Cruising on the Nile

It was a long day of travelling, waiting for late flights, luggage to arrive, visas, customs and security before we arrived at the RA II our home for the next 7 nights (we were told then that we had with four others been upgraded as the RA I had been solidly booked by one non-English speaking group). This is our first cruise ... chosen because it was somewhere warm, and because we wouldn’t spend days looking out at the blue sea - we could sail and go ashore every day. But it was a cruise with a difference as we spent the first 2 days and nights in port – and sailed finally late on New Years Eve – at 12.00 everyone said 'we are sailing' and we forgot to sing Auld Lang Syne and wish everyone Happy New Year until 10 minutes later. Anyway, our boat was only one of 300 or so on the Nile - and at the docks we sometimes had to triple park the boat and walk through other cruise ships to the wharf (great to have a decko at other boats). RAII was built about 18 years ago, together with her sister ship the RA I. They are the only 2 out of all the cruise boats sailing on the Nile (all shapes and sizes) that were built in England (Hull). Before designing and building the RA's we think they watched the film ‘Death on the Nile’ as we could imagine the murder mystery taking part in the bar, lounge, dining room etc. We could also imagine Agatha Christie sitting at the window of the Cataract Hotel (now closed for 3 years for renovations) while penning her Hercule Poirot story. The boat was a bit tired, but comfortable and clean, quite dark with lots of dark wood panelling (typical of many an English mansion). Food was good, smorgasbord mainly, with lots of choices and different each night. I got hooked on the pickled lemons and goat cheese, while Harry liked his morning omelette and chocolate cake. We had our table allocated and sat with a couple from Glasgow, but soon met people from other parts of England eg Northampton where Mike and Barbara hail from. As we were upgraded our itinerary changed and it took us a few days to work out what we were going to see. We had an Egyptian evening one night and a bingo night another where unbelievably I came second and won a necklace with Queen Nephrodite on it and first prize in the raffle - a chess set (only wish they hadn't told me the white pieces were made from camel bones). Anyway, pretty good for me who never wins anything. In the evenings we went back to the cabin where we were greeted with animals made from pillows and blankets (we tried to make a kiwi one night but it turned out more like an elephant) - and a nice little touch for my birthday was a cake and 'Happy Birthday' sung to the accompanient of bongo drums. We mistakenly thought a cruise would mean leisurely wake ups, breakfast in the sun, and then a stroll to a place of interest. Wrong. Two lie in days, meant we could have breakfast before 9.00 other days we were up at 4.30, 6.30, 6.45 (yes, in the morning) for a bus, boat, plane ride to somewhere. Needless to say the two afternoons we spent on the boat meant most of us slept.

