Day 6 and 7 Rome, Florence and Pisa

Day 6 - We started the day touring the Vatican City and St Peter's Basilica. We navigated the labyrinth of walkways at Station Termini to find our way to Line A on the Underground and got off near the Vatican City. Met our tour group and our Guide. Recommend booking on a Group because at 9.00 am the lines were already about 1km long. You pass through security similar to airports. Everyone had to leave their backpacks in storage (if you want to avoid a long walk back -don't take a backpack). The beauty and history of the hallways is amazing. Raphael's Rooms are beautiful and then seeing the Sistine Chapel! It does overwhelm you with its size and beauty. The Chapel has been restored in the last 10 years so the colors are brighter. After you leave the Chapel you enter St Peter's Basilica, again the history always impresses me and then the Piazza. Because it is Easter week, they are preparing for Easter services and the crowds are greater. Then we walked to Castel S'Angelo (originally built by Emperor Maximus as his tomb as the dead couldn't be buried inside the cities wall then it was a Pope's residence, a prison and now a museum). Crossed over the Tiber on the Ponte S'Angelo which is lined with Bernini's sculptures of angels. Gypsies are everywhere begging and trying to sell you different things. We then walked to Piazza Navona to see the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini. It was a sunny day so we had gelato in the square. Then we walked to the Pantheon which survived the post Roman era by being a place of worship. Everywhere else was ransacked for its marble but the Goths respected the Pantheon's sacredness and left it alone. Again it is amazing how they built the dome approximately 2000 years ago. Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain (threw a coin) and the Spanish Steps where you could hardly see the steps because of the number of tourists sitting on them. We watched the police chase a Gypsy which was exciting. Then walked up the steps to the Crypt of Cappuchin Monks which was ghoulish. The monastery had to move sites in the 1600s, so they dug up their dead and moved across Rome. When they arrived they then started to artistically arrange their dead in various crypts. There is a room of skulls and I was impressed how they used the scapulae and pelvises to create a fan effect. The vertebrae are lined up to create borders and the light fittings are made of ulnas and radius. The practice continued until 1870 using the bones of the Roman poor who died destitute. We bought a postcard. Our feet were aching by this stage so we headed home.

Day 7 - Florence & Pisa
We caught an early train (7.15am) to Florence. Would recommend using the Frecciarossa (fast and of course they are red) trains. It only took 1.5 hours passing through green countryside with pretty towns in between. We were met at the station by our guide, Gianfrancou. Drove straight to Pisa through misty rain. It is our first day of overcast weather so we have been lucky. We toured Pisa's Baptistery and Cathedral. The pulpit in the Cathedral is beautiful being carved out of marble. Then we climbed the Bell Tower (pre-booked a ticket before we left Adelaide otherwise Tour groups take all the tickets). Climbed over 300 steps and you do notice the lean inside the Tower. The views of Pisa from the top are beautiful and the rain had cleared so we could see the mountains and town clearly. Then we got back in the car and returned to Florence. We stopped at a Monastery/Chapel established by the Knights Templar outside of Florence. Walked around it and briefly looked at the various crypts dating back at least 500 years. Stopped at a look-out where you have a great view of Florence and where we had a group photo taken 21 years ago on our Trafalgar tour. Again had a photo. Then we were driven into the city. Florence's streets aren't designed for cars but we navigated through the streets to the centre. We walked across the Ponte Vecchio, bought gelato as we wandered around various Pallazzos and visited the Uffizi Gallery (again recommend pre-booking a ticket). Toured the second floor - again the art work is breath-taking. We made an effort to see the highlights such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus but there are so many great artists and paintings! By this stage we had to return to the station to catch the train back to Rome. Dined again at the Marathon runners pizzeria. We are now getting used to holding our hands up to 'stop' traffic at the pedestrian crossings, otherwise the traffic doesn't stop. I still cross my fingers each time. Heading off to Venice tomorrow on the train.