Anybody expecting an exciting continuation to the last blog should read the next paragraph; all others, skip it and go to the one after that.
As we exited the lift, the door immediately to our right swung open and there stood a fellow disguised with the use of a balaclava and holding what appeared to be a very powerful automatic rifle pointing directly at Rob’s head. Of course I would have stood in front of her if I could but, being the gentleman that I am, I had stood aside to let her exit the lift first.
As we exited the lift, the door immediately to our right swung open and there stood a fellow who appeared to be in his mid sixties and who immediately held out the hand of friendship and said, “Hi, I’m Gene. Welcome to Rome.”
Eugene, as it turned out, was in fact a very interesting American. We had picked it right when we spoke to him on the security intercom. He arrived in Rome about 40 years ago at the age of 28, fell in love with the place and except for an occasional trip home to visit family, has lived there ever since. He is now retired but for most of his working life was involved in journalism and the movie industry. He is obviously fluent in both English and Italian so he drifted from straight journalism to the translation of novels and screenplays. He did that for a number of years before becoming a unit publicist for films shot in Europe and Asia. Over the years he had worked with most of the major stars. His last job was on the film “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” which is based on the life of Jacques Cousteau staring Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and Anjelica Huston. Before that was “The Four Feathers” staring Heath Ledger. He has hundreds pictures of himself with these and many, many other top line artists, all signed by them with messages of grateful thanks for work well done. He has decided to put them to good use and has commenced plastering the walls of his office with them. Before we left, I think because we had shown so much interest in his life, he invited us into the holy of holies, his den, to see the photos and the redecoration of the room to date.
In spite of the length of time Gene has been away from the US he remains passionate about it regaining respect in the world community. He believed the country had lost its way under the George W administration so was heavily involved with a group of expats doing whatever they could to support the campaign of Barack Obama in his attempt to become the next president.
After a quick familiarisation tour of our room and facilities Gene left us to our own devices. There was a small balcony outside our room that looked down on an enclosed park, about 600 square meters in area, directly opposite. It transpired that a cat lover had donated this very, very valuable land to the local community as a refuge for unwanted cats. Anybody can leave a cat there and the locals will look after it. We were a bit worried at first, thinking that it may have been a bit smelly or noisy, but there was no problem. The locals are very attentive to both the area and its inhabitants. We only caught a glimpse of an occasional cat as it roamed through the trees. What really grabbed our attention however was the sight of the dome of St Peters Basilica only a few hundred meters to our left. As spectacular as our view was during the day, it changed to absolutely superb at night. Gene told us that a very well known lighting effects man in the US movie industry had been appointed to design the external lighting which was completed at a substantial cost. To our right was a rail bridge leading into San Pietro railway station. Beneath it was a portion of the grounds of a local school (fully bituminised) where the local kids spend their after school hours playing football - soccer of course. It was truly magic sitting there at happy hour (yes happy hour continued even in Europe), listening to the sounds of the kids at play.
After happy hour we wandered down to a local restaurant, McQueens, where Gene had visited during the day to advise them of our possible arrival and to ask them to look after us. They did and were most attentive. The food was excellent. Our waiter was very interested in Oz as he was anxious to visit some day. After dinner we chatted with him for some time and he shouted us a sambucca or two. We went home feeling very good about life and Rome in particular, and spent an hour or so on our balcony enthralled at the sights and sounds – the ambience - of the Eternal City, and wondering at how lucky we were to be there. Of course Rob being Rob, could not help herself. She was oh so attentive to the minutiae while I was occupied with the big picture. I noticed that there were quite a few cars and a few motor scooters parked down below; however, she was fascinated by the fact that there were 17 cars and 2 scooters parked in an area designed for 15 cars. It was a source of much enjoyment for her noting how the drivers, by now safely ensconced for the night in their homes, had manipulated their vehicles to achieve this astonishing feat. She has now decided that when (if) we ever settle down again she wants a Mercedes Smart Car that is small enough to park perpendicular to the kerb as some below us were. How would that be, going from an F truck that requires a football field to turn in, to a Smart Car that turns on a sixpence.