We’ve mentioned traffic and transport quite a bit in our travels so far, but there are some differences in Egypt that we haven’t come across before. Night time means 'no lights' – or maybe parking lights if you are lucky (we did think this could be because the lights may scare the horses and donkeys – but we were wrong as drivers ‘honk their horn’ almost to a tune and the horses didn’t appear to bat an eyelid). Driving on the wrong side of the road (high probability while you are sat in a 1970’s Peugeot 504 – with the original engine and no seatbelts), going through red lights and trying to squeeze between pedestrians, cyclists, horse and cart, donkeys or buses is fairly mandatory. We had one taxi driver who put on a cassette for us and then clapped while we grimaced in the back as the car veered to the wrong side of the road. However, stopping for the armed police at every police point (probably about every 1-2 kilometres) is essential – I guess no one wants to fight with those pointing rifles at you (there are even privately employed security wandering the streets, guarding the crops of alfalfa, cabbage and corn from anyone keen to help themselves). Luxor is quite a pretty little city – with its natural harbour on the Nile, lights (on the temple and many of the plants along the roadside – including little 12 inch high flax bushes) and flowering bougainvilla (yellow, while, red, orange, pink). The boat was parked away from the more affluent and tourist areas, and to get to it we passed fields with donkeys and cows, a second hand dealer (which would have given Steptoe and Son some fierce competition), and many a little child and adult with their hand out for money. We stopped at a temple and Barbara took a packet of winegums from her pocket and she was surrounded by Egyptian men wanting to sample. We saw this a lot during the week – it isn’t quite begging as the people all look well fed and clothed but our tourist guide, Omar, said it is a way of life. You give money to people driving you somewhere, showing you directions, pointing out a place of interest, taking your photo – or having their photo taken, because you pass them on the street, lifting your luggage out of the bus, handing the loo paper to you when it is already in a dispenser, saying hello to children on a boat etc. Bartering and hassling is also a way of life particularly at the markets (lots of fruit and veg, spices - we've already made a curry - indigo, unrefrigerated meat which we didn’t look to closely at but unfortunately couldn't miss the goats head, scarves, clothing, ornaments, jewellery etc etc). Our guide took us to a market where we could look without people following us or trying to put scarves on our heads or bracelets on our arms and then accusing us of stealing. On our horse and cart ride one evening little children (as young as 5 or 6) ran alongside the cart trying to give us a bougainvilla flower they had picked in return for money (we were thinking that if we go again we will take lots of plastic kiwis or tikis to give – not sure if they would be appreciated!!). Our tour guide (Omar) was rather special. Very well learned, passionate about Egyptian history (university graduate in Egyptology) and with a sense of humour he spent three days instilling in us some of what he had learnt in five years - all about the Gods (Hathor, Horus are the two we can remember) and lots of Kings and Queens (Ramesus II the great builder of many of the temples – I still think he told others to do it rather than design or build them himself and he also relabelled some temples as his own and other kings such as Thotmosus I, II, III etc). He'd point to a carving with a lion or falcon's head, sheep horns, or a birdlike creature and when we couldn't name it would say 'were you not listening yesterday' and start all over again! He would take off from the bus – walking stick in the air saying ‘Ha be bes follow me’ (my dear friends) and then as our minds and eyes wandered ‘look at me’, ‘attention’, ‘what did I say’ but his lectures did give us a good grounding for understanding the hieroglyphics and the pictures that we saw later by ourselves. At one point we did some play acting, Harry was pretending to be Seth stabbing his brother Osirus (Nick) because he loved Isis (can’t remember her name but she lives in Reading) while another of our group stood with his finger in his mouth pretending to be the young son of Osirus – Horus the God. We remembered that story. We saw a rather a lot of temples – and at one point we were ‘templed out’ and so went for a walk (we missed seeing mummified crocodiles - real ones live happily and protected in Lake Nassar and in the south Nile) but we were happy to take photos from outside and make our way through the barrage of stall owners in the markets. Each temple did have a little unique factor:

• Abu Simbil – built on the shores of Lake Nassar – moved before the lake was created by the dam to avoid flooding forever (the move was quite an engineering feat) and a 30 minute flight to get to – it is the only temple built within a natural mountain so they had to move the little mountain as well. We worked out it took us 8 bus rides and 2 plane rides to get there and back.
• Dandara temple – one of the oldest at 3,000 years - where we learnt about the God’s Hathor and Horus – and saw a pool which was fed by the Nile to wash before going into the presence of the God’s.
• Karnak – huge - 136 pillars and 3 temples, all built from the inside out (like the others) – it took 1700 years to build.
• Luxor – in the centre of the town, grandly lit at night, and with a soon to be reconstructed 3 kilometre road between it and Karnak lined by huge sphinxes just like it was 2-3000 years ago. It was here we first saw engravings of wheels and thought we saw our first bicycle – but came to realise later it was a chariot.
• Al-Deir Al-Bahari temple for Queen Hathsepsut – not a lot to see here but a lovely view across the dessert towards Luxor.
• Edfu – which was my favourite – with a perfumery that still had the recipes written on the wall (Chanel Number 5 was 3rd from the right), and where rolls and rolls of papyrus had been found in a little room, documenting much of the history of the times.
• Philae – the only one built on an island – but not the island we stood on - it also had been moved to stop it being permanently flooded. It took a while to flatten the new island before moving the temple.

Then onto the tombs. At the time of the coronation of the new king the site was selected and the tomb building began. It took years (I imagine a rushed job if the king didn’t live long!!). We were told the workers weren’t slaves, but had priveleges and went on strike for more wages and better conditions - the first trade union?). We managed to fit in the Valley's of the Kings, Queens and the Workers and while visiting the tombs found some very colourful and skilled paintings, embossed carvings (granite, sand stone) and engravings as well as heaps of hieroglyphics. No photography or videoing inside and Mike, one of the men from our group went through the tomb door holding his camera and was told to leave, then marched over to the police because they though he was going to take a photo. Not so, but he didn’t argue. In one tomb we saw the mummy of a 6 month old foetus (a prince) perfectly formed but so little. We saw a couple of adult mummies also at Luxor museum and I did feel that to see them exposed when they were so lovingly cared for took away their dignity in death. All the tombs showed the same images, the gods being given gifts, the dead spirit going through the 12 hours of darkness – where you proved you had not sinned greatly and were allowed to go the inner sanctum where your spirit rested with little models of servants, riches and food for you to enjoy in your after life. No wonder Tutenkahum’s tomb, found in the 1960’s was considered such a find( found complete –it hadn't been ransacked by thieves) it provided so much information about how the early Egyptian lived and worshipped. Restoring these temples and tombs are a key part of Egyptian history, but also provide the country with a key to the tourist industry. We watched as we saw Egyptians restoring their temples with hand mixed concrete, chipping and engraving stone, and digging for more treasures - and when found I hope they will be kept in the country rather than spread throughout the world.

