Rome

We stayed on a campsite using ASCI card at €18 plus a rather steep €2 per person per night tax. The site was acceptable, the spots too short for Bertie. Parking in campsites is always hard as spots are tight and there is always at least 2 trees in the way. The site is 25 mins walk to a train station (or use campsite bus). The train cost €1 and takes 20 mins to St Peter’s station.

We did the main sights, we even paid to go in some of them. I’m not going to become a guide book on these sites. I have been to Rome before, I remember if being hot, noisy and busy, but 30 years ago I’m sure the crowds were nothing like they were this time. If you are going to Rome forget being a human with the ability to consider others, out on the streets it’s each person for themselves. Use whatever weapon you have elbows, knees, feet, to get to see what you want. Accept the fact that you will photobomb thousands of photos. Prepare for every sight to be a scrum of people where all your photos will have a myriad of people in the foreground with a tiny glimpse of the sight between the crowds. Practise queuing as at most sights you will have at least one queue to join, don’t think you have pre-booked so you’ll skip the queues, and if you use female toilets join the queue 30 mins before you need to go (or get yourself a she wee and pass off as a man). Do not take anything that can be classed as a weapon, a very small penknife, more a cosmetic tool than a throat cutting device that has been through airport security is now in a landfill site somewhere. Rome has some fantastic sights to see, but the whole world is here seeing them.

I may now upset some people, the Vatican sticks out as a colossal complex that is mainly being used to show of the wealth of the place. I found it hard to balance that show of wealth with all that the church is supposed to stand for. Even harder to walk away from there feeling good when only that day I had listened to a podcast on Irish Roman Catholic mother and baby homes of the past.

We did our first set of catacombs, and some of the stories seemed a little too unbelievable but the catacombs certainly give you a prospective on life and the similarity between them and the modern cemetery we saw in Alessandria was striking.

The weather continues to be really poor compared to my expectations. Most days we will get a few hours of sun and strip to T-shirts, but also most days it’s back to a jumper and jacket, with a thunder storm thrown in.