Back to Rome

So here we are back in the Eternal City. I am combining two days again, because we got back to Rome late Sunday.  We spent Sunday at leisure in Sorrento, unfortunately we didn't make the  Amalfi Coast.  The Tour company which we were less than pleased with, switched the free day on the itinerary, so we missed out on our pre-booked trip.  

In any case, we had a delightful day just wondering through the streets being tourists, doing a little retail therapy, the results of which i will show you when we return home.   These are some of the  locally made ceramics we came across. 

This is a locally made inlaid wood piece which caught Paul's eye.

I asked Paul to take a picture of this as I thought it combines our two hobbies so nicely.  For those non-quilters among you, the patterns on the cobblestones is similar to a Baptist fan quilting pattern, and of course you can see the bike!

Then it was time to leave Sorrento.

We got up this morning intending to make our way to the Catacombs, which are ancient burial grounds.  All was going well, the sun was shining, not too many clouds in the sky, we found the right line on the Underground, and using our guidebook, thought we got off at the right place, but could not then find the place to catch the bus so we attempted to walk it.

This was going well until it started to rain. It actually poured, not even umbrellas would have saved us. We got very, very, very wet.  Then came the thunder and the lightening.  What a disaster.  Things  started to improve  when the Italian gentleman who we were sheltering with, informed us that the Underground entrance was just round the corner, and so we could then make our way back.

It was then time to meet up with our new tour group, another interesting mix of ages and nationalities.  We had our first evening out on an optional excursion called Rome by Night.  We started off with a walking tour commencing Piazza Navona, a beautiful square filled with markets and ristorantes, where the people of Rome go to relax.  

Artists also sell their work here, including sketches, paintings and caricatures.

We then were lucky enough to see the Pantheon, the oldest basilica in Rome.  It has an opening in the dome, which allows rain to come in as a water feature, the rain drains out of the buiding by a series of channels.  It must have been an impressive sight around lunchtime today!!

Then it was time for the Trevi Fountain.

We then had Dinner at a restaurant, delicious food and fun company.

On the way, we had the chance to see some sights made much more beautiful by night, such as St Peter's Basilica.. A really fantastic night.