7th March


Today we didn’t start with too much of a plan, other than a visit to the catacombs. The Catacombs of San Sebastián site was fairly quiet at 10 a.m. We enjoyed a breakfast coffee then a relaxed tour of the catacombs which included a visit to the church to view the obligatory relics and the final work by Bernini.

It made sense to call at the Baths of Caracalla on the way back. The site is immense and the scale of the baths almost impossible to comprehend. This was made all the more difficult by the lack of informative signage. Sadly the audio tours were not currently working.

Then we paused at the Circus Maximus, the Colosseum and the Forum as we walked past. As there was an Italy v England 6 nations rugby match scheduled for later in the afternoon, it made our walk through this busy area even more interesting!

In our ‘go with the flow’ mood of the day, we did have a pint at The Shamrock Pub! We continued walking and decided, on the spur of the moment to walk up to the terraces of the Vittoriano. It was worth it for the spectacular views of the city.

By then we had worked up an appetite. We stopped at a modest cafe but the toasted omelette ciabatta far exceeded expectations, washed down with an americano and followed by cannoli.

We carried on the Trasteverre. On the Isola Tiberina, despite the recent lunch, the gelateria beckoned. We tried the basil and lemon flavour which was amazing.

There was a lovely atmosphere at Trasteverre but we had no appetite for dinner so we headed up to the Janiculum Hill for more amazing views, lots of marble busts and an enormous statue of Garibaldi.

We had finally run out of steam after a very enjoyable and interesting day, so we headed back to the hotel.

Flyover our route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/pUFQhsfRj1b

See our pictures at

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEFu5jF4XxVGo1eQ8

6th March

today is started with a walk of about an hour into the city principally downhill. So easy on the legs. Currently we seem to be walking around the edge of Vatican city.

So we seem to have arrived in St. Peter’s Square is it?

we spotted Romulus and Remus on the way to the castle del Angelo

This took us to 09.50 and it was becoming complicated to upload and dictate my posts so from here, I’m now typing this in our hotel foyer.

From her we walked towards Piazza Narvona and stopped for a rather nice coffee on the way,

From here we walked to the Pantheon which was just stacked with people trying to get in. From Val’s research we know we can get in at no cost on Sunday so we decided to opt out and take that option.

Our next destination was Trevi fountain which shocked Val. It was all blocked to stop anyone getting down to it. Now you have to €2!!!, so, being miserly we headed off to find its source which is about 200m away. Having found that Val decided we should head towards Galleria Doria Pamphilj……On the way I spotted “Tavola Calda” which is a chain I had been telling Val about and I first visited in Firenze in 1969…. We decided to stop and have a snack… It was worth it…

We then headed toward the Galleria as it was just a few steps down the road….. What a magnificent place. Val had pre booked and so we were able to just walk in. I took a lot of pictures but basically it was the home of an Italian family who were closely related to several high up people in the Catholic Church right up to the Pope and married English wives in the 18th – 19th and 20th Century. After over two hours here we spotted that one of the last characters played the fiddle and went to Magdalene college Cambridge. He was anti fascist and had a price on his head and refused to let Hitler into palace. Time to move on ……

Val had spotted that there is a Jewish Ghetto and as we were nearby we set off in that direction. Unfortunately as it was getting near to Shabat the great Synagogue was closed to the public, however as we were in the ghetto we wandered through the streets and found a nice kosher restaurant and decided to eat. Again pictures in the photo album above

Please see our WaterAid page at. https://walkforwater.wateraid.org/fundraising/peters-fundraising-page76

You can see the pictures now at https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEFu5jF4XxVGo1eQ8

You can see today’s flyover here https://strava.app.link/a0UXaPZfi1b

Tomorrow the Apian Way and Catacombs

Please click on the like button if you found this …….

The arrival in Rome

Our Jet2 plane landed at 12.20 and we thought it would be an easy transition through the airport…. Wrong!! We were subject to the new machines that have popped up all over the EU. It took us an hour and a half to clear security and collect our cases.

Getting out of the airport was then well signposted and we managed to hop onto “The Leonardo express” into the centre of the city.

Today’s walk

Check out this Flyover of our hike today on Strava: https://strava.app.link/EnXxUoRkb1b

10km

A big thank you go to Val’s cousin Nancy in the USA, Alison Elliott from Easton College, Chris and Anne in Cornwall, Tim Jones in Cambridge, Roberta, Serena and Sophia in Costessey, Susan and Steve in the USA; Chris and Alice in Norwich; Lizzie, James and William in York; Norfolk Neighbourhood Watch; James Windle in Hatfield; Joy in Costessey; The Hardwicks at No 7 in Costessey; Barry and Ness at No 8 in Costessey; P & G in Horsford; Malcolm and Eileen Creese in Bury St Edmunds and The Walkers!!! Thank you all so much.

We’re up to £369!!!