Yesterday was what Chris and I call a red light day – it’s a day when every intersection you come to has a red light. The trick is to recognise it and accept it – after that things go much more easily. We should have recognised that it was a red light day when despite our great intentions to get to St Peters before 9.00am to avoid the crowds, we actually got there a bit after 11.00 and just missed seeing the Pope. The crowds were unbelievable, so we abandoned our plans and decided to head off to the catacombs instead.
I had done 3 minutes research on the catacombs before we left the apartment and had a vague idea of where they were – I knew what street they were in and the number of the bus to get there as well as name of the bus station to catch the bus. We did a quick google search on a mobile, decided the bus station was at Termini and headed off to the nearest metro to get there. That part was smooth, and after getting to Termini we found a fabulous pizza place for lunch where we had lunch standing up outside. But when we looked for our bus at the station there was no sign of it. A rude man at the information counter told us to catch two different buses with a change at San Giovanni. We dutifully got on the first bus, but after about an hour, driving out to the outer suburbs of Rome (which was very interesting!) with no sign of San Giovanni, we knew for sure something had gone wrong when the bus stopped at a station, the engine switched off and the driver got off. John spoke to the driver and understood the bus was heading back and San Giovanni was somewhere on the route. Thank god for the iPhone – Chris pulled it out and worked out they if we alighted at a stop half way through the route, it would only be a km walk to our destination. So it was with relief they we alighted in the hot, hot sun and walked along a busy road and quickly found our first catacombs. For some reason we decided to walk past the first ones (probably because there was a tourist coach outside) and kept walking for the next ones another km along the road. We got to the gates and saw they were closed on Wednesdays. THAT was when I recognised it was a red light day! So we trudged back to the first ones.
After that it was all smooth – we arrived just in time for an English speaking guided tour and we had a lovely tour guide. She explained that the underground church we were sitting in was one of the first churches in world, used by persecuted Christians. We then walked through the catacombs (there were 4 levels and 17kms of tunnels) and showed us the rooms of tombs (now empty) used by the early Christians. We were struck by how small the tombs were and learnt that even burly Roman soldiers were only about 5 feet tall! We also saw one of the earliest Roman art works – a fresco beside a tomb depicting St. Peter, St. Paul and some doves. It was a really interesting trip!
The next morning, we left our apartment at 8.00am, and even with a stop for coffee and a cornetto, we arrived at St Peters at 8.30am – no crowds, no queues! We decided to begin the tour by climbing to the top of the Dome where the views of Rome were stunning.
When we walked to the bottom we found ourselves inside of the church which is massive and awe inspiring. We then joined a queue going downstairs and saw the tombs of many Popes which was pretty special. Chris and I were keen to see the Sistine chapel but by the then the crowds had swelled to epic proportions so instead we walked home, bought a beautiful pizza sandwich for lunch, deposited the kids in the apartment and had a couple of pleasant hours shopping around Rome. Our final dinner in Rome was lovely but it was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye. We all LOVE this wonderful city. Tomorrow is Naples which I am told is beautiful, vibrant, loud, dangerous and quintessentially Italian.