Rome - October 15th

Well today was my 50th birthday. What a way to spend it - In Rome!
We got up early and arrived at St Peter's Basilica soon after 8.00am to find the square deserted and no queue to enter the Basilica. Before we knew it we were standing inside that immense space. It really is beautiful. There is an integrity of design and decoration that is a delight to experience and explore. There is also quite a profound religious aspect to the Basilica that I was surprised by. Perhaps because we were there virtually on our own to start with, you could get the real sense that this was the place where St Peter died for his faith, and for 2 thousand years since, people have come to this place to affirm their belief in the teachings of Jesus. Sure it was built by Popes to show how great and powerful they were, but it is still a church where people come to pray and feel uplifted by the beauty around them.

As we were there so early, when we turned to our right after entering and saw the Pieta by Michelangelo, there was no one else there around it - so we were able to appreciate it fully. It is a remarkable statue - it's hard to believe it's made of marble - the figures are so expressive and life like.

Once we got our fill of the Basilica we decided to go up the dome - again no queue (though when we descended an hour later there would have been about 100 people waiting). Climbing up the winding stairs was hard work (though there was an elevator for the first part, so it was not nearly as hard as the Duomo in Florence or Notre Dame in Paris). We were rewarded with a great view of Rome. What was even more interesting though was a wander on the roof behind the big statues on the way down, then a walk inside the dome close up to the mosaics on the ceiling of the dome.

Next we descended to the crypt, where most of the popes were buried. Again no queue, but a big crowd inside, especially around the tomb of Pope John Paul II who died a few years ago. There were people praying and crying and throwing flowers on his grave, which was all quite moving.

After all that it was time to head back to the apartment for some lunch and a rest (after also investigating train options to Pompeii and finding out that would still be 75 Euro/head and involve changing trains in Naples). While Michael tried to recover from his cold, I ducked down to the internet shop to investigate other options - and found a bus trip for 55 Euro/head, which went from the Roma Termini station right to the entrance of Pompeii and back.

Mid afternoon we headed out to book the trip to Pompeii and take a walk down to the Travestere area. The walk along the river and through the travestere area was pleasant and interesting - with a stop in the Santa Maria in Travestere church which had some interesting frescoes and re-used Roman columns. We decided to walk back over the river (in the direction still further from home) to catch a bus from Piazza Venezia. On the way there we went through the Teatro di Marcello area, which was astonishing. Here were old ruins, like a small coloseum, that had been built onto/into and had what looked like apartments on top with people living in them! We finally arrived at Piazza Venezia - to find that there had been an accident on a major bridge, and the buses to our part of town weren't running. So we had another good hours walk home! Poor Michael, who wasn't feeling well, had gone out on a little stroll that turned into a three hour march - and we got home at 7.00pm - when we were meant to be leaving for my birthday dinner!

The dinner was at the Pomperie Restaurant - recommended by our landlady. It was in the Jewish part of town and was very good. I think we were the only tourists there, and the food was lovely. Liana had advised us to have the artichoke hearts and stuffed zucchini flowers - which we did for antipasta. Then I had a lamb and artichoke dish which was excellent. Mary tried the house special for desert - a berry and cheese pie (a bit like a baked cheescake). All washed down with a sweet sparkling desert wine which was delicious. A taxi home capped off a lovely night.