Intermingled between the visits to temples and tombs we stopped off at a Papyrus factory – that makes the most ancient form of paper. The plant was rediscovered in 1960’s after an Egyptian was challenged by a Chinese (who had rice paper and its plant to prove it) to find the plant (considered extinct) which he did somewhere north of Aswan. It looks a bit like an agapantha flower – very long stem which the paper comes from and lots of little grass like leaves at the top which could be a flower in a different season. We went to the Alabaster factory (these factories hand make alabaster ornaments and are the only industry allowed on the West Bank where the archaeological excavations are occurring). We also wandered through a perfume factory (they didn’t know that one of our group was in the perfume business – has a nose for pure perfumes and not mixes and so she wasn’t amused when told a perfume was a pure lotus flower when it wasn’t). We did buy some lavender (to help me sleep) and camphor and sandal wood for those aches and pains.

Although Egypt is steeped in history the highlight for Harry and I was a boat trip around the islands (one of them included a visit to the Botanical gardens – on the island given to Lord Kitchener in exchange for not making the Nubian people join armed forces against the Sudanese – the Nubians and Sudanese are related). Lots of birdlife (we saw a bird so like a pukekohe and with the same cheeky personality, osprey and lots of others we can’t remember the name of). We didn’t see a godwit but it is rather special because it flies between Egypt from NZ - that's a long way by plane let along wing power. We stopped on the shores of the Nile, and wandered up the first sand dunes of the Sahara Desert – great to feel the sand through our toes, and then camels took our party for a 20 minute ride into the desert (and I don't particularly enjoy riding a horse). My camel was called Monica - do they watch 'Friends' over here?

So, we saw nature at its best, great sunsets, great rock formations and the islands created by the dam. The Nile prior to the building of the dam flooded regularly. The rains start two months earlier in Uganda and Ethiopa then came the floods covering land and temples in silt (some completely) but at least the silt fertilised the land. Now there are no longer floods chemical fertilisers are used causing a raft of additional problems. The high dam is 1 kilometre wide at its base and 3.8 kilometres long. It was funded by the Russians and no videos or telephoto lenses allowed as it is considered a strategic military target. Together with the low dam (built in 1902 by the English) supplies Egypt with a lot of its power, together with solar and nuclear is beginning to also find its place. It is incredible to think that this nation – based on subsistence farming for many - used to be one of the advanced races in the world. In the museum we saw set squares and plumb bobs used to build temples 3000 years ago, chariots of wood with leather for tyres, chairs and beds – all very similar to the designs of the day, and a model of a whaka – the difference is this one had a sail. Today, the housing is nothing like the temples – in fact some towns looked as though a bomb had hit. The houses appear to be mainly mud or concrete brick, most not finished (due to lack of funds we are told but if we were given £10 for every satellite dish we saw we'd be millionaires), and many roofless though I guess with no rain and little wind the need to put a roof over your head isn't as important. Our guide took us to the mosque (some are called tourist mosques and open to the public) and told us about the moslem faith, based on peace, following God and the prophets, fasting during ramaden (to identify with the poor and hungry), praying five times a day, giving 2.5% of savings to those poorer than you (family first, then distant rellies, then neighbours and then others in need), washing and cleansing oneself before praying. After hearing five calls to prayer a day it helped to put it all in perspective.

And then another long trip back to -2 degrees and a freezer that was no longer freezing our food. After throwing away our Christmas left overs I was told by the freezer fixer that fridges do not operate in cold conditions – apparently the fridge has a mind of its own – deciding that at about 5 degrees it is really cold enough hence turning itself off (there is a more technical explanation about air conditioning units etc - but you get the picture) – we had turned the heating off when we left for our holiday – but just might not do that again!!

