Series: 2015 Europe

Monterosso Al Mare, Italy

It was a long trip on the trains from Mantova to Monterosso, one of the villages of Cinque Terra. We had to change trains at Verona, Milan and La Spezia before we eventually arrived at our hotel at Monterosso at about 1800.

We spent 3 nights at the Villa Adriana in Monterosso, the most northern of the 5 villages that perch on the cliffs overlooking the sea and are known as Cinque Terra.

The weather was hot and sunny and we had a swim each afternoon to cool down.

We had a 2 day train pass that allows you to travel from village to village. We had hoped to do some walking along the trails beside the water but the shortest from Riomaggiore to Manarola was closed. With temperatures in the 30s we decided the train was a good option. Our first full day, Sunday, we visited Riomaggiore and Manarola.

They were packed with locals and tourists swimming, jumping off cliffs, eating, drinking and shopping. The streets were narrow and no cars are allowed in the town centres.

We enjoyed dinner overlooking the water in the cooler evening temperatures. Monday was less crowded and we visited Corniglia and Vernazza. Unlike the other villages, Corniglia is perched on a cliff and does not have direct access to the water. It was 342 steps to the top!

Vernazza has a picturesque little Harbour that is much photographed. We climbed to the top of Doria Castle which turned out to be a lookout for pirates but had a great view.

Warren took one of the bikes from the villa for a ride after our swim but couldn’t get far with the hills as it was a single speed bike. We enjoyed our best spaghetti so far – a huge dish of mussels, prawns and clams in a delicious sauce.

On Tuesday we left our hotel to catch the 0900 train to La Spezia and then the Intercity to Roma Termini. We arrived about 1430, found our way to the Metro for a 2 stop trip to Barberini station before a 30 minute walk to our hotel.

We discovered a lovely old hotel, close to Trevi fountain with nice rooms with good airconditioning – essential as the temperatures stayed in the 30s for our entire stay. After unpacking we went for a walk to the Trevi fountain, Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Spanish steps – all a short walk from our hotel. So much wonderful history so close!

On Wednesday we had booked a Rome walking tour with a local guide, Roberto which started at the Largo di Torre Argentina, site of the ruins of 4 Roman temples and near the site where Julius Caesar was killed.

From here we strolled down small cobblestone lanes and visited Palazzo Farnese and Piazza Navona with its beautiful Fountain of the Four Rivers by Gian Bernini.

Roberto was most upset that the French Government was given a 99 year of the Palazzo Farnese in 1936. He was looking forward to it returning to the Italian people in 2035. Next was the amazing Pantheon. This is the best preserved ancient Roman building as it has been in continuous use since it was rebuilt in 128 AD by Emperor Hadrian. Its dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.

We then wandered to the Trevi fountain and then finished at the Spanish steps. Our guide gave us an insight into living in Rome and a better appreciation of the architecture and history of the sights we visited.

After a relax in our room to cool down we went for walk in the afternoon to Villa Borgese gardens and a trip to the Museum of Leonardo Da Vinci. This had many models built from Leonardo’s sketches and showed what wide ranging ideas he had.

Dinner that night was in a restaurant in the nearby Galleria Colonna. An original letter from Galileo Galilei to Clavius explaining his belief that the planets revolved around the sun was on display here. As scientists we were amazed at this piece of history.

On Thursday we visited the Colosseum. Warren had been looking forward to this all trip. He was not disappointed.

We elected to visit the amazing ruins of Pompei via a bus trip from Rome. As this is about a 4 hour trip it required an early start. Our guides gave us a good briefing about the site on the way which helped to pass the time and we all had a snooze.

By the time we arrived at the entrance we knew that Pompeii and some nearby villas had been covered in 4-6 m of volcanic ash and pumice after the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD. The ruins had been largely preserved by the ash and were not rediscovered until the 17th century.

It was the early 19th century however before serious excavations began. These well preserved remains give a snapshot of Roman life at that time. It was a wealthy town with many fine buildings, a Forum and amphitheater.

Most poignant were the plaster casts of people and family groups discovered preserved in situ. 

A brothel in one of the side streets displayed some interesting artwork. Over 2.5 million tourists visit the site every year.

After lunch at Naples (pizza of course), we drove to nearby Mt Vesuvius and climbed to the top of the crater. This took about half an hour in the hot conditions. It was very desolate and while there was not much happening while we were there it is still and active volcano.

After all the walking and climbing, we were glad to have another snooze on the bus on the long drive back to Rome, arriving well after dark.

We had booked a tour to visit the Vatican and we were grateful we had. Queues of people trying to get in and we entered without fuss with our guide. It was an amazing complex filled with priceless artwork and hundreds of tourists.

I was surprised by the beautiful gardens and the number of museums – we were just scratching the surface with our 3 hour tour.

The Sistine Chapel was beautiful – no photos and no talking which people seemed to respect. The tour finished at Saint Peter’s Square – familiar from so many movies and watching the black and white smoke during the election of a new pope.