With it being National Republic Day here in Rome we were uncertain what would unfold, as was our guide Carmelo. As it turned out the crowds were not too bad, and by late afternoon the roads had really thinned out from the mornings congestion caused by parades. First up was a drop off near the Trevi Fountain, which is BIG ! Gleaming after refurbishment it was certainly impressive, as was the Pantheon. Whilst visiting here the Italian Air Force decided to do a low fly past with coloured smoke. The noise was tremendous and the smoke floating down did funny things for the colour of photos. Next up the Piazza Navona, then lunch at Carmels’s favourite spot down a side street. Much quieter, and cheaper, the Margarita Pizza and ice cold beer went down well. 

After a short bus ride we were then ready for the Vatican Museums. By now the temperature was in the 30’s, with heat rolling off the black pavements. One of our group looked like he was going to have a heart attack, but carried on with us taking turns to give him a hand. The queues were emormous, but luckily we were pre booked. Past galleries of sculptures, tapestries and paintings we eventually reached the Sistine Chapel. Full of people it was overwhelming, in size and sheer volume of painting to look at. We then carried onto St Peters Bassilica and Square. Again the sheer scale of it was over whelming, along with the thousands of people and heat.

By now we had been walking for 5.5 hours and we’re starting to whilt. Luckily Roberto was just around the corner with his bus to save us. With traffic thinning we drove past Circus Maximus, the Colosseum ( doing a u turn so both sides could see ) and Monumenta Vittoia Emanuele 2, as well numerous gates, walls, shrines, ruins, pyramids and needles. Overall a tremendous day, but extremely tiring. I’m glad we didn’t do it later on in the season, when it’s busier and hotter.