Coach Trip Part 3: Rome, Pisa and Florence

ROME
The pace has been very hectic and it is surprising how tired you can get travelling long days on the coach – but someone has to do it!
Rome, “The Eternal City”, was fantastic (I’m running out of superlatives to describe places!). We arrived in Rome late in the afternoon and we hopped on a couple of buses to get to the Piazza Popolo, where there was an Obelisk (the first of many in Rome) and lovely statues, fountains, etc.. from here we went to the Spanish Steps and onto the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain, although crowded, was very tranquil and a magnificent work of art. As we made our way to the Vatican via Piazza Novona and Castel Santa Angelo and crossing the Tiber river, it seemed that around every second corner there was another monument/statue/etc. If it wasn’t the emperors of the Roman Empire building monuments to themselves it was the Popes!
The next morning, another early start, we lined up to go into the Vatican Museum/Sistene Chapel (only about 20 minutes wait – free tip get there about 8:00 am). Most of our Coach tour paid 52 euro each (~$80) to go on a guided tour and quick entry. We caught up with them inside, as we all had been given the audio headsets for the day we also got the commentary from the guide – except we paid 52 euro for all 5 of us!! (A big win!).
The museum was nice, but really everyone is there for the Sistene Chapel and it really was worth it. We sat there for about 45 minutes (listening to the guide) and truly amazed by the artwork.
From the Sistene Chapel, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, if anyone ever tells you the Catholic church needs money, just send them to Rome! We have seen a lot of cathedrals and basilicas this year but St. Peter’s was out there by itself for magnificence! See the pics for an idea.
Next stop was the Colosseum, the boys were really looking forward to this – I think they were hoping to see some blood and guts! I was impressed that after 2000 years that it was still standing and in fairly well kept condition. We also visited the Forum, but the Forums that we saw in Athens and Ephesus (Turkey) were much better.
That evening we went back into Rome and wandered the streets, ate Pizza (you buy it by the weight) at the Trevi fountain and had one last look at some of the many sights of Rome. Like Paris I think you need at least 5 days in Rome – so we may have to come back another day!
PISA
The next day (I’ve lost track of the date and days of the week!) we headed off early, and as usual about an hour on the road the “oldies” needed a toilet stop. By early afternoon we had a short stop (about an hour) at Pisa. Along with the thousands of others there, we took our photos of the “Leaning Tower” and the went to our hotel in Signa (about 30 minutes from Florence). That evening we had dinner at the Pizzeria across the square from the hotel.
FLORENCE
Next morning (Sunday I think), we headed into Florence. The “David” trail began! We first went to the Gallery Accademia and saw Michaelangelo’s David (the real one) and it is a magnificent sculpture, the rest of the gallery had some modern works of Robert Maplethorpe and many 12th, 13th and 14th century artworks – all religious! Then we went to the Duomo, the medieval cathedral that took over 150 years to finish! After grabbing supplies for lunch, we went across the Arno river and up the hill to Piazza Michaelangelo, which gave panoramic views over Florence. One of the David replicas is up here, but has gone green because they stuffed up the cleaning of it! We had lunch overlooking Florence, then headed down to the Vecchio Bridge (full of jewellery shops) and then past the Uffizzi Gallery to see the third David (another replica). By mid afternoon (and it was very hot) we had had enough and caught the train back to the hotel.
We go to south of France next and then onto Spain later in the week.
Cheers for now!
PS Go Pies!