Today was beach day! Ok, so it was overcast with the chance of rain, but considering how warm it is, who cares! Sandra found this beach called Asteria, which has a floating trampoline in the water. Awesome!
We took the trains and trams out to the beach and got off at the stop we thought it was at. No Asteria. We asked one of the locals for some help and he kindly told us that it was at the end of the road, about 5 minutes away. About 15 minutes later and passing two more tram stops, we came across it.
The website said that we need to pay to get in, but it seemed worth it (trampoline!). When we got there, it took a bit to find the entrance. When we did, the guy at the ticket area said 'go in'. Ah, ok! Considering it was the morning of a working day, there was no one there. So we got to use this beach pretty much privately.
Now, having inflatable things in the water sounds more fun than it is. Especially when there are only two of you. The tramploline was cool, but after a few bounces, it got pretty old quickly. This is mainly because the whole idea of a trampoline in the water is so that you can bounce high and dive into the water, right? Well that wasn't going to happen as the water around it wasn't deep enough. So it just became a regular trampoline... In the water. It was pretty funny trying to get onto the damn thing though. They also had an inflatable see-saw thingy that was also amusing for about 5 minutes.
After a bit of splashin' around, we chilled on the beach for a while. An old couple and a woman with a kid came to the beach as well. So with these unmanageable crowds, we decided to leave.
On the way back, we found another place that sold pita gyros for only 1.30 Euros! Win! Love this stuff. We followed it up with a 1.70 Euro icecream and that was lunch done for another day.
We came back to the hotel and bummed out. We caught up on some blogs (yes, more blogging) and waited for the folks to come back from their day out. They had gone on a coach tour of the coast to the Temple of Poseidon.
We went out to a little restaurant just opposite the hotel. Dinner was good - I had a nice Italian dish for my last night in Greece. The restaurant guy was awesome. We gave him a good tip. As always, the wandering sales men were out. Our count tonight was 6.
While we ate there were a whole bunch of people going into this building next door. It looked like a Russian communist themed night club called the KKE with a hammer and cycle. We thought nightclub because most of the poeple going in were young. We asked the restaurant guy and he said it was the communist party of Greece. Ok, maybe not the most popular night club then...
We then went to the hotel room to finish packing and blogging. Normally I don't write the blog for a day until at least the next day (as you don't know what's going to happen until it's over). But today we've had to finish this blog as it stands because we aren't sure what the internet will be like in Egypt. Hopefully there will be some, otherwise we won't get to upload blogs until Japan (about 12 days away).
It's weird writing about the day you've had on the day itself. It's like whenever you do something, it appears on the screen. Right now I'm typing. Holy crap, it now says that on the screen. ARGHHH.....
Friday, October 1, 2010
Day 36
It's cruise day! You may recall that we booked a cruise yesterday. That meant getting up at 6:45, getting down to the breakfast area of the hotel at 7 (as that's when they open for breakfast), scoffing down some food, and getting to the pickup site at 7:15.
There were a bunch of others for the same cruise there and we all got on the same bus together. However, turns out that they overbooked the bus, so they asked us if our group of 4 would wait for the next bus. Off we went and waited again. This was worth it though as the next bus was so much better!
We got the cruise boat (in the port of Piraeus) and went aboard. They took your photo with some people in traditional Greek dress on the way in (ah, marketing). We took our seats upstairs and were on our way.
The cruise went to 3 islands: Hydra, Poros and Aegina. The first leg was the longest as that went straight to the furthest one, Hydra. Despite being disappointed that there were no 3 headed monsters, the island was pretty cool. We had an hour and a half to explore the island. The highlight was totally the swimming area. I love swimming in the sea when the sea isn't freezing. We also saw some donkey rides but sadly realised that we couldn't fit one in before the boat left.
On the way to the next island (Poros), we had lunch provided for us on the boat. Not bad for a bulk meal. There were no options, so I wonder what people with dietary requirements ate. Either way, it was tasty enough for us.
Poros was a quick stop, only 45 minutes. I suspect that they were running out of time. We spent most of our time there seeing if there were any other cool rides (like a donkey) but couldn't find any. This island was a bit more populated than poor old Hydra, so it ended up being much like a normal small town port.
