Time to head home

Well its been 5 great months and time has come to head home and I must say I am looking forward to my own bed. Still though even with less than 24 hours before I begin my journey home it feels like I am just moving on to another country, I have done it so much going especially in the last 5/6 weeks that mentally I dont have much else to think about other than for the pals to get to my next destination.

Rome has been interesting and probably more than any other city I have been to it is a place for real history buffs. For myself and other Aussies et al that I have met her it is a place to see the sites you see in pictures and on tv abd then move on to the next one. Whereas the historians could spend many many gours at it place just staring at the wonders that these places must have seen, how they were built etc etc, and that for me is the same of the Vatican. When you first arrive in Rome with its population of at least 2.2 million you would think it would take forever to see the sites as they would be spread out all over the place. This is not true it is actualy quite the opposite and one way that I saw so much in the first couple of days was that you go to one place have a look and then realise the next site to visit is about a five minute walk away so you just go that little bit further, it is quite compact. If you were in a really hurry and like me didnt want to spend a lot of time in awe of churches you could see most of the historical sites Rome the city has in 2 days. As an example the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Colloseum, Roman Forum and several others are in an area of less than 1km. I said you could see them all in a very short time but dont get me wrong you could depending on your bent spend hours at each one therefore obviously time gets away from you. The only time I spent any real time at one of these places was the Colloseum, unless you wanted a guided tour you could stand in line alone for 2 hours. The tours are worth it as they do 2 or 3 sites and you learn a lot more, however you are severely restricted with what you want to see, but then you do jump the cues. These sites et al are all amazing to see but for me to see take a photo and move on which is what I did. maybe I did a diservice to them but hey I am there for me. As I said I saw these places and more and as I have said before especially in Rome walk around as in Rome there are ruins everywhere and to be honest the rawness if these are more interesting then say the Trevi fountain. The Colloseum is worth the money and effort either the line up or tour as it for myself was one of the places where I could actual imagine the history and spectacle, another was Cirrus Massimus just down the road from Colloseum.

The Vatican is another thing all together it impressed me yet felt that its audacity was not befitting of current times. The Sistine Chapel whilst very different then I had imagined (smaller less intricate paintings) was amazing to see, considering Michalengelo was ordered to paint it and wasnt a painter. I went on a tour with the Vatican which is a double edged sword as they are expensive and you dont spend anywhere near as much time as you would by yourself in the museum but you learn a lot of the history. In reality if you were realy that way inclined one day take a tour then go another day by yourself, it is a wonder to see. St Peters Bascillica is very grand as one would imagine and you are able to go underneath it to the area of Constantine and look at all of the sacophogies them embody the deceased popes. The museum is a place that you could spent (crowds permitting) many many hours with all of its art, tapestries and treasures this you really need to do on your own but be prepared to cue for hours.

I was told this is the busiest time for Rome as it is cold and the Romans and Italians are around as well as the tourists. It is funny to see so many people, myself included walking around with a map in their hand, all lost, and let me say most of these lost people are Italian. The Rome city map seems indicative of Italian city maps I feel as they are designed to get you lost. The landmark sites are not drawn on the map in the correct direction and it takes a couple of days to learn this (slow learner) and it is as confusing as you would not believe thanks to the street signage.

Seeing so much in the first few days has afforded me the opportunity to wander around and see the things not deemed worthy to be on the map, such as the intersection that has on each of its four corners an inlaid sculpture that seems to be nowhere else. Another place i visited was the Cappuchin Crypt which is under a church and its walls etc are decorated with the bones of the deceased Cappuchin monks. Morbid in one way yet very fascinating. There are four chapels each named after the body part ie the chapel of skulls, something you dont see every day.
Rome has a bit to see but I am sure there are a lot prettier places to see in Italy with a lot more Italian culture and I liken Florence in the same way. Interesting to see these places but if i was coming back I might be tempted to find quiter locales and more relaxed.

Well I head home tomorrow so that about wraps up my travels I will however once I recover from jetlag etc add one more update and maybe fill in some blanks or just give a bit of a precis on my interpretation of places that I have seen. Thanks to all that have been reading and maybe I will be talking with some ofyou soon and to the others I hope my travels have been entertaining enough and if there is anything you might like to know please just leave a comment for me and I will try and answer the best that I can. Cheers to all