After a very comfortable night’s sleep we awoke to one of Gene’s famous breakfasts after which we walked around to St Peters Basilica for a look at the boss’s place – the boss if you are a Mick. To us it was mind blowing stuff seeing the wealth of the church. We mentioned our disquiet about it (to a non-Mick as it happened) but he expressed the opinion that had the church not sponsored and/or commissioned many of the great artists during their lifetimes, many of the great works would never have been completed or may never have been preserved for the hundreds and sometimes thousands of years since their completion. After all, he said, the buildings and contents have been accumulated over a period of 2000 years. The magnificent Michelangelo sculpture of the Madonna and Jesus, completed when he was only 23, is a prime example of a now priceless artefact that was completed by a young unknown artist of the time. It took us all morning to go through the Basilica, St Peters Museum and treasury. Because it was late in the season, the number of people was not as great as it may have been during peak periods but, just the same, the place was packed and there were long lines waiting for a looksee.
Our morning at St Peters culminated with a climb of the 333 steps to the top of the dome (copula) where we were treated to a magnificent view of Rome. We could actually walk around the top and see many of the city’s great landmarks; the seven hills and numerous domes, spires and obelisks associated with grandiose churches and buildings. We could also see our little balcony not all that far away.
Before grabbing a quick bite for lunch we decided to replenish our supply of Euros. We had taken Euro travellers cheques as the exchange rate prior to us leaving Oz was quite favourable. We were expecting an encashment fee but when we went into a Western Union money exchange and received only €339.55 in return for €400.00 of the same currency cheques we were somewhat peeved. We told the very friendly lady who served us that she must have made a mistake but she assured us everything was in order. The commission rate, she said, was 13.9% and there was a Service Fee of €4.85. It was too late to do anything about it as she had our cheques and had stamped them so we had to accept it as just one more of life’s little learning experiences. However, paying the equivalent of $120.00 in commission and charges was, in our minds, a bit rich!!
After lunch we boarded an open top, hop on hop off, bus for a tour of the city. After our big morning we didn’t feel much like walking so we stayed on board for the full circuit, just about overcome at the site of so many wonderful places that, prior to that moment in our lives, were just a part of story tales – Circus Maximus, the Colosseum, Augusto Mausoleum, etc, etc, etc. WOW!!!
By the time the bus got back to St Peters it was 4.30pm so we wandered home for my OPS (old person’s sleep), in preparation for happy hour. Along the way, however we stopped in for an ice cream at a very popular little ice cream parlour close to home. That’s all they sold, ice cream in dozens of different flavours that even now make my mouth water. The place was called Captain Cono and it too had been recommended by Gene. What a magic host.
Fifty metres from our front door was a bakery that sold the most delicious breads and pastries. We called there too as I didn’t have any beer for happy hour and that was just another of their stock offerings. How civilised is the European way!!
Dinner that night was at another local restaurant, Goose, where Gene had once more prepared the way for our arrival. Again the staff were most attentive to our needs. I actually decided to depart from my normal fare of pizza and we both had spaghetti with clams, mussels, prawns and capers – beautiful. We ended the meal with a coffee. When I described to the waiter what type of coffee I wanted he said, “Ah, Americano.” “No,” asserted I, “Australie.” I don’t know why but he thought it a great joke and the next night when we returned for another nosh, he greeted us with, “Ah, Australie coffee!” We did very much enjoy the friendliness of the Romans.
After brekkie the next morning we again wandered up to St Peters to take the extended ride on the open top bus. As we walked through the square we noticed quite a bit of activity so Rob asked one of the Swiss Guards on duty what was happening. He said that the Pope would be holding a public audience in about half an hour. The opportunity of seeing the Boss on his own turf was pretty exciting so we hung around, along with about 50,000 others. We only got a brief glimpse of him in person as he criss-crossed through part of the crowd in his popemobile but had a good view on a couple of large TV screens strategically placed in the square. After his drive-through he sat in a raised, covered stage at the top of the Basilica steps and spoke to the assembled throng. However, as it was all in Italian and we had no idea what he was saying, we left early.