We then went to the final island where we went on a bus tour. The first stop was a local pistachio farm, where we learned about how they harvest and prepare their pistachios for export and then got to eat pistachios! Win!
We then went to the Temple of Aphaia. This is one of the 3 main temples that make up the triangle of sacred temples in Greece: the first being the Parthenon, this is the second, and the third is Poseidons Temple. Sadly, we didn't go to that one, so our collection is incomplete.
On our way back to the boat, we stopped off at the Monastery of Saint Nektarious. Apparently, all Greek people around the world do pilgrimages to this place. We only had enough time to get out of the bus, take a picture, then get back in again. It was then back on the boat to cruise back into Athens.
They had some Greek dancing and stuff on downstairs that the ladies went and had a look at for a bit but most of the time was spent on the deck enjoying the rest of the cruise. The sunset looked awesome.
When we got back, we bused into the city. At this point, we were pretty hungry, so we got some food at a nearby takeaway shop. We went to this place that had outside seating, but was in an alley. Not once did we get hassled by sales men. Win.
There were a bunch of others for the same cruise there and we all got on the same bus together. However, turns out that they overbooked the bus, so they asked us if our group of 4 would wait for the next bus. Off we went and waited again. This was worth it though as the next bus was so much better!
We got the cruise boat (in the port of Piraeus) and went aboard. They took your photo with some people in traditional Greek dress on the way in (ah, marketing). We took our seats upstairs and were on our way.
The cruise went to 3 islands: Hydra, Poros and Aegina. The first leg was the longest as that went straight to the furthest one, Hydra. Despite being disappointed that there were no 3 headed monsters, the island was pretty cool. We had an hour and a half to explore the island. The highlight was totally the swimming area. I love swimming in the sea when the sea isn't freezing. We also saw some donkey rides but sadly realised that we couldn't fit one in before the boat left.
On the way to the next island (Poros), we had lunch provided for us on the boat. Not bad for a bulk meal. There were no options, so I wonder what people with dietary requirements ate. Either way, it was tasty enough for us.
Poros was a quick stop, only 45 minutes. I suspect that they were running out of time. We spent most of our time there seeing if there were any other cool rides (like a donkey) but couldn't find any. This island was a bit more populated than poor old Hydra, so it ended up being much like a normal small town port.
We then went to the final island where we went on a bus tour. The first stop was a local pistachio farm, where we learned about how they harvest and prepare their pistachios for export and then got to eat pistachios! Win!
We then went to the Temple of Aphaia. This is one of the 3 main temples that make up the triangle of sacred temples in Greece: the first being the Parthenon, this is the second, and the third is Poseidons Temple. Sadly, we didn't go to that one, so our collection is incomplete.
On our way back to the boat, we stopped off at the Monastery of Saint Nektarious. Apparently, all Greek people around the world do pilgrimages to this place. We only had enough time to get out of the bus, take a picture, then get back in again. It was then back on the boat to cruise back into Athens.
They had some Greek dancing and stuff on downstairs that the ladies went and had a look at for a bit but most of the time was spent on the deck enjoying the rest of the cruise. The sunset looked awesome.
When we got back, we bused into the city. At this point, we were pretty hungry, so we got some food at a nearby takeaway shop. We went to this place that had outside seating, but was in an alley. Not once did we get hassled by sales men. Win.
Day 35
The Athens Central Market was nearby so that's where we started the day. I was expecting a bunch of random stuff but really the main purpose of the market was to sell food. This included a massive section of meat. Lots and lots of meat. I've never seen so many guys dressed in white with smears of blood on them.
From there we headed down to the Monastiraki area where we booked a cruise for tomorrow then went sight seeing. The tickets we bought for the Acropolis also gave us entry into the Ancient Agora. This was the old economic centre of ancient Athens. It was alright. More ruins really. I tried another handstand photo with the Parthenon here, as it had a better view than the other spot the other day. Fearing that there were more handstand police around, we decided to leave with the photo.
The hotel wasn't that far away, so we took a pleasant walk through the streets of Athens. Passed through the shopping district, a few famous landmarks and a political demonstration that blocked off the streets (and apparently the Metro as well according to the folks). Lunch involed some more pita gyros, as they're awesome.