London at Christmas

The day after Boxing Day we took to the motorways and headed towards London. The radio man told us that there were delays on the M4, bigger delays on the M3 and even bigger ones on the M25 so we turned a motorway drive into a more relaxing and slow 4 hour trip through the Surrey hills and villages (eg Dorking) to Gatwick Airport. We will never know if staying on the motorways would have been quicker – but at least it was less frustrating and prettier. We left our bags in the hotel room and wearing our winter woollies caught the train into London where we ate at an American restaurant called Garfunkels (nice Mexican enchiladas), wandered the streets looking at Christmas decorations and snowmen, and then went to the Sound of Music. We enjoyed the show, the stage props were probably the best we have seen so far and the acting and singing seemed to be up there with the others. We knew all the songs (except for two sung by Elsa, Max and the Captain – about the choices one had to make during World War II which aren't in the film). Harry had plenty of songs to whistle on the way back to the hotel which was rather a long train trip. By the time we got to the hotel we thought ‘We are so over London transport’ – it is efficient and reasonably on time – but the sitting in undergrounds and buses with crowds of others isn't quite our definition of fun (especially when the train is carrying Arsenal supporters home from a game – there were pubs with notices that say ‘only home supporters are welcome’). We explored Rebecca’s new home ground (lots more bakeries and delis than we have in the whole of Bristol) and then wandered through Hampstead Heath in the cool of the late afternoon – a mixture of wildnerness, ponds, bowling greens, tennis courts and manicured lawns. We watched a group of green parakeets (we were told later that they had made a colony in the grounds after escaping some time ago) as they stripped new blossom and ‘conkers’ and proceeded to throw them at us (we moved to a safer distance as they did seem quite determined to get us). We wandered past the ‘men’s bathing pond which probably was a popular place in the Victorian summers but hasn’t yet been extended for woman to enjoy but didn't seem that busy on that Sunday afternoon. It is just for men - who perhaps would be the only ones game, or silly enough, to use the facilities with these warnings.

“Swimming costumes must be warn at all times except in designated nude sunbathing areas. Beware of breeding swans".

"A safety audit has identified medical issues surrounding the physiological and psychological implications with all year round recreational swimmers that enter water below 12 degrees Celsius".

"Dangers: numb and freezing cold injury, hypothermia, sudden immersion syndrome, mild gastro enteritis, eye, ear and respiratory infections".

"Recommendations: complete a medical check for cold water swimming, avoid swallowing pond water and shower before and after".

"Level of micro organisms fluctuate in this untreated water – high levels pose a risk to your health and often occur after heavy rain and when there are a lot of swimmers in the pool".

"Recommended to swim 3 to 4 times a week for 2 to 3 minutes”

Men can have it!!

We thought we might catch another show in the evening but they aren’t on on Sunday evenings (I guess actors and singers need a rest too) and so like all other tourists we wandered the streets some more, had another dinner in yet another American bar (other choices seemed to be Italian or pub meals) and then wandered through Ripley’s Believe it or Not (the train ticket gave us a 2 for 1 deal otherwise we probably wouldn’t have bothered). When we got back to the hotel we couldn’t remember much of what we had seen at the museum and so that probably says quite a lot for it or not for it!! But we did remember:

• The model of the Beatles made out of chewing gum
• The large picture of someone made from Tangy Fruit lollies
• Pumpkin seeds painted with churches and religious scenes
• The last supper painted on a grain of rice
• A picture of Princess Diana and another of some sushi made from lint that came from a clothes drier (they must have dried similar coloured clothes cos there was none of that dull grey you usually find).

Last day in winter woollies for a week.

Our Second Christmas

Christmas Day is over for another year - it seems to have crept up on us this year but thinking about it - it does that every year. Harry, had the week off work and so he did the shopping for us and some organisation for our trip home in April and I cycled to work in reasonably warm and dry conditions. I went to the Doctor's for some antibiotics, as the dentist said it wasn't a tooth causing me pain but could be a sinus infection. But the next day, Christmas Eve I went back to the dentist as my filling was half out, and then back to the Doctors as the antibiotics he had prescribed me would, according to the pharmacist, make me blister and miserable if I was in direct sunlight (the Doctor had never asked if I was going on holiday and remarked when I returned that there isn't normally a problem in England!!). In the evening we went to the Christmas Eve service at the Salvation Army where a 10 piece brass band played Christmas Carols quietly, children played and we watched a video, pulled christmas crackers and was asked 'What do you hope for at Christmas?' (Easy question - to hear some familiar voices of those I love). We then drove off to pick up Rebecca from the bus station (her text arrived 24 hours later to tell us she was on the bus - probably followed Santa around the world). Christmas morning we made our dessert offerings - the first time we had baked cakes and pavlova since we have been here - they turned out quite well even if we say so ourselves -and Harry invented a piping tool with a plastic bag to make the lamingtons look good.

