Roma Lewis Creed

After the first, late, long day/night in Rome which was great, seeing all the main stuff for the first time (Colosseum, Trajan's Column, Imperial forums), it was much better on the second day to see the sights with a good nights sleep. We started just past 8 AM and went off to the supermarket to grab breakfast and lunch. I, like most of the group, got yogurt and pizza again which was cheap but comes in large cups which are tricky to drink. We started with two some churches which were incredibly ornate, the amount of gold, marble and other precious materials in those ceilings and walls. I have to be honest here, having toured about 12 churches and seen countless others today their names begin to blend together a bit but are by no means unmemorable. The one with the ceiling painting and baroque sculpture that seems to fall down towards the viewer was excellent and impressive. The one with statues of the saints holding how they were martyred, like St. Bartholomew who held his peeled skin drooping in his hands, which were breathtaking. And of course The Pantheon, or Saint Mary and the Martyrs (I remember that one as I had a speech on it!) with its massive concrete dome and beam of light pouring down from the Oculus (which was the best church I saw today). Actually, just as I started my speech this "busker" with a violin randomly started playing right next to me. He shortly went away but about an hour later he came back during our lunch break and handed Mr. Buckingham the violin and he managed a barely passable version of 'Mary had a little lamb'; the man went away only after Mr. Poward sacrificed some coins for the good of the group. We also saw some other cool stuff like the fountain of the four main rivers and the Ara Pacis Augustae. We also had our first true metro experience on the trip with incredibly crowded carriages which you can barely fit into. Luckily we all made it out in one piece. We were running a bit late by the end and we had to hurry onto a hot bus for an hour ride to Tivoli in order to have a look around Hadrian's palace (or what's left of it). We made it with two minutes to spare and we looked about the ruins, imagining what was, with its extensive baths and subterranean passages for his slaves to keep the 1km2 complex running (as he didn't want to see them). We got back at 9pm and we split up for dinner, I grabbed yet more pizza (Cheese and Tuna). Tomorrow we are going to the Vatican. Overall it was another great day (even if my feet and my legs would disagree!)

(P.S. My foot is fine now, in case you were worrying Mum)

Creed