The rest of the day involved bumming around in the hotel, catching up on bits and pieces - like blogging... It's good to do that from time to time to chill out. We went to dinner and got hassled by the walking sales men. Including some from earlier in the day, we counted 11 that we had to wave off.
From there we headed down to the Monastiraki area where we booked a cruise for tomorrow then went sight seeing. The tickets we bought for the Acropolis also gave us entry into the Ancient Agora. This was the old economic centre of ancient Athens. It was alright. More ruins really. I tried another handstand photo with the Parthenon here, as it had a better view than the other spot the other day. Fearing that there were more handstand police around, we decided to leave with the photo.
The hotel wasn't that far away, so we took a pleasant walk through the streets of Athens. Passed through the shopping district, a few famous landmarks and a political demonstration that blocked off the streets (and apparently the Metro as well according to the folks). Lunch involed some more pita gyros, as they're awesome.
The rest of the day involved bumming around in the hotel, catching up on bits and pieces - like blogging... It's good to do that from time to time to chill out. We went to dinner and got hassled by the walking sales men. Including some from earlier in the day, we counted 11 that we had to wave off.
Day 34
Today was all about the site seeing in Athens. The first one was the Acropolis, with the Parthenon on top (like a cherry). So off we went on the Metro. It was really close to the city. Awesome!
When we got there, we all walked to the entrance of the park that surrounds it. As with all famous tourist stuff, you had to pay to get in. However, mum took one look at the height of the Acropolis and decided that it was too hot for her to climb. After calling her a wimp, my folks decided to go looking around the area instead while Sandra and I manned up.
It was pretty cool. Toursists all around but the views were great. The Parthenon was pretty cool as well despite being surrounded by cranes and scaffolding (they're restoring/rebuilding it again). I can see why, but they more they rebuild it, the less authentic it seems. Either way, this was the place to do a handstand photo.
I don't think we've mentioned it in the blog yet but I've been making a point to do a handstand in each country next to a one of its most famous symbol. On the great wall in China, next to a field of Windmills in the Netherlands, Edinburgh Castle in Scottland, Big Ben in England, the Eiffel Tower in France and the Colosseum in Italy. So it would only be fitting that the Parthenon represent the glory of Greece.
However, after taking the most epic photo, the handstand police blew their whistles (literally, they had whistles), came over and made us delete the photo. WTF dude, can't I take a photo of the Pathenon? Yes, but not if you're posing. Oh man...
So the handstand police were really people hired to make sure ignorant tourists like myself follow the rules. I came to realise the peace keepers were all around the top of the Acropolis so finding somewhere else to do it was just not going to work up here. In the end, I had to take one elsewhere in the city with the Parthenon in the background. Meh, it'll do. We know the truth!
We decided to walk back to where we would meet the folks. This time, we would go the other way to be different. We didn't realise, but we accidently walked out of the park. That didn't matter, we'd walk around the park. Good in theory, but the foot path that we took (the road split into two) got blocked half way around. This must happen to tourists a lot, because in that time span, we met up with 2 other groups of tourists following the same deadend trail. When we got back to the place where we left the park they wouldn't let us back in. Bitches. We caught up with the folks the long way around.
The next stop was the port of Piraeus. Not that there was much there to see, it's just a port. Either way, we decided to go there. Sandra and I decided to go back to the hotel for some R & R and to see if I could recover the deleted photo from my phone while the folks went on ahead.
As I said, there really wasn't much there. It was a port. A relatively busy one, but just a port. So Sandra and I sat down and has some food. We had some 2 Euro pita gyros (little souvlakis). They were awesome! If I lived here, I would totally go back to that place! After some icecream, we tried to call the folks to let them know where we were. In typical parent style, they didn't answer. However, they ended up finding us anyway which was convenient.
Back to the city and the ladies of the group went shopping. I decided to bum out in the hotel. We then went to dinner where we got hassled by the walking salesmen again. We counted 7 that we had to wave off.
When we got there, we all walked to the entrance of the park that surrounds it. As with all famous tourist stuff, you had to pay to get in. However, mum took one look at the height of the Acropolis and decided that it was too hot for her to climb. After calling her a wimp, my folks decided to go looking around the area instead while Sandra and I manned up.
