6/7 - Rome (Part 1)
Bunny Boy had flown in the previous day, so we went to see all the things I'd been waiting for his arrival to start seeing.
We started off by going to the catacombs. Taking a bus to the outskirts of Rome, we still had to walk 1+ km in to the Catacombs of St Callisto. We then found that no pictures were allowed, and all visits were to be guided (presumably because people would otherwise get lost inside).
There're 60 catacombs in Rome, but only 5 are open to the public and those of St Callisto are the largest at 26km in length. It has 4 levels, but only the second is open, with the remains of 10/16 of the popes interred in there. Inside it was nice and cold, despite the heat above; that's one nice thing about temperate countries - even in summer it's cool underground, and since water is usually stored underground you can get cold water even with the blazing sun at noon.
The guide kept talking about "gravity gers". I was trying to figure out what a "gravity ger" was - presumably it was someone intimately involved in the construction, extension and maintenance of the catacombs. I figured out halfway, but Andrew had to ask me at the end. I said he should've asked the guide; her answer would've been very interesting.
When we came out of the catacombs, it was 9:45 and the courtyard was full of people. It was lucky that we'd gone in at ~9:09.
Arch of Constantine
Side of the Colosseum
I wonder who pays for all the potable water fountains/dispensers in Rome. Maybe it's cheaper than treating heatstroke victims.
There were a lot of Koreans travelling in Europe in July.
One reason people might buy Cock cars is that then they've an excuse not to fetch people around.
Behind St John's Lateran there was another obelisk which was also covered in scaffolding, like the one in Piazza del Popolo. And all the obelisks I saw had crosses on top. Gah.
The bastards at the Colosseum charged €4,50 for the audioguide, and there was a 2hr limit. For each *minute* exceeded, the cost was €4,50. There was also no discount for EU students - only for EU citizens, and I didn't manage to con them with my Dutch residence card.
Colosseum interior
Colosseum interior
Colosseum
Arch of Constantine from Colosseum
Colosseum
Attic Bel-Krater with Apollo
Terpischore & Clio; Clio painter, 440-30
Fresco with Achilles and Briseis; Pompei, 50-79 AD
Below: Head of Hesiod, 'Pseudo-Seneca', 138-61 AD
Bust of Cicero. 1st century BC-AD
Colosseum
Mostly students excavating the Palatine hill
Arch of Titus
A pope put his name of the back of the Arch of Titus. Bloody hell.
The Palatine hill was run by the same people as the Colosseum and they were just as scummy here - the audioguide was €4, with a 2 hr limit and a €4/min fine per minute past the limit.
It was forbidden to enter the Palatine hill wearing masks and costumes and authority was needed to take photographs and film for weddings. Wth?!
Alcove in which there was a wall water was pouring down, at the entrance of the Palatine hill
View of the Forum from the Palatine hill
The Palatine hill was horribly signposted. I had no idea where everything was.
Presumably the Romulean huts - 'Fondi di Capane di eta Romulen'
The guidebook said a lot of archaeological sites were in this area and named some, but almost all were not marked so even to me they were just brick buildings, and not even the most famous ones. No wonder, although the ticket was bundled with that of the Colosseum, it was not very crowded.
There were some sculptures in the Palatine museum, but they weren't spectacular. There's a reason why there're so may Roman copies of Greek sculptures. The museum also had a sign saying one was limited to 20 mins per floor. Wth.
Apollo Citaredo
My inspired guess says this is the Stadium of Domitian/Hippodrome ("Circo Massimo"). A sign pointing in this direction also said "Domus Augustana Stadio".
There was a signpost pointing to the Nero something but I couldn't find it despite going around in a few circles, so I skipped it.