Last October I was pounding the cobbled Strasse/pavements of Rome making my way either to the slaughter house of the Colosseum (leather thongs and lions) or to St Peter’s Square for a ‘heart to heart’ with the Pope. It also could have been to either an art exhibition or to a museum. I even attended Mass! I didn’t understand much but the church was beautiful.

I kept being dragged in for either a Gelateria or a coffee and sometimes a glass of red, or all three! . All the resting places’s troughs were clean and some even had red checked tablecloths, (paid extra there ) . These places were very expensive ,it’s cheaper to drink wine than coffee.

One of the great advantages of when you are away is that nobody knows you. You can do or say as you like , when you like and even shout what you like .

I only had one incident that made me raise my voice and that was to an English man at the turnstyle/entrance to the Vatican Museum. He completely lost his temper when he had trouble with his ticket at the turnstyle. Unfortunately I was behind him which resulted in me being pushed out of the way with force when he tried to join another queue.

His actions were seen and he was apprehended.

I found that some Italians don’t know how to make an Omelette . Some Italians think themselves as being gorgeous, and yes they are and I noticed that some priests were gorgeous also far too young to be a priest – what a waste.

In the Cistern Chapel what amused me was that the guards were forever shouting out Shssssssssssssss! Then I noticed that one of them was on his mobile talking. Looking up at the ceiling was breath taking but I couldn’t take it all in. Looking back at it now I can.

At the Trevi Fountain I threw coins over the wrong shoulder. By the time I found a space and person to take a photo I had forgotten what I had to wish for and what shoulder to toss the coin over!

Repeat of above but longer – Part 2

One day during a recent visit to Rome I thought I would visit the Vatican and the Cistern Chapel.
I was lucky enough to be able to join one of the English groups staying in my hotel. A coach was provided so I tagged along, joining in with their banter.
We arrived at St Peter’s Square and made our way to the entrance of the museum etc. where there was a security check.
It was a lovely hot day and I wore a long sleeved top and trousers because knowing that I could be refused entrance if anything bare was showing. I felt hot and thirsty so I bought a small glass bottle of water before entering.
We had to go through a security check so I dumped my backpack onto the belt and holding the bottle of water I walked through the metal detector. I walked through but was apprehended by two security chaps and was marched off to a kiosk where I was made to leave my bottle with them shouting in Italian and was handed a ticket.
I re-joined the group and walked on to a turnstile machine where you slide your entrance ticket in and it pops out the other side.
I was behind an English man who completely lost his temper when his ticket refused to pop out. He banged the machine with his fist, swore and turned round and pushed me out of the way when trying to escape. That was quite upsetting but after walking along the beautiful corridors passing amazing paintings and statues I quickly forgot the incident.
I reached the Cistern Chapel joining the crowds and walked to the end of the chapel. There were at least a hundred people in the chapel with guards telling us to keep quiet and be respectful. I found this funny as the guards were busy chatting to each other. They kept shouting shsssssssssssssssss!
As I rested on a bench next to three ladies from the party from my hotel I looked up to the ceiling and inspected the artwork. I didn’t like the colours but it was amazing. The ladies and I started chatting and giggling so we left before we were removed! We walked out onto the famous square (no Pope to be seen) and we admired it before we decided to go for a coffee nearby.
These three ladies and I arranged to meet later for a meal and over the next couple of days we were together either sightseeing or enjoying meals together. We laughed so much together exchanging life stories and sharing taxis.
One of these ladies was not a very well person so it was sad when I received and email from her daughter telling me that she passed away early Feb 11. Her daughter asked me for any photographs of her mother taken whilst in Rome so that she could use them at her funeral.
Rome was a lovely experience. I walked many miles and saw all the attractions that I could possibly manage and made some new friends. I would love to go back there again but this time with a hotel nearer to the centre.
I did feel safe there, much safer than Barcelona.