It was pretty cool. Toursists all around but the views were great. The Parthenon was pretty cool as well despite being surrounded by cranes and scaffolding (they're restoring/rebuilding it again). I can see why, but they more they rebuild it, the less authentic it seems. Either way, this was the place to do a handstand photo.
I don't think we've mentioned it in the blog yet but I've been making a point to do a handstand in each country next to a one of its most famous symbol. On the great wall in China, next to a field of Windmills in the Netherlands, Edinburgh Castle in Scottland, Big Ben in England, the Eiffel Tower in France and the Colosseum in Italy. So it would only be fitting that the Parthenon represent the glory of Greece.
However, after taking the most epic photo, the handstand police blew their whistles (literally, they had whistles), came over and made us delete the photo. WTF dude, can't I take a photo of the Pathenon? Yes, but not if you're posing. Oh man...
So the handstand police were really people hired to make sure ignorant tourists like myself follow the rules. I came to realise the peace keepers were all around the top of the Acropolis so finding somewhere else to do it was just not going to work up here. In the end, I had to take one elsewhere in the city with the Parthenon in the background. Meh, it'll do. We know the truth!
We decided to walk back to where we would meet the folks. This time, we would go the other way to be different. We didn't realise, but we accidently walked out of the park. That didn't matter, we'd walk around the park. Good in theory, but the foot path that we took (the road split into two) got blocked half way around. This must happen to tourists a lot, because in that time span, we met up with 2 other groups of tourists following the same deadend trail. When we got back to the place where we left the park they wouldn't let us back in. Bitches. We caught up with the folks the long way around.
The next stop was the port of Piraeus. Not that there was much there to see, it's just a port. Either way, we decided to go there. Sandra and I decided to go back to the hotel for some R & R and to see if I could recover the deleted photo from my phone while the folks went on ahead.
As I said, there really wasn't much there. It was a port. A relatively busy one, but just a port. So Sandra and I sat down and has some food. We had some 2 Euro pita gyros (little souvlakis). They were awesome! If I lived here, I would totally go back to that place! After some icecream, we tried to call the folks to let them know where we were. In typical parent style, they didn't answer. However, they ended up finding us anyway which was convenient.
Back to the city and the ladies of the group went shopping. I decided to bum out in the hotel. We then went to dinner where we got hassled by the walking salesmen again. We counted 7 that we had to wave off.
Day 33
It was time again to leave a country behind and move to the next one. So as always, the alarm went off earlier than we all would have liked, and we made our way to the airport.
The cab ride was 40 Euros this time. Which means that the cab driver who took us from the airport to our apartment DID rip us off. But whatever, time to leave - see you later Italy!
Nothing special happened at the Rome airport. Sandra got bitten by a mosquito (what are the odds). That's about it.
We arrived in the Athens airport and one of the first things I noticed was that a lot of the landscape looked very similar to Tasmania (in summer). There were obvious differences (the Greek style buildings for a start), but a lot was the same.
We set out to make our way to the hotel. Yes, that's right. This time we're staying in a hotel rather than a self serviced apartment! We tried to get an apartment, but this hotel was just so damn cheap. It ended up being 45 Euros per night for a room and included breakfast. Win! We thought it might have been dodge, but so far it's been great! Instantly, I had a good feeling about Greece.
The train to the city centre from the airport was down so we caught the bus. When we arrived in the city centre a rush of happiness came over me when I realised that they had free (working) public wifi! I can't tell you much it sucked in Rome that I wasn't allowed to use the public wifi. It was as if Rome went to every effort it could to ban me from wifi (including McDonalds!). But whatever, we're in Greece now, where the wifi is as free as the sun!
A short subway ride took us to our hotel.The Athens subways were fantastic - cheap, clean, neat and wheelchair and luggage friendly! Now, we figured that there must be a reason why our hotel was so cheap. Apparently it's because it's in the dodge area of town. But we're next to a police station and nothing bad has happened to us so far, so win! Plus it's so damn central! Still liking Greece.
