Hi all, sorry for the delay on this latest and my second to last post. We've had a bit of drama to finish our holiday. The drama, which I will talk you through shortly, also included me losing 2 days worth of this blog. So, I've actually written this all before but I am now writing it again. Please excuse me if I get my timing wrong because I am writing about events that happened a couple of days ago and my head is ultra fuzzy. Anyway, here goes.
Our final 2 days in Rome were spent checking out the last of the sights that we thought we needed to see before we left. On the first day we saw the Colosseum, the Forum and stopped by the Trevi fountain on the way home. On the second day, our last in Rome, we checked out the Sistine Chapel. However, before I quickly tell you about these 2 days, I will talk you through the beginnings of our dramas which began at Fiumicino - the airport in Rome.
The trip home was always going to be a long and hard one (we calculated that it would be 34 hours from when we left Rome until we arrived home and a massive 45 hours spent before we once again got the chance to be horizontal) but luckily, we got the chance to add stressful to the trip as well. Our trip was supposed to go Rome-Frankfurt-Bangkok-Auckland. However, the leg to Frankfurt was delayed by 2 hours. This had the cumulative effect of us missing our next two connecting flights. The Lufthansa desk was swarmed with people all looking for a free meal voucher based on this delay - we had bigger issues. We could not get home. After I waited 1 1/2 hours in the queue, we were initially told that we would have to fly to Frankfurt and stay the night then fly out the next day to Bangkok. Our flight to Auckland would then be who knows when. I told the lady that this didn't really work for us. After an agonizing 20 more minutes waiting, she told us that we could go to Vienna, then onto Bangkok and meet up with our original flight to Auckland. Great. Our luggage would apparently follow us to our final destination - or so we thought... The flight to Vienna was in 20 minutes so we sprinted to the gate and got on immediately. Unfortunately, as these were new tickets, we weren't sitting together. The connecting flight to Bangkok was then in 30 minutes, so we had to sprint for that also! And again, we weren't together, but this was a 12 hour flight. We had no choice so we went with it. We were just thankful that we would make it home on time. But the whole thing was very stressful. One of us said that it was amazing that nothing had gone wrong on the trip. Whoever it was jinxed us big time.
Anyway, back to Rome.
We spent the day (2 days ago) checking out the Forum and the Colosseum. Both Chris and I had studied Rome before so we were particularly interested.
The Forum wasn't much to see but knowing what we knew about this spot still meant that it was an awesome site to see. The Forum was for centuries the centre of Roman life. At one stage, a third of the planet was under the control of the Roman Empire, and most of the decisions and economic and judicial plans were discussed, debated and implemented from this spot. Awesome.
The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the world - an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It could hold 80 thousand spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests, executions, mock battles, dramas based on Classic mythology and even a church in its later years when it lay in a semi ruined state. It took the Romans 4 years to build and lasted 3 centuries before earthquake damage took its toll. Its truly an awesome structure and yet another example of what the Romans could do, and the marvels they could build. We decided to actually join a tour for visiting the Colosseum and it was well worth it. We learned so much more this way.
On the way back home, we had some lunch (of course) and visited the Trevi fountain. Because it was Sunday, it was terrifyingly busy so we took a couple of snaps and went shopping instead :)
The Forum - quite old
On the way to the colossal Colosseum
In front of the Colosseum
Looking down on the Colosseum
Gnocchi al ragu - yumbo
Pork sarnie anyone?
Trevi fountain
On our last day in Rome, we visited the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is of course famous for its frescos but is also the site of the Papal Conclave, the process by which the new Pope was selected. This was always going to be a personal highlight for me. We had purchased tickets to skip the massive queues (no shit, about 3 kms long) which got us in the doors at 12pm, which was great. I had read stories of how a certain Mr Michelangelo was forced by the current Pope to paint the ceiling of the Chapel and that it took him 4 years, lying on his back and that it almost killed him. When you actually see this thing, you can see why. Michelangelo was up against the roof on scaffolding (that he designed and got built) and had to get food and water delivered up to him. One of the many things that hits you is how did he paint this thing on wet plaster and get the result that he did by not seeing what it looked like from 40m below? Its incredible. The atmosphere in the Chapel is unique. It smells like religion. the Vatican guards are constantly asking for silence (no one is supposed to speak as it is a Holy place) and for no one to take photos or videos. This was strictly forbidden. Once again, we followed the rules and chatted quietly and took a couple of snaps - as per below. We stayed there for about 40 minutes, dissecting the fresco on the ceiling panel by panel.
Last breakfast in Rome - fancy cheese & ham toastie
Last lunch in Rome
Last dinner in Rome - Due lasagne Rosso, Risotto di porcini, Swordfish
Sign leading to the Sistine Chapel
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and my nostrils
"The Last Judgement" by Michalangelo
Located in the Sistine Chapel on one of the end walls,
Michaelangelo painted this 23 years after the ceiling.
Heaven at top, Hell at the bottom
Rome has been a blast and we will return. Its a city that is steeped in such ancient and relevant history. Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government. Its busy, dirty, loud, frenetic, filled with the most fabulous food and crazy drivers, the woman are aggressive (Chris had the most hilarious run in with an older Italian woman in the Sistine Chapel. She basically barged Chris in to the wall as we tried to slip past her) and its now of our most favourite places. Perhaps it was the daunting task of the trip ahead or perhaps it was having to leave this wonderful place but either way, we were not happy to be leaving.
I am now writing this with a very fuzzy head from my breakfast bench in our house on Waiheke. We have mixed feelings about being here but I guess that's to be expected when you have been swanning around Europe for 6 weeks. Or maybe we are feeling a bit pensive because OUR BAGGAGE IS FRIKKIN LOST!! We arrived in Auckland but our 4 bags didn't. Apparently they may be somewhere in Germany but to date, they have not been located. We cant even contemplate losing them as they are not only full of all our clothes that we actually wear, but also full of all the special things we bought on our trip. It sucks. A crappy end to a great trip.
I will be making one more entry to this blog. Our final thoughts in the form of a final summary of the trip and what it will be remembered for. I have asked the kids to write us a letter headed "What the trip to Europe meant to us" so will include some of their thoughts. I'm thinking "Having hot chocolates every day" might appear on Bens list. I'm also hoping to report the return of our worldly possessions. Cross your fingers please.
Thank you for following our trip and thanks for reading my blog. My final thoughts and comments will follow soon xxx
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