Rome and Verona – what more you could you ask for?

We have just spent the past six days first in Rome then in Verona, Italy and seriously we are still reeling from all that we have seen. Rome, in particular, is astounding – aptly described by Roger Federer – “I am a sucker for those old traditional places, and Rome is as good as it gets, particularly when you throw in Italian food.”

After a sleepless night on a Croatian ferry, then a four-hour train journey we arrive in Rome feeling pretty deadbeat. All I want to do is grab a taxi and head to our B and B. Darryl, on the other hand, wants to relive previous continental jaunts and insists we find our accommodation on foot. It takes a good thirty minutes of dragging our cases over unrelenting cobblestones, narrowly avoiding copious dog crap and studiously ignoring each other before all is forgotten when we eventually arrive at our little abode.

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It’s a basic little B and B but it is situated one hundred metres from one of Rome’s most incredible sites – the Trevi Fountain. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the clamour of the crowds – we could probably hear the water of the fountain merrily splashing.

It’s not our first visit to Rome- a city who’s known history spans 2800 years, but which has been inhabited for much longer. We were impressed and overwhelmed by her thirty years ago. It was and still is understandable why Rome has been called The Eternal City and Caput Mundi (the Capital of the World).

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Nowhere else can you just stroll around and find antiquity around every corner. Where the ruins you are traversing were built by the Romans around the time of Christ. Where construction of the incredible structure in which you are standing commenced 27BCE (Pantheon). Where time and time again you just stop and stare at another unbelievable monument, piece of architecture, art piece or ruin.

We do as much as we can in the three days we have in Rome – visit the Spanish Steps, the Piazza Navona, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, St Peters Basilica, the Roman Forum and many other places but none blows me away more than the Vatican Museums.

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We only saw the Sistine Chapel on our last visit. In the intervening years, an incredible museum has opened showcasing an enormous collection of Roman objects, religious relics and countless paintings amassed by the popes over the centuries. What our eyes behold as we walk the 50 odd rooms of the museum is nearly indescribable although “expensive” is one adjective that does come to mind.

Verona a three-hour train journey north is new to our itinerary. We were meant to be visiting the Amalfi Coast however a change in circumstances (to find out more you will have to read my book when it is written), has sent us to Verona.

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We have just spent the past two days visiting her numerous and incredible sights –from Roman amphitheatres in better condition than Rome’s Colosseum to underground Benedictine churches. The most notable sight of all, however, has to be the balcony from which Shakespeares (fictional) heroine Juliet, is said to have stood as she spouted words of romance to Romeo.

Tomorrow it’s off to Milan.

Fun facts – Did I mention that we also caught the Pope holding mass whilst visiting St Peters?