{"id":8105,"date":"2014-03-17T08:27:29","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T08:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=8105"},"modified":"2017-05-24T10:19:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T10:19:38","slug":"a-layered-city-with-rome-is-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/a-layered-city-with-rome-is-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Layered City with Rome is Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we go somewhere for the first time, I often think about booking a private guide – that way we usually get to learn something <\/span>really<\/em> different, and we also get to see as much “behind the scenes” stuff as possible – \u00a0especially useful when you visit a city as diverse, as vast and with as many layers of history as Rome has…<\/span><\/p>\n

You might have gathered that I am not that organised, so this was pretty last minute, \u00a0but Rome is Easy<\/a> popped up after a quick on-line search, and I sent them an email on the off chance they could help… \u00a0 Luckily for us they came back within hours, and by that evening we had managed to tailor an afternoon’s tour of Rome that would be great for all of us, but would really appeal to the (Horrible History infatuated) Small People – as (amongst other things) it included an expedition deep under Rome itself, down into the catacombs.<\/p>\n

You might think a private guide a slight over-indulgence, \u00a0but when you only have a few days to explore somewhere properly, I really don’t think it is – especially if you think of it in terms of your precious time!? \u00a0If you organise it at the beginning of your visit, by focussing on all the “must see” tips (and what to avoid!) you have picked up during your tour, you will save yourself hours of traipsing about, \u00a0so it’s a little like having a guide with you for your entire trip!<\/p>\n

We have done tours in quite a few places now (most recently in Kyoto<\/a>), and I have yet to come away feeling like it wasn’t worth it. \u00a0 If you do your research properly (perhaps with a little more time to hand!), you can find companies where the guides are born and bred locals who really do know their cities inside out. \u00a0 This was most definitely the case with our guide Nicole (who we met the afternoon I mentioned in my previous post<\/a>!) from Rome is Easy<\/a> – the entire group of which is made up of devoted individuals by the way – all native Romans, all of them with backgrounds in the arts and archaeology – and all completely dedicated to showing you the secrets of their beloved city…<\/p>\n

Nicole met us at our hotel, and soon we were speeding across town in a cab, learning about the sights that we passed along the way. The Small People were soon besotted with her and loved her depiction of Rome as a “Lasagne”, with its many layers, and it kind of is – parts of ancient Rome were built on clay, so eventually sank – then new buildings were built on top of them, and when in turn they sank too, the process began again… Layer upon layer. \u00a0 Other parts of the city have always been underground, like the Catacombs of\u00a0Saint Sebastian<\/a>, the original resting place for many an ancient Roman, and this was our first stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

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An added bonus throughout was how brilliant Nicole was with the Small people. \u00a0 I think she was slightly entertained by their fascination with history – especially the more gruesome side of things – and I loved how she spoke to them directly, getting down on their level, and completely igniting their imaginations with tales of life gone by. \u00a0 Plenty of “guest” illustrations were added to their notebooks too, with little drawings made by way of explanations, and even Latin translations when requested. \u00a0 Forget being a vet, the Nine Year Old wants to follow in Nicole’s footsteps now and be an archaeologist in Rome – and where better?<\/p>\n

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Saint Sebastian Ceiling and Sculpture by Giorgetti Antonio\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

With the catacombs of Saint Sebastian well and truly explored (and the church above admired, it’s got quite a ceiling!), and with many a imaginary skeleton spoken to, \u00a0we headed up into daylight and onto our next visit. \u00a0 This time the glorious<\/span> San Clemente Church. \u00a0 \u00a0Above ground Nicole pointed out the patchwork of ages sewn together. \u00a0Ancient Romans were great recyclers and it’s not uncommon for an item from a completely different era to pop up in something built several centuries later – but you might never actually notice these things if they weren’t pointed out! \u00a0 Here too we went underground, paying our respects to the layers of history which included pagan temples and even parts of an old Roman house. \u00a0 \u00a0Then onwards and upwards to the top layer again where we visited a few more secrets including a chapel ceiling with the best optical illusion…<\/span><\/p>\n

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Deep underground in San Clemente and Gladiatorial training grounds<\/em><\/p>\n

And before our time was up, as a finale, Nicole treated us to a drink in a tiny place with perhaps the best view ever. \u00a0 I would love to tell you where it is exactly, but I promised to keep it a secret (and anyway, you can’t usually just pop in!)… \u00a0You might recognise what it looks out upon though… \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Speechless for the first few minutes, eventually I managed a \u00a0“I guess you must take Rome for granted after a while when you live here”, thinking of the time when I worked seconds from Saint Paul’s and many other London attractions, but Nicole replied with a very swift “No, never…” \u00a0 \u00a0And that, I think, is all you really need to know…<\/p>\n

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Later at a well earned dinner (at what turned out to be our most favourite restaurant), Small boy drew countless tap-dancing skeletons, which made me wonder what on earth he had seen and I hadn’t… And throughout, both small people spoke constantly about their day and the many layers of the city that we had explored! \u00a0 \u00a0I will most definitely use Rome is Easy* again on our next visit , the food tour is high on my list! \u00a0Highly, highly recommended!<\/p>\n

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