After opening our presents and a breakfast of croissants we looked out and saw some blue sky (it was reasonably warm but still chilly but for winter quite good) and so we wandered off to the Common to take some photos (thinking we might have missed the blue sky - but there was still some). So, after a nice leisurely morning we drove to Chris and her family for Christmas lunch - turkey and all the trimmings, a walk (Ben tried out his new bike), pressies, games (eg charades), Christmas pudding and our desserts. We had a lovely English Christmas and felt honoured to be invited into someone else's home on a special day.

Boxing Day - there was not a cloud in the sky and so we decided to take a wander through the woodland at Woodchester House. We had been to the House before, but not the gardens and had a nice few hours walking on the sunny side of the hill, looking at the 5 little dams, searching for the rare breed of pig that like living in the Woodlands, passed some very hairy cows, watched the dappled sheep that came towards me to have their photo taken.

Rome at Christmas Time

We have been to our first Christmas pantomime -they seem to be a very English thing to do. Every city, or town seems to have one over Christmas - Cilla Black is starring in one in Birmingham and we had Mickey Rooney in ours. It was a lot of fun and it is true what they say that they are for all ages as little ones enjoy it and we were old enough to get the adult humour. In front of us there were little ones dressed up as Cinderella and they danced in the aisles as we laughed and sang along. At one point we were squirted with water pistols (to the music of Mission Impossible), had toilet rolls thrown at us (the gift on the 5th day of Christmas) and somehow this was all entwined with the story of Cinderella that we all know and love. When we told people that we were going (and some could not understand our excitement) they said 'oh no you aren't' and after a while we realised we were meant to say 'oh yes we are' and then they would say 'oh no you aren't' and we would say 'oh yes we are' ... We were quite well practised by the time we got to the night.

Then we went to Rome for the weekend. It took us 10 hours from leaving work to get to our hotel in Rome - this might seem like a long time for a 2 hour flight and it was!! Anyway, on the bus trip into the centre of the city we watched with amazement, opened mouths and startled expressions as the bus driver negotiated his way through traffic (after a while we began to relax and the occassional laugh escaped our mouths). Where 2 lanes were marked on the road you could guarantee there were 4 lanes of traffic, where a driver left a space between his car and the one in front - it was filled by a scooter or a smart car or a very brave cyclist. We decided that all drivers seemed to aspire to be in the next remake of the Italian Job. We got around Rome using a mixture of public transport (we bought a Roma card which gave us unlimited travel on the public transport system - underground, buses and trams - and free entry into lots of places), the hop on hop off bus (which took us to 14 different places of interest but didn't really tell us much about them) and leg power (which took us to lots of places - we learnt to cross roads like Italians - look straight ahead, not to the left or the right, saunter across as though you have all day. If you stand uncertainly at the edge of the crossing, like we did at first, drivers ignore you. If you act like an Italian the car will probably slow down just enough to let you across but in most cases will swerve to go round you. And we weren't fooled after a few crossings we learnt that green lights for pedestrians means that there is a red light for a car to go through and we ran!! It hardly seems surprising that the Easyjet magazine had this to say about Rome

"why not see the city by scooter and avoid overcrowded buses and the limited metro system...You just need a drivers licence, sharp senses and nerves of steel!"

The transport system did seem quite effective in the busy city, we only saw one set of polizia sweeping up after an accident and there were little electric buses that take about 16 people along the not so popular routes and electric vans everywhere selling expensive ice-creams, drinks and paninis. And if you drive a car you can park it almost anywhere!!

The week before Christmas was busy for locals Christmas shopping, but few tourists were about and with beautiful weather (we couldn't resist sitting and soaking up the sun on occasions) we saw most of Rome with no queues. I think we were lucky as there was some evidence of wetter days preceding with lots of puddles and flood marks on some of the buildings and rubbish in trees near the river. I was looking forward to seeing Rome at Christmas time, sort of expecting lots of lights, but except for a few Christmas trees and a couple of lit streets and shops there wasn't much in terms of a light show. We did see a Father Christmas at a Piazza and some nativity scenes which Rome specialises in (I think they run tours of 14 different nativity scenes - and we were lucky enough to see 4). It some how felt right for the city to celebrate Christmas this way.

