Leaning Tower & the Eternal City

COASTLINE! Ok I said it, one of the thing's I'd been most looking forward to on this trip was riding throught the Italian Riviera...but first... I had to find my way back down the street I'd parked on!

Out on the road the sun finally came out and I headed east towards 'the boot'. The coastline is dotted with towns which were once fishing villages and ports, unfortunately the road into many of the towns is a bit dicey - this one (Portafino) they were turning cars away from because the carpark was full. Bikes were allowed however!

And now wonder; the bus uses the whole road to make it to the port

But no time to stop and stare, I had more Riviera to see! Slightly further along I hit the Cinque Terre; a collection of five seaside fishing villages noted for their colourful housing with vineyards and terraces stuck to the side of the cliff!

The roads were amazing too; once realising nobody was paying any attention to the speed limit!

The police situation in Italy has been completely not what I expected, I've seen so far only the police turning away cars in the previous photos and as the trip progressed saw the military patrolling the city. As for regular police...almost none. More on that later...


I couldnt spend the entire day blasting coastline, eventually I had to hit a city, and luckily as the sun was falling I arrived in Pisa.

And strangely the city seemed...empty after dark! (Piazza dei Cavalieri)

So roaming the streets I took in all the cultural sites (River Arno).

Then got some dinner and headed back over the bridge to bed! Sadly this hotdog with chips was less delicious then it looks and sauce is the enemy of the beard!

Next morning, face cleaned, I jumped back on the bike and headed to Rome. I'd been warned in advance how bad the traffic would be. Looked alright here!

It all then went horribly wrong! Driving in Rome was like driving in Thailand; the overarching rule seems to be don't crash into anything in front of you. But somewhere in amongst all of the double parking there is a system and it seems to work!

(The green and silver cars are both double parked, perhaps a painted lane, perhaps not...)
All in all however it actually works quite well on a bike and I completely understand why people have scooters here - the traffic flows slowly and being able to move through and around it was totally worth it. Sucks to be a pedestrian however!
Parking the bike it was time to get some sights in!

The Castel Sant'Angelo - 2nd century; now a museum. One of the things that had been hampering me since entering Italy is petrol stations only sell fuel, and perhaps oil, and are often unmanned self serve - as opposed to everywhere else where I'd been spoiled enough to have a solid lunch and iced coffee / water freely available. The moral of the story? I needed coffee...badly...


Thankfully in Italy whilst fuel is expensive (~1.50 to 1.70 euro / L versus 1.10 in other countries) the price of a coffee is dirt cheap! 1 Euro gets you a coffee, 1.50 a cappachino; easily half that of most other countries I'd visited where often coffee was on par or more expensive than beer.

Finding coffee (and gelato, its cultural) I was back on the trail of landmarks, and needed some souvenirs!


The Largo di Torre Argentina, unearthed during excavations to make way for a new construction they found a 2nd century temple complex buried in the centre of the city.

Sadly these souvenirs will also not be coming back with me!

One of the most notable archealogical finds around Rome is the Forum; thought to be around 2000 years old.

And then finally, the Trevi Fountain, built in the late 1700s. Beautiful architecture, totally overcrowded, at least it was kept clean!

I took the photo, grabbed some Gelato (apparently the best gelato store in the city?) and began the long hot walk back to my apartment. Thankfully and by a complete stroke of luck, directly outside my apartment was a locked door....but come 4pm the door opens and reveals a German Bar named Birreria Martini! The food was cheap and great quality (I did have more than just a pretzel) and for a tiny bar they had a huge selection of drinks.

Next morning I was off to the Dainese shop in Rome, hopeful to score some massive discount!

Unfortunately the best deal they had was on the jacket I'm already wearing! Half price, mind you half price of a lot is still...a lot...


The also had a very interesting section in the shop full of historical memorabilia as well as a whole wall about the technology they're putting into shoulder mounted airbags. Didnt take a photo of it but refreshing to see a brand using their store for more than selling product. I suppose it adds to the vibe of the shop however, easy to justify dropping $1000 on a jacket when they have racing leathers on the walls showing how they work and what you can put them through. Speaking of; Guy Martin's 2010 race suit - crashed at 170+mph (~300kph) and slid down the road through a fire.


https://youtu.be/QffTMlzfRog?t=224              SKIP TO THREE MINUTES!!!

This too was not for sale, but evocative enough an example of their products working to justify dropping serious coin here! The jacket with reflective armor is around $1200 AUD, the full race suits are $2k+!


An unexpected upside to the visit is the stores themselves are able to repair their products onsite, happily replacing a snap-button which had broken for free!


Considering whether I should just finish the holiday here and buy everything in the store I decided to go for a wander and stumbled upon this...

Built around 72AD the Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater has a chequered past; being used for the gladiator sports we all picture it for up until ~1000AD it was then repurposed as accomodation, a fortress, parts being removed to be used on other nearby buildings and as a Christian Shrine until it became an eventual tourist destination. 

And with an intense storm rolling in I ran next door to check out the rest of the Roman Forum. The current city of Rome is situated next to its historical ancestor; meaning much of the original political capital is still intact.

No storm on this side!


Blasting back towards home before the rain hit I stopped to grab a quick dinner. This was less parma-y than I expected but still pretty good!

Back to the german bar for some different beers and free wifi I started reading up on the Vatican. Apparently the skip the line tours are only necessary if its summer or early in the morning - thankfully I expected a sleep in and upon arriving at the gate next morning the queue was only a half hour long. 

Something I've found intensely confusing is why the Vatican (and most of the other places where third parties offer 'skip the lines' tours) dont themselves have ticket sellers outside of the designated 'ticket office' booth; surely an employee with a tablet and a card terminal could sell more and do away with all the third parties.


Once inside the vatican I was straight into the Vatican Museums; they were ok, sort of like being in the garden pottery section of a Bunnings except everything is very old. The amount I was not enjoying Rome has begun to seep thru by this point, the people (mostly tourists and street salesmen, perhaps not the actual Italians themselves) were rude and selfish. Case in point - this chap couldnt find a bin.

Add to that the completely overt show of wealth of the Vatican contrast with the beggars outside, plus you know...crowds.

There were however some understated places, this room was one of my favourites; the ceiling was considerably less...overdone and felt quite tasteful!

Another big favourite (perhaps it was this room had open windows) was the Galleria delle carte geografiche (Gallery of Maps) a collection of 40 maps of the areas of Italy from 1583 including significant people and actions from those areas.

Next up was the Sistine Chapel; signs tell you no photos are allowed and this is a place of worship so please dont talk. ​

This is a terrible representation of the Sistine Chapel, this however is much more accurate.

Whilst at the Tower of London they've used travelators (like those in airports) to move everyone through the building in an orderly manner the supposedly quiet place of worship is full of silent tourists and Vatican guards shouting 'dont stop, keep moving, no stopping, keep walking' on repeat. 


It is admittedly a breathtaking piece of artwork; but you cant appreciate it in there sadly. I learned more, and got more, from Wikipedia at the cafe outside which was a staggering let down.


>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling#/media/File:CAPPELLA_SISTINA_Ceiling.jpg


Finally back outside and in the fresh air it was time for a coffee, a beer, a water and a photo!

The St Peters Basilica is one of the largest churches in the world and sits above the tomb of the Popes. ​

Back outside a familar sight, this is inside the Vatican walls...

All in all Rome's been a bit disappointing; for such a massive and old city it has extreme wealth and huge poverty. The selfishness of the people (double parking, dumping rubbish) is a stark contrast to some of the previous countries I've been to an seems ingrained in the culture - perhaps its all the tourists however!


I think I preferred it up in the Alps!