mybigadventures.com

Today we went to the Colosseum. We had already bought tickets online to avoid the predictable queues. We were a little disappointed when booking to find that there were no tickets left for the underground tour, but hey ho still got tickets for the Colosseum, forum and Palatine hill. After breakfast we decided to walk rather than get the underground. The Colosseum is only two stops from Termini so it was only a 30 minute walk.

On the walk over we stopped to look in Santa Maria Maggiore which was a very grand church. The outside featured a range of statues, clock tower and two domes. Inside there was a spectacular pannelled ceiling and frescoes within the domes. We sat and cooled down taking a break from the heat (31 degrees) outside surrounded by a number of visiting nuns and monks.

We walked on, stopping in San Pietro in Vincoli, a slightly more understated church with frescoed ceiling and dome. Finally a short walk on from here we arrived at the Colosseum. Prebooking the tickets online turned out to be a great idea as the queues were huge. There were a lot of people around trying to sell tours but we headed for the prebooked tickets line and were in pretty quickly. Having visited before, the Colosseum was no less awe inspiring. We spent time admiring the views both into the centre of the amphitheatre and outside to the surrounding landscape. On the second floor we admired the ancient treasures, many of which are over 2000 years old.

Leaving the Colosseum we walked palatine hill to some of the ruins of ancient Rome. The site is vast and steeped in history. We walked around admiring the panoramic views back towards the Colosseum and across Rome. We took lots of photos and then feeling flakey headed off for icecream to a gellateria on the nearby via San Giovanni in Laterano (we think we ate at a restaurant here last time we came in 2007). We decided to head back to the hotel and feeling a little weary opted for the underground buying 100 minute tickets for 1.50 Euros.

Had tea out at a restaurant near the hotel- Mamma Angela's Trattoria it was very nice and I highly recommend it if you're in the vicinity. Called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

We had timed tickets for the Vatican today. We had booked online this time as the last time we were here we queued for about 3 hours before we made it in. We got the Metro from Termini getting off at Ottaviano and then followed the crowds through the maze of people selling tickets and souvenirs to passing tourists. Signs were a little hard to come by but we found the way fairly readily. Arrived to find no queue at all much to our disappointment as everybody seemed to be part of a tour group or pre-booked like us. I was feeling quite warm having worn trousers today having seen the dress code on the Vatican website. As it happened they didn't appear to be enforcing it, but better to be safe than sorry.

  . . 

We didn't opt for audio guides this time deciding to wing it instead. We began by following signs for the short itinerary which lasted about 3 hours taking us through a range of Egyptian and Italian exhibits featuring sculptures, tapestries and rooms decorated with incredibly detailed painted ceilings and mosaic floors. It also included amongst other things, a suite of rooms decorated by Raphaelle and his contemporaries. It was all quite breathtaking, culminating in the Sistine chapel. 

After the initial tour we stopped for a break in the pizzeria before heading out to explore the terrace gardens. One of the gardens featured a rotating sphere within a sphere created by the Italian artist Arnoldo Pomodorowho who has similar pieces in many cities worldwide. From here we went to the picture gallery which thankfully had some air-conditioning and amongst other things featured some nice Bellini statues and a picture by Leonardo da Vinci. We stopped off at the bookshop to buy a guide book before calling it a day and heading back to the hotel. Later in the evening we went to the local restaurant Meid in Napols where we had the nicest meal yet. We highly recommend a visit, its not far from Termini, about a 2 minute walk. Arrived back at the hotel feeling stuffed!

Got up a bit late, after our late-night pizza! I went down Starbucks to get tea and, despite having to relay my order several times to different people, managed to get two teas and chocolatines. They still seem incapable of leaving any room for milk, despite being asked!

Got all of our stuff packed up, and toddled down to check out. Had a two dollar bill for the local phone calls (the pizza) - last of the big spenders! Made our way down to the car park to retrieve the hire car - a fairly easy-going walk downhill from Van Ness Avenue to O’Farrell. A friendly parking attendant helped us out, with the pay machine and indicated where the lifts were, and we were away! As we drove out of San Francisco, we happened to pass the car rental offices and, low and behold - a massive queue. No surprise there really! Poor things.

Left San Francisco via the Bay Bridge, which has some intermittent views, but the walls were too high to see over most of the time. The route east was painless and we reached Berkeley easily. Used the SatNav to locate some parking, but found one on our own, just opposite the US Post Office. It was $2.50 for the first two hours, which seems reasonable. Interestingly, there was the ongoing protest outside the post office, to say no to the privatisation of the post office. Quite interesting, given the same question being raised back home. It turns out that the building is being sold, rather than the actual service, but people want to preserve the historic building.

We began to have a little wander, nipping into the post office to buy some stamps. We then found the high street, almost immediately stopping to buy an ice cream from Papa John’s Ice-Creams - we thought we’d start lunch with dessert. Tempted by the promise of a scoop for a dollar, we both had one! Ben had choc’ chip and chocolate, in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone and I had avocado and ube (sweet potato and yam apparently) in a small cone - I’ll be honest; I picked mine for the colours! As the ice cream dripped down our hands, we pottered on. Went in a couple of bookshops, looking for an American Atlas and eventually happened upon a deli, where we bought some huge sandwiches - roast chicken and cheese, which we kept to eat a bit later.

Having returned to the car, we drove out of Berkeley, passing through the University. We were trying to find a renowned beauty spot called Grizzly Peak, but it turned out to be elusive. We drove around for at least an hour, suffering from the distinct lack of British brown signposts to send us in the right direction. Eventually, happened upon Lakeview car park. Sounded promising… But not a real view of the lake, more of a car park. Sat and ate our sandwiches in view of a very symmetrical portaloo! The sandwiches were very nice, however!

Drove on, seeing some spectacular scenery. Ironically, all the places you can stop along the way have views of nothing but trees, whereas you can only drive past the fantastic panoramas! They need a bit of National Trust input!

Travelled on towards Yosemite and our motel in Mariposa. As we went, we couldn’t help but stop along one of the straight, seemingly never-ending roads, with barely any cars. There was nothing to see for miles, apart from pistachio trees and wheat. Stood in the road for photos! The whole journey didn’t take as long as we might have expected and we arrived in Mariposa. Check-in was easy and we had ourselves a room with two queen beds - room for a party! Had a little sloth around and then headed to the Miner’s Inn restaurant. An hour later and we were stuffed. We shared potato skins as a starter, although there were four, which was quite vast, and then I had meatloaf and Ben had southern fried chicken. We were baffled as to why the main courses came with either soup or salad and opted for salad, as a lighter choice! Nevertheless, the portions were massive and we didn’t eat it all. Good value at $45, but huge! How do American people manage this?