Highlight Finding a 400BC ruin 120 m from the guesthouse

We leave Crete feeling we have only scratched the surface after a wonderful visit. Sue and Jules did us proud with the activities that they planned for us. They commented that the visit had been quite different from the trip that Ro and Libby had done, with more of a military focus. They got it exactly right for us and John leaves with some books to read or reread. Of course, there were parts they did with both sets of visitors such as the Imbros Gorge and we know how important that is for Kiwi visitors. It is a wonderful walk and not too hard for most people, although they recalled seeing a young woman in tears at the mid-point with no real choice but to continue.

They had us at the airport in good time, and it was so much easier in a smaller airport than the rush at Gatwick had been. We picked up some food to have on the plane and relaxed in the departure area. There is a coach here to take people to the planes, which seemed unnecessary as it was not that far. The flight was fine and our arrival in Rome was straightforward, although we did have to wait for bags. We then boarded the Leonardo Express to the trip to Roma Termini. John’s memory was good and we were soon checking in at our guest house. Yuri, the ’Y’ of Amy (‘A’ and ‘M’ are his brothers) at the ‘Casa di Amy’ showed us to our room. The view is familiar and I am sure Ailsa, Pete, Irene and Raewyn will recognise the photo of the courtyard.

We then walked though part of the city looking for a place where John may be able to get a phone. Yuri had told us of an area to try, but the Vodofone shop here struggled to understand what John required. I saw another on ‘google maps’ so we walked to there. We were in areas of Rome we have never been to before, with the usual church or old ruin in unexpected places. We stopped for a coffee and pastries and enjoyed the passing parade and the food.

Our walk took us past the Porta Asinarina, part of the Aurelian Walls (271-275). It is in the middle of the road, with traffic passing under it and by it. The sign said it was altered in 401 – 403 AD from a minor gate to a monumental gate and raised up to 3 storeys with towers and an extra storey. We went past it again after seeing the high prices at the second Vodofone store. John was not happy at the thought of paying more than NZ prices without further research.

This time we also took photos of a nearby statue, with the obligatory bird on its head. We then passed through a park and we saw the Alchemy Gate or Magic Portal, a monument built between 1678 and 1680.  This is the only one of five former gates of the villa that remains; there was a lost door on the opposite side dating them to 1680 and four other lost inscriptions on the walls of the mansion inside the villa.

The Roman Aquarium

Back at the guest house, I went for a walk for about 120m in a direction I had not been before to find a cache. I also found a park, a magnificent building and ruins. Some research, when I got back, told me that the rather grand building was designed as Rome's aquarium (the ‘Acquario Romano’). The only fish and other sea creatures left are those painted and carved on the walls of the building, which is now used for exhibitions.

In the garden you can see some Roman ruins which have been exposed. These are remains of the Servian Wall, which was built to circle the city in around the fourth century BC.

I do love Rome. The ruins from the 4th century BC are listed as almost an afterthought. The Servian Wall was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was up to 10 m high in places, 3.6 m wide at its base, 11 km long,and is believed to have had 16 main gates. The wall was built from large blocks of volcanic rock. In addition to the blocks, some sections of the structure incorporated a deep fossa, or ditch, in front of it, as a means to effectively heighten the wall during attack from invaders.

We wandered down to Termini early to check out some other phone places before meeting Katherine off the train. They did have what John wants but it is more expensive than in NZ so he is thinking of waiting until in Germany, especially as his other battery is waiting at our next stop (Jane and Ian brought it to Italy earlier along with some of our other gear) for him to test in the phone. We walked back with Katherine so she could drop her gear, then went out for food. Lots of places were open at 10.30pm, but we went to an area we have eaten in before and all had a single course. Irene and Raewyn will remember the spot where the waiters flirted with them. We had just enough, although the waiter did try to tempt us with dessert.