Chapels and Castels

 

Friday

2 August

Day 33

63 to go

Well that was a night. After trying to persevere with the heat and the aircon that was blowing hot air, Paul went in search of other accommodation. He returned with no alternative, so messaged the owners of our current hotel and they moved us into the Flora room, after Paul had made sure the room was cool enough. So I migrated from one bed to the other and tried to find some sleep. It was now after midnight. 

By morning we were feeling much better. The room had remained cool and we had both got some much needed rest. Once we were awake, Paul gathered all of our belongings from the previous room and we settled into our new room properly. 

We were off to visit the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel today. By 9.40am, we were ready to brave the elements and walk to the ticket office to collect our skip the queue tickets. It was all pretty straight forward and it wasn’t long before we were standing in line waiting to enter the Vatican Museum for 10.30am. 

The heat was already building, so we were glad to be called to enter and begin our walk through the collection of artefacts. The Catholic Church has amassed a significant collection from all over the world and from many time periods. The Egyptian pieces rival what up is held in Cairo. 

We enjoyed our wandering, making up our own commentary and thoughtful remarks about many of the items. At times, progress was slow, due to the mass of people, but we just had to be a fish and swim along. There were some though that began to annoy us. 

The museum is not just about the items on display, but also the great artworks that adorn the walls and ceilings. Your attention is drawn in all directions, the grandeur of the frescos is something to be seen. 

We continued to follow the signage which eventually leads you through to the Sistine Chapel. This is the only space you are unable to photograph. Many people stopped in the great space to take in the view, we just continued to follow the path and on to the next room. 

When we finally reached the end, we stopped at the food court for an expensive salad and then we wound our way down the corkscrew staircase and out into the heat. From here we made our way back towards the hotel, stopping for a sneaky gelato that had to be eaten quick to avoid drips. 

We spent the next couple of hours laying in the cool and watching the Boomers lose, 71-77, to Greece. Thankfully they still go through to the next round. 

At 3.30pm, we left our room in search of the Castel Sant’Angelo. It was a short walk, we located the ticket provider and then made our way into the castle that was first commissioned by Hadrian as a monumental tomb in 139bce. The structure is circular and there were 5 levels that could be accessed. Like the Vatican, there were adorned ceilings and art works on display. The best part was the view over the city. There were plenty of slopes, stairs and cobbled streets that needed to be navigated. 

At 4.50pm we were all done and keen to wander some of the lanes we had seen from above. There was plenty of interest, as we meandered our way along. We eventually stopped for a drink and chatted to a family from Sydney, or at least listened to their 6 year old.

We finished up our drinks and then went in search of food, finding a place for some pasta not much further on. It was delicious, but expensive. From here, we walked to piazza Navona. Unfortunately there was a bit covered up for restoration. 

Happy with our afternoon, we returned to our room via a supermarket and flaked out on the bed. I sorted out our navigation for tomorrow, before looking through some of the photos from today.

Ciao Bella!

Thursday

1 August

Day 32

64 to go

With an 8.55am flight, I had set the alarm for 5am. This was the reason behind staying at Gatwick airport rather than an early morning train or car commute. We slowly gathered ourselves, ate a little and then packed up our things and made for the exit. 

We were in the terminal for 6am, along with hordes of other holiday makers. It seems Gatwick is the airport of choice for budget carrier, Easy Jet and there were flights going off in all directions. We joined the long line for the baggage drop, expecting at least an hour wait, but it was super efficient and we had our to bags weighed, 26.5 and 18kg, and tagged and then we passed immigration and security, all before 6.30am. Winning. 

We made our way through the snaking maze of shops offering their duty free wares and then we made for the info board. Our flight was scheduled for 8.55am and the board was saying gate info would be displayed at 7.55am, so we still had a little time to kill.

We wandered the terminal checking the downstairs area, before venturing upstairs and then we plonked our selves on a seat, people and internet watching. We opted for a quick breakfast croissant and hot chocolate and when that was finished, we went to check on the board. At 7.55am a message came up saying check at 8am. At 8am a message came up saying check at 8.10am. By the time 8.10am rolled around, the board was saying delayed until 11.25am and to check boarding at 10.25am! Bugger.

We found a quiet space near some gates that weren’t for Easyjet and made ourselves at home. We spent time surfing the net and then we phoned Emirates to find out about our claim. It’s still in the pipeline. I rang Mum and Dad to see how they were getting on and sorted out their hotel enquiry. We then ventured back into the main mall, went upstairs, plugged into power and waited.

At 10.15am, Paul went for a brief wander only to return to say our gate was closed! This threw us and a lot of other travellers into a panic. We raced to gate 55D, dodging slow moving people, only to find it wasn’t closed at all. Phew. 

