The Eternal City

Time for another retrospective travel post. This time we’re off to Rome, the venerated capital of Italy. I first visited this city in September 1990. At the time, I was backpacking through Europe with Dean Keiller, a Victorian sheep farmer. For three months, we used a flexible Eurail Youth Pass to visit 12 countries (and a few more after the ticket expired).

Our journey to Rome began in a rather unorthodox manner. Weeks earlier, Dean had discovered that his cousin was travelling in Italy as a Contiki tour guide. We scheduled our time in Florence to coincide with her arrival in town. Much to our surprise, when Dean caught up with her, she offered to collect us from our campground and take us with her to the Eternal City.

Her bus, filled with fare-paying travellers, duly arrived shortly after breakfast on 15 September. She greeted us with strict instructions regarding a cover story she’d shared with the group. We were Contiki staff tasked with researching facilities for camping-based tours. Once on board, Dean and I gamely played our part, regaling the curious crowd with stories of our detailed research, aka, our Eurail adventures to date.

Dean’s cousin subsequently arranged a complimentary hotel room for our first night in Rome. She reassured us that the hotel regularly offered free rooms to Contiki staff under an annual contract. We then transferred to a local campground located some distance out of town for the remainder of our stay. Thanks to Dean’s cousin, we spent our first full day in Rome visiting Vatican City. She took us with her tour group to the Vatican Museum, where we placed our backpacks in storage and spent the day exploring the museum, St. Peter's Basilica and neighbourhoods north of the Tiber River.

The Vatican Museum was an eye-opener. The artwork and precious items on display were beyond belief. It quickly became apparent how wealthy the Catholic Church had become as century after century passed. Room after room hosted all manner of priceless Renaissance artwork, including The Transfiguration by Raphael, a stunning four-metre-tall masterpiece.

We both loved the spiralling Bramante Staircase. If you look closely, you’ll spot me at the bottom striking a pose. This staircase is a double helix, featuring two staircases that facilitate uninterrupted pedestrian flow. People can ascend via one spiral without meeting people descending on the other. Very clever!

Equally memorable was the Sistine Chapel. Nothing prepares you for the majesty of this fresco-covered sanctuary. Our visit coincided with the final stages of a massive decade-long restoration project that began in 1984. During our visit, the chapel’s altar wall was completely enclosed by scaffolding. The temporary structure was clad with a reproduction of The Last Judgement, the stunning artwork hidden from view. I finally got to see this masterpiece 13 years later when Garry and I visited Rome in 2003.

The chapel’s ceiling was every bit as magnificent as posters and reproductions would have you believe. I couldn’t believe that I was standing there with a kink in my neck, looking up at the Lord’s outstretched hand, the most iconic scene in the Creation of Adam, possibly one of the world’s most recognisable works of art. The three images above were all taken years later, when Garry and I visited.

However, the most memorable moment for me came as Dean and I walked through the gift shop. Dean pointed to a postcard depicting the Creation of Adam, commenting that he’d missed this iconic image. I turned to him and said, “It’s in the middle of the ceiling.” He responded, telling me that he hadn’t looked at the ceiling. He thought the artwork on the walls was the chapel’s focal point.

I was stunned. I marched him back to the exit door, explained to the security guard on duty that he’d failed to look up at the chapel ceiling and insisted that he let him back in to see it. The guard relented. I waited half an hour for Dean to retrace his steps and enjoy the ceiling in all its glory. To this day, I still regale others with the story of my friend who never saw the chapel’s ceiling.

The rest of our afternoon was spent exploring St. Peter's Basilica and the dramatic, collonaded surrounds of Piazza San Pietro. The size and scale of the Basilica were truly breathtaking. However, the opulence of the entire complex beggared belief. I couldn’t fathom how centuries of everyday followers of Christ could reconcile such decadent displays of wealth while they lived harsh and impoverished lives.

We collected our backpacks from the museum cloakroom, paid one last visit to Piazza San Pietro, and then headed 8 km out of town to the local camping ground. We based ourselves here for the next three nights, catching a bus into town every morning and back again late afternoon. We ran into a nun as we were preparing to leave the Vatican. It was her first visit to Rome, having dreamt of this moment her entire life. We invited her to join us for a photo with fellow newbies. That's the image which opens this post.

Like all good tourists, we spent the next few days ticking off one iconic sight after another. This included a visit to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. I loved Palatine Hill, largely because we got to walk around Circus Maximus, the city’s former chariot racing stadium. Dean and I imagined ourselves as gladiators in the spirit of Charlton Heston in the Oscar-winning movie, Ben-Hur. 

