Sunday 2 October: Rome

Breakfast at the Altavilla was adequate, but no more. Never mind, we set off for the forum, armed with our big cameras. After some typical Italian efficiency (we were sent to three different locations, none of which was the right one) we eventually got our tickets for the palatine and coliseum and for a guided tour of the forum. Entry to the forum is free, but the palatine and coliseum cost 10 euro for a combined ticket. The guided tour was 3.50 euro, and was quite informative - this was good, because there are virtually no information panels or signs anywhere in the whole complex. We saw all the important sites, including the pile of rubble that is allegedly Julius Caesar's cremation site.

The weather was beautiful, with a deep blue sky and some fluffy white clouds.

After the forum we walked across to the coliseum. The cloud cover had grown thicker - it was now quite overcast. Because we had a pre-paid ticket, we were able to jump the very long queue and walk straight in. The place is quite staggering. It was easy to imagine what it would have been like 2000 years ago, with 80,000 spectators on their marble benches and the spectacular but bloodthirsty "entertainments" in the arena.

As we left the coliseum, the rain started. Like magic, umbrella vendors appeared on every street corner. (How do they do it?) Once gain, we headed up the long hill to our hotel. Of course we didn't have our umbrellas with us, and needed to dry out for a while.

Legendary Italian organisation, and other stories: We decided to reconnoitre the station to make sure we didn't have any trouble tomorrow. We found the left-luggage office, and went to the tourist information office to book a tour to the Vatican museums. Take a number and wait our turn - made sure we got the right number for "bus, train and city tours". We didn't have to wait long - the bored-looking functionary behind the counter just kept pressing his button. 48 - 49 - 50 If you weren't there in 20 seconds or less you missed your chance. 51- 52 - 53 That's us!

We'd like to book a tour to the Vatican, per favore.
We don't do that here.
Comé?
We don't book tours here. You have to go to the tourist office.
Isn't this the tourist office??
No, this is the tourist information office.

Having not learned anything from earlier experiences, we then decided to try the hop-on hop-off bus tour. We waited in the rain (now with our umbrellas) for the big red bus to come along. We had expected to see a ticket seller, but there wasn't one. OK, we'll buy our tickets on the bus, like everywhere else. You can't buy tickets on the bus. You have to buy them at the red box on platform E. So off to platform E, buy our tickets and head back to the bus. Only by now the downstairs section was full, and it was still raining, so we decided not to sit in the open upper deck. We'll wait for the next one. Next one comes along, people get off, but the conductor won't let anybody else on. Much milling around and confusion. An argument in the queue (between a French guy and some Americans) about who had priority. An ambulance screams up, and removes a passenger from the bus. OK, now you can get on board - nobody downstairs, only upstairs. Much loud grumbling. Another empty bus pulls up, and we all move towards that. Nobody can get on this bus until the other one is full.

By this time we had been standing in the rain for over 30 minutes, and the scene was getting ugly. Paul lost his famous reserve and said "by Jove this isn't very good. I think we should get our money back". Back to the red box at platform E, where we asked for - and got - a full refund.

To salvage something of the afternoon, we walked down to Santa Maria Maggiore. From the rear (facing Via Cavour) it's a very attractive structure. The west front isn't so pretty, but the inside is magnificent. One of the nicer churches we have been in. There was a mass under way in one of the chapels - we don't know who was presiding, but there were a couple of cardinals present, so it must have been somebody important.

Then checked out the best value net cafe we've seen (2 euros for about 75 minutes), and dinner at a nice restaurant. Then back to the hotel for our last night in Italy. Tomorrow we hope to tour the Vatican, and in the evening we'll be on our way to Switzerland.