The blue skies gave us ample opportunities for seeing Rome at it's best as we climbed to the top of the Colosseum and other high spots to look across roof tops to the snow covered mountains, to the lower hills and across the River Tiber. And in the evening we stumbled across (well we were in a bus going somewhere and I said 'that looks interesting let's get off' as I sometimes do) the market at the Piazzo Novona - it was early evening and the Romans were doing their Christmas shopping and I was taking photos of the Caballeria and Santa and his reindeer. Interesting that the markets are quite different in countries. In the UK markets sell lots of clothes, books, christmas decorations and teatowels, while in France it is mainly cheeses, bread, mushrooms, olives, books and handbags while in Rome it was little ornaments, miniature water fountains, sweets, little houses made from bison board, nativity scenes, witches on broom sticks and shoes.

So, we packed quite a few things into our 2 days in Rome. We first stopped at the Colosseum - one of those 'must sees' - as it is about 2000 years and although a ruin in quite remarkable condition for a ruin. We wandered inside (no queue) and thought about this stone architectural feat that housed 87,000 spectators while they watched gladiator combats, navy battles, wild animal hunts and more tamer events. After a while the crowd preferred tamer sports and entertainment which I was pleased to hear as knowing that cruel events had taken place took some of the fascination out of it for me.

I did enjoy wandering through the Palatino. Park like surroundings, lots of trees and heaps and heaps of Roman ruins - thankfully some of them still standing. We walked through the Roman village picturing daily life and understanding some of the hardships that these people must have had (in another part of Rome we did see some housing built for the poor - and it looked a bit like council housing today except only a couple of storeys high and I did wonder that if we gave the poor homes they could be proud of would we have a different society today).

We visited Tiber Island linked to the rest of Rome by two bridges and which now has a hospital filling about half of the island. It used to be a quarantine station and earlier still than that home for really bad criminals. The legend says that Tiber Island was formed by angry Romans throwing Tarquinius Superbus (510BC) into the river and dirt and silt built the island around where he was thrown. We wandered through the hospital (trying to find a loo but with no success), and then across the bridge noticing that at some point the river must have been a lot higher - as the water mark went a long way up the hospital (did not quite reach the windows), and there was a lot of rubbish caught in the leafless trees.

We had time to see the Trevi fountain before wandering back to the train station to pick up our bags. It was designed in 1643 just after the completion of the Barberini Palace (the fountain backs onto one of the walls). In earlier days, and thankfully not now, the dead were laid in front of the fountain and at the call of the town crier the people of the town would come to claim their family members. Not sure if the legend is related to the earlier events but if you stand with your back to the fountain and throw in a coin legend has it that you will return to the city one day. We took a video of us throwing a Polish Ztolety and a UK 5 pence into the fountain and wondered if foreign currency counted - only time will tell. There is no point putting the video on the blog as only the lower part of Harry manage to get filmed.

Castle S.Angelo was rather an impressive circular building that we could see from the Cupola of the Basilica - so off we went to explore on the second morning. It was built as a family home in about 123AD for Emperor Hadrian (the same Hadrian that built Hadrians wall between Scotland and England. The map showing the Roman Empire showed that the wall marked the end of the Roman influence ie Scotland and a little bit of central Wales never succumbed). The castle has played a major part in Roman history including a dungeon, prison, residence and a tunnel provided a secret escape route for the Pope to flee the Vatican if necessary.

St Pietro Basilica is hard to describe. It is steeped in Pope tradition a bit like England is steeped in royal tradition. The Basilica was built above the tomb of the Apostle Peter who died around 60AD. Inside, is a wonder of paintings, statues, mosaics all about the history of the Popes, rather than focussed solely on Christianity. In fact we took a photo of a stone tablet labelling all Popes from S Petrvs 76 AD to the present day Pope - a perfect thing to memorise for that pub quiz. We climbed to the top of the Basilica (the cupola- about 500 steps - it actually felt like we were climbing on the outside of a huge cup as we went round and round and round). There was a magnificent view of the city and of the Vatican (couldn't visit so only looked at the little city from on high) and then we wandered through the building that houses all the tombs of the Popes under the Basilica (I thought it must be nice for them to be buried somewhere really special with all the familiar things around them and knowing that they were with people of similar beliefs).

The Vatican looked a bit like a fortress, but had some lovely gardens around it. Not sure if the Pope was in but we waved anyway.