After we got our crap into our rooms on the 8th floor of the hotel, we decided to have a look around. We saw a department store that had toys in the front window so decided to continue the hunt for Megatron. The toy section was in the basement so we took the spiral staircase down. They went on forever. It was so long it felt like they went all the way to Australia (oh yeah, 'other-side-of-the-world' gag).
But the stairs were worth it. As soon as we found the Transformer section, we saw that not only did they have Megatron, but a whole bunch of them. This might explain why the rest of the world doesn't have any. To add a cherry on top, the store was having a 10% off day. Yes, win! Really liking Greece!
Next, dinner time. The temperature was pretty hot, so we found a small restaurant opposite the hotel and ate outside. While eating, we found that we would get harassed from time to time by people trying to sell crap to us. We even had these kids come up and play the accordian (really really badly) in the vain hope we would give them money. We've had a strict no beggars policy on this trip and we're not backing down now!
We came back to the air conditioned comfort of our hotel before venturing out again after dark to find a laundromat. Turns out that self-service laundromats are as rare as hens teeth in Athens but we did come across a dude that charged 10 Euro to wash and dry a load so we left it with him and then went adventuring in the dodgy streets of Athens. We found a nice little cafe to sit down and have a drink at and then realised we were way off from where we thought we were so had to back track further to the hotel. Go iPhone GPS!
The cab ride was 40 Euros this time. Which means that the cab driver who took us from the airport to our apartment DID rip us off. But whatever, time to leave - see you later Italy!
Nothing special happened at the Rome airport. Sandra got bitten by a mosquito (what are the odds). That's about it.
We arrived in the Athens airport and one of the first things I noticed was that a lot of the landscape looked very similar to Tasmania (in summer). There were obvious differences (the Greek style buildings for a start), but a lot was the same.
We set out to make our way to the hotel. Yes, that's right. This time we're staying in a hotel rather than a self serviced apartment! We tried to get an apartment, but this hotel was just so damn cheap. It ended up being 45 Euros per night for a room and included breakfast. Win! We thought it might have been dodge, but so far it's been great! Instantly, I had a good feeling about Greece.
The train to the city centre from the airport was down so we caught the bus. When we arrived in the city centre a rush of happiness came over me when I realised that they had free (working) public wifi! I can't tell you much it sucked in Rome that I wasn't allowed to use the public wifi. It was as if Rome went to every effort it could to ban me from wifi (including McDonalds!). But whatever, we're in Greece now, where the wifi is as free as the sun!
A short subway ride took us to our hotel.The Athens subways were fantastic - cheap, clean, neat and wheelchair and luggage friendly! Now, we figured that there must be a reason why our hotel was so cheap. Apparently it's because it's in the dodge area of town. But we're next to a police station and nothing bad has happened to us so far, so win! Plus it's so damn central! Still liking Greece.
After we got our crap into our rooms on the 8th floor of the hotel, we decided to have a look around. We saw a department store that had toys in the front window so decided to continue the hunt for Megatron. The toy section was in the basement so we took the spiral staircase down. They went on forever. It was so long it felt like they went all the way to Australia (oh yeah, 'other-side-of-the-world' gag).
But the stairs were worth it. As soon as we found the Transformer section, we saw that not only did they have Megatron, but a whole bunch of them. This might explain why the rest of the world doesn't have any. To add a cherry on top, the store was having a 10% off day. Yes, win! Really liking Greece!
Next, dinner time. The temperature was pretty hot, so we found a small restaurant opposite the hotel and ate outside. While eating, we found that we would get harassed from time to time by people trying to sell crap to us. We even had these kids come up and play the accordian (really really badly) in the vain hope we would give them money. We've had a strict no beggars policy on this trip and we're not backing down now!
We came back to the air conditioned comfort of our hotel before venturing out again after dark to find a laundromat. Turns out that self-service laundromats are as rare as hens teeth in Athens but we did come across a dude that charged 10 Euro to wash and dry a load so we left it with him and then went adventuring in the dodgy streets of Athens. We found a nice little cafe to sit down and have a drink at and then realised we were way off from where we thought we were so had to back track further to the hotel. Go iPhone GPS!