Visitors could pay a fee to explore the ruins of former Roman palaces that dominate Palatine Hill. However, as budget-conscious backpackers, Dean and I passed on the opportunity. Garry and I would finally visit this complex years later.  However, we did fork out some hard cash to explore the interior of the Colosseum. Standing in its upper tier, looking down over the exposed undercoft was undoubtedly another one of those unforgettable pinch-me moments.

Likewise, I still recall marvelling at the engineering prowess of the Romans while exploring the Pantheon, and like so many before us, we visited the Trevi Fountain. I can’t recall if we tossed a coin, hoping to return someday. I guess we did, as I ultimately returned 13 years later.  Likewise, we visited the Spanish Steps, climbed Janiculum Hill to enjoy its panoramic view, and wandered the eclectic streets of Trastevere.

On 19 September, Dean and I packed up our tent and headed for the station. Our next destination was Greece. I’d mapped out an ambitious itinerary that would take us to Pompei, then on to the southeast coast of Italy, where we’d board an overnight ferry and visit Corfu, before finally reaching the shores of Greece. You follow these adventures, starting with Pompei, by following this link.

Although I will share one quick anecdote about this marathon journey. The ferry to Corfu was an adventure of its own. The cheapest ticket you could buy gave you a hardback seat on the outdoor deck.  However, the crew allowed passengers to sleep on the deck as they crossed the Adriatic Sea. As a result, Dean and I joined forces with a group of other backpackers, scouted out a secluded, sheltered spot on the open deck, unfurled our foam sleeping mat and spent the night sleeping under the stars. A quick internet search reveals that you can still do this more than 35 years later. I'm surprised EU regulations haven't outlawed this practice years ago.

When in Rome

Here’s more about the vacation in Rome that Garry and I enjoyed in 2003. You’ll recall that our first full day in the City of Seven Hills involved a lengthy walking tour of its central districts. On the following day, we focused our attention on the Vatican City. This included visiting its acclaimed Vatican Museum, the Basilica of St Peters, and the colonnaded expanse of Piazza San Pietro. 

As all good tourists do, we explored all of the Vatican’s most popular sights including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, the spiraling Bramante Staircase, Madonna della Pietà and the crusader-plundered Egyptian obelisk in the heart of Piazza San Pietro. Naturally, I raced down the Bramante Staircase for a classic “look at me” photo opportunity.

Our visit to the Sistine Chapel was my second. I’d seen it previously while backpacking in Europe in 1990. However, at the time, a fresco of The Last Judgment which fills the chapel’s west wall was hidden by a canvas shroud as it underwent restoration. During this second visit, I finally saw Michelangelo’s spectacular fresco in all its glory. 

It was well worth the wait (and undoubtedly was a far better experience post-restoration). Likewise, the majesty of the chapel’s iconic “Creation of Adam” ceiling left us in awe. Gazing up at one of the world's most replicated religious paintings really is one of those “pinch me” moments. The photo above simply doesn’t do it justice.

However, our most memorable moment of the day happened while soaking up the view at Piazza San Pietro.  As we stood under its curving colonnade, one of Rome's notoriously ubiquitous pigeons chose that moment to dump a load on my head.  I swore like a drunken sailor, and as I did, turned to find a sweet old nun bearing witness to my colourful expletives.

Our final day in Rome saw us exploring the Coloseum from top to bottom and weaving our way through the Roman Forum's extensive ruins. I'd missed some of these ruins during my first visit as a backpacker and thus was able to cross more off my tourist bucket list. Highlights included the bowels of the imposing Flavian Palace and the dusky bowl of Circus Maximus forever immortalised by Charlton Heston's spectacular chariot race in the 1959 movie, Ben Hur. 

We also took an excursion across town to climb the Spanish Steps. This sweeping symmetrical staircase, considered Rome's traditional meeting place, was immortalised by Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 movie, Roman Holiday. Although it's somewhat ironic that these days local authorities do everything they can to dissuade people from lingering on the stairs. Sitting on them currently attracts a 400 euro fine.

We rounded off the day with another visit to the Trevi Fountain. I’d like to note that, for the record, we tossed a coin into its midst to ensure we’d return someday. However, twenty years on, our wish has yet to be fulfilled. 

Our European holiday finished with a five-day stopover in Singapore. Here I spent time working before finally returning to Sydney.  We flew in on 18 July, did the tourist thing over a weekend, and then flew out again on 23 July. 

