The day we walked to Malta

Pantheon

My first Italian gelato

Colosseum

Through the keyhole
(Source: http://romevespatour.com)

Looking through keyhole from Malta
 to Italy and Vatican

Mouth of Truth

London to Rome takes a few hours and was an adventure in itself but there are more important things to share today.

We arrive in downtown Rome, and Sue is waiting for us. it’s hot, its humid, there are people everywhere. I like the pace, everyone is strolling. Start off with a lunch in a nearby café. Figure out how to order sparkling water, aqua gas and think we are legends. Jane is serenaded by a kid on a harmonica and tells him to bugger off. It’s all very Italian.

Now its time to set off in a random path through the throngs of tourists and explore Rome. We see start off in little lanes weaving our way in between old buildings with no set agenda. The first major destination we discover is the Pantheon, a temple to the ancient gods of Rome. There is lots of street art to discover the best one so far is an angel on a no entry sign.

Moving on we reach the Tiber river and are enjoy walking in the shade out of the 32 degree heat. We make it to the base of the Aventine Hill, I am totally excited walking in the footsteps of so much history as we make our way up to the top. What a view, all of Rome laid out in front of us with St Peter’s dome smack bang in the middle.

Its so hot but we soldier on in our walk to Malta. Finally we make it to the end of the hill and arrive at the home of the knights of Malta who where granted land here in 1834. The land has Maltese sovereignty. From here we look through the keyhole and can see St Peter’s perfectly aligned down an avenue of trees. It’s a magic site. We are on Maltese ground and can see two other countries, Italy and the Vatican. Now time for a sit down and some water.

Time to head down back the hill and find the most important artifact in Rome, originally it may have been a man hole cover but the significance is the scene from the movie Roman Holiday, when Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck do a magical dalliance with each other over who is lying the most. Jane and I are the last ones in before they lock the gates behind us for closing. The photo frenzy is intense and we capture the moment on all the electronic devices available.

Now Jane has been to Rome before and has an idea there is something big ahead, well that was an understatement we turn a corner and she asks me,  ‘can I see anything’. I am like confused, take a few more steps and it is all clear above the top of the other tourists and cars is the gates of something and the colosseum. Ok that’s another ‘big’ thing and looks amazing in the afternoon light. We even see a gladiator, alas he is crossing the road to catch a bus home.

More walking our objective now is this grand looking white building with horses mounted on top we have been seeing all day. We finally reach the destination and do the obligatory photo frenzy, swap cameras with a lovely Scottish couple who have been to Australia and call us ‘sheilas’. This is a monument to the first king of Rome and dazzling white, it stands out from all the other buildings in Rome.

Finally time to find some food. Walk into a lovely restaurant with red and white checked tablecloths and the whole family working together. Now for the final km home, neither of us have our glasses and can't read the small writing on the map, with a mixture of technology and Jane’s intuition we make it back to base. Overall impressions, everything is so big, there is just so much to see, we will be back.