A guided tour of the 'B' sights

What a day! We have seen so much today and walked so many miles, it's difficult to know where to start. I will rewind and start at the beginning. Today we were booked in for a half day walking tour. We are always a little reluctant to join tours for a few reasons, based on our experience of doing some before. A, we can usually do better ourselves - that's not meant to sound nasty, but we have read a lot and know quite a bit of the history of Italy and so sometimes we're not hearing anything new. B, trudging through the streets with large groups is annoying. C, Other tourists can be annoying. They ask stupid questions, or don't listen or don't follow instructions.


So with all this in mind, why did we join a tour today? We were looking for something different. We wanted to learn and see new things, things we hadn't discovered in Rome before and this tour, offered just that. It was called 'Hidden Rome' and vowed to take us to places unknown to the average tourist. They also capped their group size at 15, another positive.

We met our group at a cafe and started out on foot. Our tour guide Camilla walked us through the Jewish ghetto stopping occasionally to talk about the history of the area and of course the Jewish people and what they endured under Hitler's reign. The pope of the time actually ordered all Jewish people to live in one area and the put walls around it. They survived by selling second hand clothes. Today you can stumble upon bronze plaques on the ground outside most residential buildings that name the people who were removed from their homes so long ago and what eventually happened to them. It was quite moving to witness, but I also felt glad that they have been honored in some way.

We were ushered around in a comfortable, air-conditioned bus (it was a gold bus too - Shannon) to areas outside the normal tourist zone. We had a quick stop at Circus Maximus,which today is little more than an open grassed area, but in Ancient Roman times would have been a hive of activity. I could imagine the crowds of people cheering as the chariots flew by.

Next we were off to Via Appia Antica, Rome's original and oldest road. You know that old saying, all roads lead to Rome? Well today I actually learnt where it came from. The ancient Romans built long, straight roads that actually if they kept going could lead you to just about anywhere...Turkey, Greece etc. We walked on stones that are thousands of years old. It's amazing to think about how many people had crossed these same stones - some on foot, by carriage, by horse or by car.

We then moved on to look at some ancient aqua ducts. These are located in a quiet park where families visit and children play. While there were remains of some ancient aquaducts, there was also a more modern one that is still in use today. It is the reason that water flows so freely in Rome. There are hundreds of fountains dotted all over the city, of fresh running water. It's fantastic! You can refill your water bottle on just about any street corner.

Our tour then took us to a 'surprise' stop on top of Gianicolo. I don't think it's any secret that Italians are terrible at keeping time. This is not limited to the general population either. The churches were getting it all wrong. There are so many churches in Italy, which means many church bells. When everyone has a different time, the bells of all the churches would go off at different time too, making it very confusing for everyone. So, every day at precisely midday, a canon is fired on top if this magnificent hill, to signal to the churches what time it is and the locals too of course. However, this clearly hasn't worked for everyone. At five minutes to 12:00 church bells started ringing. The firing of the canon was loud and could be felt under foot too.

 We were really pleased with the quality of this tour and would highly recommend it. We found a nice little bar to have some lunch in, named after 'The Roman Holiday' movie and decorated with photos from the film, I was a little dubious. But, my fears were laid to rest when we took the first bite in to our pizza. It was delicious! We enjoyed a cold dessert before heading back outside to wander the streets.

How's the ambiance?

I was keen to visit the Spanish Steps, as they have been under wraps being restored for a year and a half, much the same as the Trevi Fountain. They have been working hard to clean and restore them. They looked simply stunning. It is such an iconic place for tourists and locals, I'm really pleased to see them restored. I was also pleased to see the local police out blowing whistles at tourists who were eating and drinking on the steps!

We went back to our accommodation for a breather, which is just around the corner from the Spanish Steps. After a refreshing spritz, we hit the pavement again to wander and window shop before dinner. Along with the many souvenir shops in Rome, there are many high end clothing and jewellery shops. I enjoyed some window shopping at Bulgari and decided on the below collection. Of course there are never any prices in the window, but I have no doubt this beautiful collection would be more than a little out of the price range!

We wandered to my most favourite monument in Rome, the Trevi Fountain. It is simply beautiful and looks even better now that it has been cleaned. Day and night, hundreds of people gather here. Locals meet up with friends over gelati and locals stand in awe at the sheer magnificence of the fountain. We enjoyed some people watching this afternoon. I was entertained by a group of nuns taking selfies!

And so ends another day in this magical city. We ended with a delicious dinner, followed by gelati of course.

Tomorrow - dropping in on the royals.