Day 32
We got up early and caught the bus to the Vatican. The museum is closed every Sunday except the last Sunday of each month, which just happened to be today. When we arrived, there was a huge line outside St Peters Basilica. We toyed with the idea of waiting in line briefly before deciding to move on to the museum.
Here there was an even bigger line! We joined the end of it while I went and investigated how long it was. Once I lost track of it (it went around the block so I could no longer see it), we decided that perhaps that wasn’t the best idea either. So, instead of going into Vatican we walked the outside instead. We ended back in St Peters Square where we took some photos of the area from outside. The line was still pretty long so we headed back towards the bus stop.
As we were leaving, there was some sort of Bolivian celebration going on which meant that there were dancers dressed in traditional costumes parading down the street with Bolivian music playing. It was pretty unusual considering that we were right out the front of St Peters Basilica but pretty cool at the same time. It started drizzling half way through and the brave souls just soldiered on in the rain. It cleared up after about 15 minutes luckily.
We caught the bus back to the apartment, had a bite to eat and a bit of a sit down before heading back out again. We caught the bus to near Piazza Navona where we checked out the ruins of Sacred Argentina before heading into the Piazza. There were a number of artists in the square so Steve’s mum was pretty happy wandering around.
After the Piazza we followed the tourist directions towards the Pantheon. We didn’t get too lost on the way there. The square was fairly busy but there was a steady stream of people going in and out of the Pantheon so there wasn’t any waiting. The building was amazing. I felt that the marriage between the old Roman architecture and the conversion of the temple into a Roman Catholic church was a bit funny but that’s just me.
From the Pantheon we headed to the Trevi Fountain, which was also very busy. Steve made a wish and then we sat down in a nice little cafe for a cool drink before heading to the Piazza della Repubblica. We passed the main road on our way and noticed that there was a bus heading that way so we thought we’d make use of our transport passes. After 15 minutes of waiting we started getting suspicious that perhaps the bus wasn’t running today so Steve and I gave up and walked. Steve’s parent’s waited for a bit longer but they too gave up in the end and we met up again in the Piazza.
We wandered around and then headed back to the apartment. We stopped off at a restaurant for our last true Italian meal before calling it a night and getting ready to leave the next day.
Here there was an even bigger line! We joined the end of it while I went and investigated how long it was. Once I lost track of it (it went around the block so I could no longer see it), we decided that perhaps that wasn’t the best idea either. So, instead of going into Vatican we walked the outside instead. We ended back in St Peters Square where we took some photos of the area from outside. The line was still pretty long so we headed back towards the bus stop.
As we were leaving, there was some sort of Bolivian celebration going on which meant that there were dancers dressed in traditional costumes parading down the street with Bolivian music playing. It was pretty unusual considering that we were right out the front of St Peters Basilica but pretty cool at the same time. It started drizzling half way through and the brave souls just soldiered on in the rain. It cleared up after about 15 minutes luckily.
We caught the bus back to the apartment, had a bite to eat and a bit of a sit down before heading back out again. We caught the bus to near Piazza Navona where we checked out the ruins of Sacred Argentina before heading into the Piazza. There were a number of artists in the square so Steve’s mum was pretty happy wandering around.
After the Piazza we followed the tourist directions towards the Pantheon. We didn’t get too lost on the way there. The square was fairly busy but there was a steady stream of people going in and out of the Pantheon so there wasn’t any waiting. The building was amazing. I felt that the marriage between the old Roman architecture and the conversion of the temple into a Roman Catholic church was a bit funny but that’s just me.
From the Pantheon we headed to the Trevi Fountain, which was also very busy. Steve made a wish and then we sat down in a nice little cafe for a cool drink before heading to the Piazza della Repubblica. We passed the main road on our way and noticed that there was a bus heading that way so we thought we’d make use of our transport passes. After 15 minutes of waiting we started getting suspicious that perhaps the bus wasn’t running today so Steve and I gave up and walked. Steve’s parent’s waited for a bit longer but they too gave up in the end and we met up again in the Piazza.
We wandered around and then headed back to the apartment. We stopped off at a restaurant for our last true Italian meal before calling it a night and getting ready to leave the next day.
Day 31
My apologies for the lack of photos but Blogger has decided that it hates the photos and refuses to upload them so you'll just have to wait until we get back.