While I worked Garry made himself comfortable by the pool at the Merchant Court Hotel in Clarke Quay.  He also joined me and Text 100's Singapore staff on Tuesday evening for a traditional Black Pepper and Chilli Crab feast. The team took us to one of its favourite crab venues, Jumbo Seafood in the East Coast Seafood Centre, where I've dined many times over the years.

However, it was my antics that once again created the stopover's most memorable moment. During our Singapore Airlines red-eye to Singapore, I took a sleeping pill with dinner to help me sleep. However, I timed its consumption poorly.  By the time dessert arrived, I was struggling to stay awake. Then, much to Garry's amusement, while eating my ice cream, I passed out mid-spoonful.

Who'd have guessed that our humble Italian vacation would kick off another two decades of globe-trotting adventures? In the years since we’ve stepped foot on every continent while visiting almost 70 countries along the way.

A first time for everything

The first vacation Garry and I took together was in Rome in July 2003. At the time, I was in London on business and had booked a side trip to Rome on the way home. This was to be my second visit to the Eternal City, having first visited in 1990. On a whim, I invited Garry to join me in the eternal city. He thought that was a grand idea and booked flights to meet me for my final days in London.

Garry flew in on Friday, 11 July. I met him at Leicester Square tube station in the early morning and escorted him to my hotel. I was staying at the Convent Garden Hotel, a favourite haunt in my early years of business travel to London as APAC Regional Director. We then spent two days hanging out in central London before flying to Rome on 13 July.

Our flight to Italy started badly. We caught the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow on Sunday morning. However, we judged poorly how long the Tube would take. As a result, we arrived shortly after check-in closed for our scheduled flight. British Airways kindly took pity on us and moved us to a later flight departing after lunch. However, I had to give up my ticketed business class seat - a small price to pay given the circumstances.

Once in Rome, we based ourselves in a hotel booked by my travel agent. It was located less than five minutes walk from the world-renowned Trevi Fountain. This proved to be the perfect location. By the day the surrounding laneways hummed with tourists, then after dark, the locals appeared, bringing a myriad of tiny cafes, bars, and pop-up market stalls to life.

Our first full day in Rome was spent visiting and exploring sights on a self-managed, walking tour of Central Rome.  By the time we were done, we'd covered more than nine kilometres on foot.  

We kicked off the day with sights close by our hotel. First up was the immortal Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotonda. I’ve always been fascinated by this impressive Roman structure with its soaring concrete dome punctuated by a dramatic oculus opening. It was commissioned by Emperor Hadrian to replace an earlier temple. Almost two thousand years later, the Pantheon's dome remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

Inside the building is just as impressive. While its walls and ceiling are no longer ornately clad and decorated, the scale of the building still leaves you in awe. The sun streaming through the oculus adds to the experience, flooding its cavernous interior with natural light. The Romans were far more advanced than those of us looking back really appreciate.

From the Patheon, it was on to the Tiber River to walk across the historic St. Angelo Bridge, past the Castel Sant'Angelo, and on to Via della Coniliazione where we caught our first, fleeting glimpse of St Peters Basilica in the distance. We then followed the river before branching off towards Janiculum Hill.  In the sweltering afternoon heat, we made our way up Passeggiata del Gianicolo to enjoy the Roman skyline from the popular Belvedere del Gianicolo terrace. 

Our central city circuit continued with a stop at the Church of San Pietro in Montorio. This intimate chapel was painted by none other than Donato Bramante and Michelangelo. Although during our visit it was decked out beautifully in white flowers for a wedding. We later learned that it’s a popular wedding venue in part because a cobblestone plaza out front offers a picture-perfect backdrop of the city’s red-tiled roofs. 

We then crossed back over the Tiber and took a detour to climb the steps to Campidoglio. This elegant hilltop plaza was designed by Michelangelo. These days it's lined with museums and offers a memorable view of the Septimius Severus Arch and the Roman Forum.

We finished our day with a quick side trip to see the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, complete a circuit of the Colosseum, and catch a glimpse of the Roman Forum at sunset. We returned to our hotel as darkness fell and the locals came out to play.  

Our evening was spent wandering the cobbled laneway of Via del Lavatore in search of the thinnest, crispest pizza crust in all of Rome. We eventually found our perfect slices on display in a small hole-in-the-hole pizzeria.

Looking back, 20 years later, I'm impressed by how far we walked that day. I'm equally impressed that we did it all without Google Maps or an internet-enabled phone. Instead, we relied on nothing more than a few maps and recommendations printed in a good old-fashioned Lonely Planet guide. The same dog-eared guide is still sitting on a shelf at home today.

Follow this link for more of our adventures in Rome.