We left the bus at Palazzo Braschi for the start of a big walk. First we meandered through Piazza Navoria then it was along the Tiber River, past Mausoleum Augusto then on to Piazza del Popolo. From there we crossed back over the river and followed the esplanade past the Law Courts to Castel Sant Angelo. We walked to the top of the castle (280 steps) for a different perspective of parts of the city. This was where the Popes would take shelter when St Peters was under threat. A wall leads all the way to St Peters and along its top is a walkway with high stone walls on either side forming the escape route. We were overawed. It was like taking a walk back through history except that, near the top of the castle was a coffee shop/wine bar. We stopped for what we considered a well deserved drink before continuing our walk home. Rob had worn a pedometer that Gene had lent us and according to it, we had walked 10klms.
That night was to be our last with Gene but before leaving him we had plenty more to see and do. Come morning Gene’s got up early to prepare another of his terrific brekkies so that we could head off on another sightseeing adventure. This time we took the local bus to the city. Gene had thought of everything, drawing us mud maps of where to catch the bus and even providing us with tickets that would get us into the city. We went directly to Roma Termini where we had intended catching the Archeobus, another open top, hop on hop off bus that went to Ancient Rome, including the catacombs. We couldn’t get on the last bus of the morning so decided on another walking tour. We walked up to the Quirinale (President’s Palace) and were lucky enough to see the changing of the guard. From there we walked down to Trevi Fountain where we jostled with the other tourists for the opportunity of tossing in a coin. All well and good except that by this time I was working out how much it cost me in commission and service fees every time I opened my wallet.
From the Trevi we walked to the Pantheon with the intention of walking from there back to St Peters. However, by this time the old legs were getting a bit weary so we took the bus. We were going back there because Gene had suggested that between 1.00 and 2.00pm was the best time to visit the Vatican Museum, including the Sistine Chapel. That was, he said, when the tour guides had their lunch so there were not so many people going through. Sure enough, when we got there we went straight in and were again simply blown away with the display.
I cannot describe my feelings at seeing Michelangelo’s depiction of the Last Supper on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which is funny considering some of the other astounding examples we saw later in our travels, notably one on a ceiling in Melk Abbey in Austria. I must be an art snob. The only thing that detracted from our visit to the chapel was the constant Shooshing of the guards as they fruitlessly attempted to stop people from spontaneously expressing the marvel of what they were experiencing.
After our unforgettable visit to the museum, it was time to limp back to Gene’s place to pick up our bags and catch a taxi that Gene ordered for us to deliver us to the Hotel Patria in the city. That was where we were to leave on the first formal guided tour of our travels, from Rome to Florence to Venice. The first morning was free time so we were able to visit ancient Rome which we did next morning. Being not far from Roma Termini we were able to get there in adequate time to catch the Archeobus that we took to the catacombs of San Sebastian. How incredible was it walking through an underground city of the dead and seeing sarcophagus’s thousands of years old, some in original state.
After spending 20 minutes or so walking through an apparent endless maze of tunnels we surfaced into a chapel above. I must say it was something of a change seeing a “normal” little church and not a grandiose cathedral.
It is rather disappointing that the tourist bus that delivered us to the catacombs stopped running at 10.00am and would not recommence until 3.00pm. As we had to wait for some time until the English speaking tour of the catacombs commenced, we missed the last bus of the morning and were therefore marooned. No one could tell us how to get back to town. We therefore started walking and were soon joined by another couple in the same predicament. After a while we came to a bus stop where we had to wait for over a half hour for a bus to come. To cut a long story short (which I am not good at doing as you well know), we had to change buses a couple of times and it took us about 2 hours to get back to the Patria, just in time to have a bite to eat and get ready for a formal tour of ancient Rome with the tour group we were joining. Fortunately we were able to get off the bus on a couple of occasions to have a proper look at some of the wonderful old buildings along the way. The one that really blew me away was the Colosseum. I stood there for ages just trying to picture some of the comings and goings of nineteen hundred years ago; the animals, the gladiators doing battle with them and the half time entertainment as criminals were thrown into the arena as game for the animals. What stories the walls of that incredible building could tell if only they were able to talk.
Anyway, after yet another big, big day, we made our way back to the hotel for an early night. We needed that as we were being picked up at 6.30 in the morning for what would be the most disappointing part of our European adventure.