An eventful day

Friday 30^th May

Today was our last day in Rome and turned out to be possibly the best day. We decided we would go to Ostia Antica which was the original port of Rome. We had worked out the bus/metro/train route so headed off for the bus stop. We had to wait a while for a bus and when it came it wasn’t the bus we were waiting for but he assured us he was going where we wanted. Sitting on the bus we saw a notice regarding something on 30^th May. Dictionary in hand we translated the sign to find out that there was a 24hr transport strike today. Don’t know quite what that meant given that we were on a bus and it was running! Arrived at metro station and caught metro no worries, but then at the train station we found that there were no trains on the line to Ostia Antica. Hmm! New plan required.

We decided to head back into the city and fill the day just wandering parts of town that we hadn’t yet seen. We managed to keep off the main tourist trail around the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and visited some of the other buildings and monuments marked on the map. We found ourselves late in the afternoon at the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, also known as the ‘wedding cake’. The picture will explain this.

 

Republicca Square

One of the fountains at an intersection
where there is a fountain on each corner.

Fountain in the Piazza Barberini.

Dog of the day photo - out for a walk in not just any old handbag,
but an Yves St Laurent handbag.

A building we walked through on our travels today.
Couldn't find any special reference to it on our maps.

Another courtyard.

The building referred to as the 'wedding cake'. This was built by Mussolini who cleared the space for it, bulldozing roman ruins and medieval churches.
It is actually called the Victor Emmanuel II Monument.

At this building there was a large gathering of all flavours of police in uniforms and many police vehicles, as well as a lot of press people. We sat and watched for a while as BMW after BMW arrived and off loaded men in suits. Around 5pm the police started to look alert and lots of whistle blowing started as they stopped traffic to allow the last car, flying Italian flags, arrive at the venue. We’re not sure who the last arrival was but assume it was someone of note. We also noticed around the area that all the rubbish bins had been covered and locked – bombs??

 

Waiting for....

...whoever this man might be? Googling didn't help me find out who it was.
Anyone know?

We had booked for a night tour called Ghosts, Legends and Mysteries of Rome so had to fill in time till 9.15. We weren't game to go back to the hotel and then back into town because we just weren't sure what the transport strike meant in terms of reduced service? Or no service? We sat in Piazza Navona for a while and people watched – buskers, tourists, souvenir sellers. We then headed to the tour meeting point to be stopped on the side of the road as a bicycle group stopped traffic on the road. We think it was a protest about pollution in Rome and they should ride bikes. The police enjoyed blowing their whistles to keep the bikes moving and the traffic out of their way. One funny thing to see was a police car rushing by, lights flashing, and the passenger holding a small red paddle (about the size of a ping pong bat) out the window to stop traffic. This was at night – what hope did anyone have of seeing the paddle?

Just a small selection of the handbags one could buy.

Finally we did the night tour. This tour was a really good way to end our time in Rome. The tour guide was an Irish girl and really good fun – she knew her stuff. The first place she took us was Campo di Fiori – what a surprise to find this lively piazza just off the main road where the tour started. We really enjoyed hearing the tales she had to tell. The tour finished at 11 and then we had the anxious wait to see if the buses were running to get us back to the main train station. That worked out OK but when we got to the station we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel rather than risk not finding a bus when we got off the metro. 

This was once a palace of one of the Popes - from the Farnesi family.

This fountain is just off the one of the piazzas we visited on our night tour
and back in medieval times there would be red wine flowing
in the fountain when they had a party.
Apparently it is the only fountain in Rome where
the water is not potable due to the lead pipes.

This frescoe is outside a church called St Mary's of the Prayer and Dead.
The priests would dress in black robes and assumed responsibility
for interring abandoned corpses in Rome.
The church houses a chamber decorated with human bones;
a large number of skulls, candelabras constructed of bones,
and a large cross adorned with skulls, but we didn't get to see inside. 

St Peter's Basilica at night