by quellycatface 8 Replies latest jw friends
Hi there.
Have finally taken the bull by the horns and booked a trip to Rome. Always wanted to go. Great architecture, food and atmosphere.
Of course, I have to do the Vatican.After seeing it all in Angels and Demons, plus the Sistine Chapel etc....
Has anyone else been to Rome???Any tips, hints and must do's???
Going in October, can't wait.
The last time I was in Rome may well be before you were born ! I am very very old, I was old when I was born LOL.
We found (Mrs Phizzy and I) that to take it as it comes was great fun. We found the Colleseum by accident, full of wild cats in those days ! and we wandered in to the Vatican in the same way. It is worth seeing, the Sistine Chapel is a wonder. And the Services are colourful and filled with wonderful singing.
We are a bit "non-touristy", so we just love wandering back streets, and finding a non-tourist Trattoria or a Bar, and mixing with real inhabitants of the City, quite Cosmopolitan these days of course. You will find , just off the "beaten track" reasonably priced food and interesting insights in to the real life there.
Be adventurous ! You will love it.
Good for you....isn't it great to have something to look forward to ?
Haven't been to Italy yet but we're planning to go in the Fall. Bring your Green Bible, maybe we'll see you there and visit the Italian Bethel. (oh wait...they went out of business) Will you be going anywhere else such as the Amalfi Coast? If you come up with some good ideas, let us know.
I'm going all over, my plan is Florence, Pisa, Rome and a bit of Tuscany at the moment.
I am going in June!!
I adored Florence. Be certain to set aside time to learn art history. So many tourists walk past masterpieces of art, a human heritage, without knowing what they are seeing. The Vatican was very impressive. I wanted to see the Roman catacombs. We went on a tour. There are even deeper catacombs and other treasures at a deeper level. The Vatican cannot allow tons of tourists looking at these finds. Sometimes all you need to do is call a cardinal's office. I stayed in Vatican lodgings for international students. The hostel knew which cardinals were pliable about such matters. Decades later I still can't believe what I saw.
Some things upset me greatly. Some poor Greek widows climbed up Helena's stairs on their knees, reciting the rosary. The presence of one man or one middle income person would have quenched my rage. Also, when we went to see Michelangelo's Moses in a church, it was very commercial.
Do go to the Vatican, my respect for them has increased since I heard
the new silver WT Bible has inserted the term " Governing Body" into its Bible.
This now makes the Pope more humble that the governing body, since the Pope
and Catholicism had an uninterrupted rule over all Christians for 1,500 years
and managed to never insert the term Pope into the Bible. In fact the Dead Sea Scrolls
discovered in the last several decades, prove the translators were faithful people.
The WT in its 100 year reign has manged to rack up thousands of no-blood tranfusion
deaths, hundreds more sexual abuse cases, suicides and broken families, imagine
what they could do in 1,500 years ? The WT and the Governing Body would have
loved the Inquisition, its right up their alley.
If you go to the Coliseum don't get ripped off by the 'Gladiators'... they'll have a photo taken with you (using your camera) and then charge you 10E for the privilege!
the Forum is good and Ostia Antica ( a short train ride away) is a wonderful day out.
Congratulations quellycatface and ILoveTTATT on visiting Rome this year!
Rome has many historical sites to visit within the city and to the south such as Pompeii or to the east such as Villa d'Este adjacent to the town of Tivoli. The internet makes it very easy to plan a trip with websites like http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187791-Activities-Rome_Lazio.html. I used Tripadvisor to create my iteneray of places of interest and places to eat when I bicycled from Paris, France to and through Normandy, France in 2012.
I have toured the Vatican and it has an immense collection of statues that were displayed like in a very large warehouse setting. Because there is so much to see, take take to relax and enjoy the culture. It was easy to walk around central Rome and/or use the buses/metro. I do not think that I would rent a car in Rome, because of traffic congestion and parking availability. I think it is better to schedule bus tours to outlying points of interest.
Of course, be careful to secure your valuables at all times from pick-pockets. While in Italy my friend was robbed on a train, because she left her camera and some money in a back-pack under her seat when we went to get something to eat.
Bon Voyage,
Robert
