Roman Holiday – Part one

Roman holiday – Part one

5th – 6th May 2014

View of Orvieto from the lookout as we were driving towards Rome.
View of Orvieto from the lookout as we were driving towards Rome.

Leaving Orvieto we drove up the nearby hill to a lookout and took in the overall view of the town and headed to our site where we would stay for the next few days. Happy Camping is a campground just outside the main ring route of Rome. A quiet pleasant campsite which provides a courtesy bus to the train station into Rome. After parking in a hedged site we set up washed some closed and planned our attack on Rome for the next few days.

The planning meeting. Where to go and the best way to tackle Rome.
The planning meeting. Where to go and the best way to tackle Rome.
Chianti wine, Italian beer and great food. Life is tough on the road.
Chianti wine, Italian beer
and great food. Life is tough on the road.

Our first day in Rome was a walking tour visiting the Spanish Steps, Fontana Di Trevi, the Pantheon, Piazza Novona, Isola [the island on the river Tiber], Santa Maria in Cosmedin where we visited the mouth of truth, Circo Massimo, walked past the Arch of Constantino and finally had a look at the Colosseum before hopping on the metro for our return journey.

To the left , right or straight ahead ? Or maybe behind us ?? Lost Never !!!
To the left , right or straight ahead ? Or maybe behind us ?? Lost Never !!!
Lori on the Spanish Steps.
Lori on the Spanish Steps.
The Koala at the Trevi Fountain.
The Koala at the Trevi Fountain.

The Koala made a appearance in Rome visiting all the sites. He was a hit at the Trevi Fountain with some people wanting to have a photo taken with him.

Lori tossing a coin into the fountain.
Lori tossing a coin into the fountain.
Yes we had to pose in front of the fountain like all the rest of the tourists.
Yes we had to pose in front of the fountain like all the rest of the tourists.
Lori must have told some whopping lies to get a nose this big.
Lori must have told some whopping lies to get a nose this big.
Inside of the Pantheon. Very busy and hectic with people and we are here in the off season.
Inside of the Pantheon. Very busy and hectic with people and we are here in the off season.
Jenny on a fountain in the Piazza Novona.
Jenny on a fountain in the Piazza Novona.
Interesting sign on the road.
Interesting sign on the road.
The island on the river Tiber.
The island on the river Tiber.
The mouth of truth. As seen in the film Roman Holiday.
The mouth of truth. As seen in the film Roman Holiday.
Jenny must have told the truth ??
Jenny must have told the truth ??
In the past priests used to put scorpions in the hole. Not today thankfully.
In the past priests used to put scorpions in the hole. Not today thankfully.

The day was not all walking as it never is, we did stop for our morning coffee and cake, lunch we bought from a stall in the market and eaten at the base of a statue and gelati at the train station.

On day two we decided to only visit the catacombs so we left the campsite at 11.30 having a quiet morning. We caught the bus to the train station, then the metro to San Giovanni Piazza where we caught a bus to the catacombs. Being out of the centre it was not crazy busy and after buying our ticket we waited for about a half an hour for the English tour to begin. We tour was very informative and they took us down below to where over 500,000 people were once buried underground.

Inside the catacombs. These pictures are from the internet as we were not allowed to take photo's.
Inside the catacombs. These pictures are from the internet as we were not allowed to take photo’s.
Inside the catacombs. These pictures are from the internet as we were not allowed to take photo's.
Inside the catacombs. These pictures are from the internet as we were not allowed to take photo’s.
Inside the catacombs. These pictures are from the internet as we were not allowed to take photo's.
Inside the catacombs. These pictures are from the internet as we were not allowed to take photo’s.

For the past couple of days we has seen billboards of an exhibition of the artwork from Frida Kahlo. We looked up where it was on the map to find it was on our route and decided to get some more culture, as if being in Rome wasn’t enough! The gallery was situated up a hill near to the President’s residence. After a couple of interesting hours viewing the artwork and reading about her life it was back to the campsite somewhat later than we planned.

Photo of Frida Khalo.
Photo of Frida Khalo.
Self portrait. Source of picture is the internet.
Self portrait.
Source of picture is the internet.
One of her paintings done in New York. Source internet.
One of her paintings done in New York. Source internet.
Another painting by Frida Kahlo. Source internet. We were not allowed to take photos while inside.
Another painting by Frida Kahlo. Source internet. We were not allowed to take photos while inside.
View from the lookout we climbed on the way back to the train station.
View from the lookout we climbed on the way back to the train station.

 

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. jhclutt67 May 12, 2014 Reply

    We visited Frido Kahlo’s house in Mexico City on a tour. Had never heard of her til then. Rome is still iconic. We can’t believe our friend Giovanni has never spent time there despite his many trips back there. Looking forward to your as icily blogs.

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