After along walk, I estimate more than a kilometre to the far end of the terminal, we boarded our flight to Rome. A short hour-long hop across the alps, saw us in Rome by around 9.30 am. Our friends arrived from London around ten thirty am, and we travelled into our apartment located near the Piazza Navona.
The apartment is a fascinating melange of the old and the new....the hallway is literarily a cobbled path many centuries old which has been incorporated into the design of the apartment. Exposed beams of oak. Exposed brickwork which is clearly many centuries old. There is a new annex with steel building framework reinforcing the far wall,and creating a loft above the living room, the art is modern classical, with lots of baroque mirrors, tiled floors in faux mosaics, plus lots of steel sculptures which while quite heavy looking are quite interesting; not my taste, but I admire the innovation and willingness to be different.
After we had settled in a little, we headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch, very pleasant roman meal. An Australian living in Rome came up to us to say how pleased he was to hear our accents.Then a walk around the neighbourhood taking in three impressive churches (the size of most Australian cathedrals, full of fifteenth century art, saints relics, and a sprinkling of tourists.
The highlight was undoubtedly the Pantheon, full of tourists , but extremely impressive. Rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in the first century AD, he must have run out of money as he failed to finish the cupola leaving a hole in the roof. Budget constraints and reining in the deficit are clearly longstanding issues.
A quick peek inside a modern art gallery, plus the odd jewellery shop, and we headed home, all of us feeling quite tired.
As I write, we are about to head out for an early dinner, so that we might get an early night. While I have up till now deliberately not been focussing on the trip, having finally arrived, it feels relaxing and a nice change from the busyness of the ANU!
I have been missing my regular coffees at the ANU though!
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