We got up and headed to Termini to catch the Metro to Colosseo....can anybody guess what was there? When we arrived there, there was a massive queue. It turned out that it was some Arts Festival weekend and all government sites, museums, etc. were free entry to the public. That’s fantastic! Except that there were hundreds of people everywhere....
As we walked to join the queue a guy stopped us and asked us if we wanted to have a 2 hour guided tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. We ummed and ahhed and then decided, why not. This would be the first guided tour that we had done and we had been expecting to pay to get into the Colosseum anyway.
Our tour guide for the Colosseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, was very friendly and seemed quite knowledgeable. The tour group wasn’t too big so we could hear well and we got to bypass the public line and go in the group line. All in all it was a 45 minute tour/information session on the Colosseum and then we were given 45 minutes to wander around by ourselves before we reconvened again at 12 outside the exit of the Colosseum for our tour of the Palatine and Roman Forum.
This group was a lot bigger! There were over 100 people there I reckon. Luckily there were two guides so we headed over to the Palatine and then they split the group up into two. Because the Palatine is on a hill we had to walk up to the top. Steve and I felt a little bit like cattle, moving slowly in a large body of people...
This tour guide was Canadian which was kind of random. He was highly entertaining though and we enjoyed what we saw. After the tour we wandered down to the Roman Forum and had a walk through the area. We found a semi shaded place to sit and have a snack before continuing up towards Piazza Venezia – didn’t we just come from there?
There were two beautiful looking museums in this area but we decided not to go in as half the day was already over and we still had other things we wanted to do. We figured that if we had time once we had seen the major sites we would come back.
We caught a bus back to Termini and went back to the apartment for some lunch and a bit of a refresher before heading out again on the Metro to the Spanish Steps. There are only two Metro lines in Rome, Line A and B. We had caught Line B in the morning to go to the Colleseum and had to catch Line A to the Piazza de Spagna. Line A was deep, deep down in the subway. We walked for miles before we finally arrived at the platform. Thankfully the Metro station near the Spanish Steps wasn’t as far down.
We walked out of the station and were confronted with a sea of people. There were thousands of people in the piazza. They were blocking the roads so that cars were having trouble getting through, they were all over the steps, they were in all the adjoining side streets. We thought there might have been something going on but no, they must have all been tourists just coming to enjoy the Spanish Steps.
We took a few snaps and then we stopped by Maccas again for an ice cream and because Steve had read online that this one may have open WIFI. Unfortunately no so we decided that Rome hates foreign numbers and gave up.
I’m not sure if we mentioned this in an earlier blog but Steve was about to finish off the book series he started reading in Australia so he found another series that sounded interesting and then proceeded to drag us around London and Paris looking for bookstores so that he could buy the first book before he finished his current series. We managed to find it in Paris so he was happy about that, finished his old book and started on the new book.
Unfortunately, once we arrived in Rome he started panicking that he was going to finish the new book before the end of the trip so he looked up English bookstores around Rome to begin his hunt again. Luckily one of them was near the Spanish Steps so we made a way to the Anglo Americano bookstore where amazingly they had the second and third book in the series. I made him buy both because I told him I refused to be dragged around Athens and Cairo hunting for yet another English bookstore.
We joined the mass of people crowding the streets leading away from the Spanish Steps and headed towards the river. Rome is the first city that I have come across that hadn’t made a tourist use out of its waterway and the surrounding area. It was just simply a river with high banks, small footpaths and busy roads running on either side. There were little souvenir stalls along the footpath but that was about it.
We crossed to the other side and walked down to Castel Sant'Angelo. There was free entry into the Castle due to the Arts Festival so we went in. There was a terrace at the very top that was up a small spiralling staircase (it was just wide enough for one person to go up comfortably) which gave a great view of the city. The castle was also incredibly close to the Vatican so there was a really good view of St Peters Basilica from the terrace.
We left the Castle and caught a bus back to the apartment. The bus was packed – it was so full that peole weren’t able to get on when the bus stopped. Once again, we had gotten on at the first stop so we managed to score some seats and I’m glad we did because it was a long drive back and we were pretty tired from a day of sightseeing, especially in the heat!
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