We joined the throngs of people milling within the gate area, many retelling similar stories of delays and then mass panic. By 10.45am we were passing through final boarding check and then we were funneled down the gangplank to wait again, before finally taking our seats in row 6. We were in a row of 3, thankfully the window seat was never filled, despite being a full plane, so we had plenty of space to stretch out. 

At 11.15am we were taxiing to the runway and 10 minutes later we were finally in the air and bound for Rome. Thankful, we weren’t canceled or needing to catch a connecting flight. The flight itself was smooth. We entertained ourselves with our books and we consumed the food we had brought along, so we weren’t slugged for the snacks on offer. 

At 2pm we were nearing our destination. I jumped into the window seat, so that I could take in the view as we hit mainland Italy. It wasn’t long after and we were on the ground in Rome. Unfortunately we stayed there a little longer as there was an issue with the gangway. More delays. Once off, we collected our passport stamp at immigration and the followed the crowds to the baggage claim. Our bags were waiting for us as we arrived. Yippee. 

I then fought with the wifi system, not being able to connect to my UK card. I eventually got the airport signal and was able to work out what trains we required. I took screenshots of the google instructions, knowing it would soon drop off again. 

We found the ticket office for the train to Rome, bought our tickets and then went to the platform, only to hear that the train was cancelled! Thankfully another was leaving 15min later. We crammed onto it with all of the other commuters and enjoyed quite a slow 30min journey into the Rome Termini. 

From here we had to find out how to get to our guest house. We eventually located the ticket machines, bought train tickets for 48hours and then made our way to the A platform via a couple of lifts. We had 5 stops to make to Lepanto. It was relatively easy, but with bags and weariness from traveling it makes it more challenging.

 Once at the station, we had stairs to navigate and then on the street, we had to work out which way was up. We got help from a few people along the way and eventually we were entering the large doors that hid the myriad of apartments. Our instructions were very clear and we soon had our keys and were in our room. Phew 5pm Italian time but only 4pm UK time.

We took some time to just decompress. Had a shower and unpacked a few bits. We were keen to get out and wander around the blocks near by, looking in on some general supermarkets and buying dinner, pizza. We consumed it back in the kitchen of our guest house. 

After dinner, we bought a stracciatella gelato and walked in the opposite direction, reaching the River Tiber and crossing it at the nearest bridge. We walked up the opposite bank, noticing a large rat like mammal swimming about. Turns at it is a Nutria. We then returned to our bank via the next bridge and then zigzagged through interesting streets until we reached home. 

Once back, we planned out tomorrow’s adventures. We had to turn off the aircon, as it was pumping the hot air back into the room rather than outside. I ended up knicking the pedestal fan from the kitchen and having that on instead. 

Last day in UK

 Wednesday

31 July 

Day 31

65 to go

It was an exceptionally muggy night, with no covers required for sleeping. Paul struggled with the elements, only sleeping as the sun came up. I was woken by some strange animal noise, that Chell would later explain, was likely a fox. By 8am, we were ready to start the final hours in Hitchin. We had breakfast, watched morning news and took it pretty easy. Chell went off to town for a bit and when he returned we went out for a wander through the meadows for the final time. This time we prepared with containers and bag, so that we could collect the blackberries and plums that were lining the trails. 

We returned just after 11am. We completed the final pack, enjoyed some bacon and egg toasties for lunch and watched some of the Olympics. It was then time to get cracking. We loaded the cases into the back of Chell’s car and then he dropped as at Hitchin Station for 12.50pm. We made our way to the platform, only to find the train was delayed 10min, so we had a bit of a wait.

At 133pm, we boarded the train, shoved our bags in the luggage compartment and then sat back watching the scenery float by for the next hour and a bit. Once we reached the Black Friars station, we had a great view of the centre of London and down the Thames. Then as we approached London Bridge Station, we had a great view of the Shard. From here it was only 30min to Gatwick Airport station. 

We alighted the train with all of our bags and made our way through the South terminal in search of the north terminal shuttle. It was very easy to navigate and before long we were on the driverless train for the 3min journey. When we arrived, we followed the sign postings for the Premier Inn Hotel, arriving just on the 3pm check in time. 

We were given the key card for room 129 and then made our way up, glad to have arrived with little fuss. We were pleased with the cool air we were greeted with and the bed looked amazing. We would enjoy our sleep tonight. 

Once we’d had time to chill out, we decided to go for a wander around the terminals. We checked out where we would be heading tomorrow, before making our way back to the South terminal, where there was a Weatherspoons in which we could buy our dinner. We enjoyed our last meal and then continued to wander, picking up some food for our plane journey tomorrow.

We caught the shuttle back to the north terminal, having dessert in a different bar. We were now well and truly stuffed! We returned to our room, happy to laze around. I received instructions for tomorrow’s accommodation hosts, watched news and Olympic coverage and read for a while, before happily finishing our last evening in England.