Rome; Thursday, 22 February, 2007

Termini is the first stop of the morning to pick up the Archeobus. This is another hop-on-hop off route that runs from the centre of Rome, south down the Apennine way, a route that was built, and in many places unaltered since its original construction. The bus (or more roofless coach, imagine a coach, but with it's top removed in the same way as an open-top double decker bus) takes in many sights along the way including the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian, lots and lots of Roman ruins, as well as a nearly two mile (and very bumpy) ride down one of the original, and dead straight, parts of the Apennine way.

After about an hour the coach reaches the remains of one of the many aqueducts that watered Rome, still standing, at this part for over 1KM, after 2,000 years. The coach stopped here for about 10 minutes before heading back in towards Rome, following mostly the same route back as it did out. After a brief comfort break at Termini, I jumped on the next one back out to the Mausoleo di Ceclia Metella.

These are the impressive remains of a Mausoleum, which also house an exhibition on some of the artefacts found around the site, as well as an explanation about the geology of the area. The mausoleum sits on the top of a small hill, visible from quite a distance, as it rests on a bed of Volcanic rock, soft usually, but becoming very hard when it is exposed to air, hence why this part has not eroded, but much of the surrounding area has. It also helps explain why there are so many large Catacomb complex's around as they could be easily carved out, and would harden naturally when the air reached in.

From the Mausoleum, I had a wander along part of the Apennine way. Along the length there are ruins of tombs and monuments. In it's day this was "The" road that lead to Rome and all the most important people of the day wanted to be remembered after their passing, by the passers by!

After stopping for a quick lunch near the Mausoleum, I wandered back on myself to the the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. These are the largest of the Catacombs built, with tunnels and passageways stretching some seven miles. A Basilica was built on top of the Catacombs at a later date. To go into the Catacombs you have to be accompanied by a tour guide, and the tours last about 25 minutes, ending inside the Basilica.

After finishing the tour I had enough time to grab a Panini from the stall opposite the Catacombs before the last bus of the day back to the Aqueduct and the city. Arriving back at Termini a little after 5:30. I dived down into the Metro and hopped along three stop to Spagna, and the Spanish Steps, another of Rome's "Must see" sights. By the time I climbed to the top (only afterwards did I find out that there was an escalator from within the metro station!) the sun was just setting behind the spires and towers of the city, with the dome of St Peters bathed in a beautiful Orange light. I walked a little further along the ridge, to the area just above the Piazza del Popolo, where there were even better views over the city.

After soaking in the atmosphere, and the last of the suns rays for the day, I walked down into the Piazza and sought out a restaurant for dinner. Sadly after having sat down I was told that they weren't serving dinner for another 60 minutes, so I decided to just have a coffee and a pastry to whet my appetite. I then caught the bus back towards the Colosseum to the group of restaurants near where I had eaten on Tuesday night. After a long, and very filling dinner, I staggered back to the bus stop at the Colosseum and caught the bus back to the hotel.