounds of pasta. (Literally... I'll explain later.)

Our mission for St Peter's was to conquer the dome. Reputedly the largest dome in the world, I definitely wasn't going to let it beat me. We caught the lift up the first two hundred stairs and then climbed the remaining 300 or so. In the end it wasn't that difficult at all. I must be getting used to climbing objects. Although, I still don't like the going round and round and round bit of the spiral staircases. There was also a passage way on the climb which was a bit disorientating. We were walking in the space between the outer dome and the inner dome. The walls were curving away and we were trying to walk upright. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and put one foot in front of the other.

My main impression of the viewing gallery at the top is of congestion. It's a bit hard to appreciate the outlook from the top when you have to elbow your way through a pack of people just to get to the balcony edge. The view of St Peter's square is impressive though. It's not until you view it from this angle that you realise just how big it is. I can imagine it jam-packed full of people when the Pope makes an appearance.

The climb down finishes in the church itself. I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the basilica. It's huge! Although, it's no longer the largest church in the world. It did hold that title for a long time. However, it has now been outstripped by the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Cote d'Ivoire.


More photos on Flickr...

Obviously somewhere between the last Italy post and this Italy post, we travelled to Rome. On a train...

In Rome, our group split into two; Rome veterans and Rome newbies. Both Sue and Natalie had visited Rome before, so they trotted off and did relaxing things like buying handbags and eating prosciutto. J, Andrew and I had not been to Rome before, so we donned our sturdiest walking shoes and spent most of our time queuing.

Our first morning in Rome, we decided to visit the Vatican City Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Our veterans advised us to get there at opening time to try and avoid the queues. So, we did. Unfortunately, our guide book had informed us that the museum opened at 8.45 am and it didn't actually open until 10 am. We spent the first hour and fifteen minutes in a stationary queue. When the museum finally opened, the queue actually started to move and half an hour later we were in.

Our tip: check the opening time for the Vatican City Museum on the website the day before visiting.

We breezed through the Vatican City Museum, mostly interested in seeing the Sistine Chapel which is one of the last rooms on the designated route. My favourite bits:

Stanze di Raffaello
A series of four rooms in the Vatican Palace that were designed by Raphael and painted by Raphael and his students. It is here that the audio guide definitely came in handy. The audio guide was able to explain the symbolism in each fresco. Raphael was only 25 when he started work on these frescos. A young genius.

In the "School of Athens", one of his famous frescos, he has painted himself as a member of the crowd. He is forever watching over millions of people who file through the room and gaze in amazement at his beautiful painting.

Sistine Chapel
How can you not be awed by the Sistine Chapel? The ceiling took Michelangelo four years to paint. (Contrary to popular belief, he was actually standing and not lying flat on his back. Still an amazing feat, as it would have been most uncomfortable having to crane your neck all day.)

Inside the chapel I flouted the no pictures rule to get a photo of me and the iconic image of creation, God giving life to Adam.