Appian Way

I'm about to leave Rome and my apartment after a month of living local. The last few days have been great - Jim's been here, we've had friends visit and the weather has continued stunning.

Jim and I spend Thursday visiting the catacombs along the Appian way after several false starts locating the Archeobus, the green open-topped bus that stops at various points throughout Rome and continues on to the catacombs. We head early to the Piazza Venezia, one of the stops on the route, to find the streets cordoned off and uniformed guards in attendance. We stay long enough to see French president Sarkozy lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier and watch the diversion of traffic (frenetic as usual) around the piazza. We decide to catch the Archeobus at the Colosseum and eventually, on Roman time, it does arrive.

Its green, peaceful and beautiful along the paths parallel to the Appian Way, and crazy with traffic on the road itself. Our Archeobus takes us past the ancient gate and we see the aquaducts stretching overhead and continuing away for miles. We stop at the Catacombs of San Callisto, a vast network of tombs on four levels. Our tour guide leads us down to the second level and we see the niches where bodies were interred, and also the family crypts - some bright with frescoes and murals - where entire families were buried. We also visit the Crypt of the Popes where early popes were interred and hear stories of popes taken during mass and murdered for preaching the christian faith. There are no remains in the crypts, and our guide explains the bones are now stored in a 'bone bank' on the site to prevent theft.

Above ground again: we see the wattles are blooming, and there are carpets on wildflowers on the grass. We spend a happy hour wandering along the paths and head back into the city on the green bus again, which takes us past the Baths of Caracalla and the Colosseum. It's a birds-eye view from the top of the bus and we applaud the skill and nerve of our driver, who is swinging this massive vehicle around hairpin bends and tight corners with good humour.

Tonight we meet Liz and Julie at the Pantheon and have dinner looking out over the beautiful square and of course the massive structure of the Pantheon itself. We enjoy good food and fantastic service from our sassy, south american waitress and share some great bottles of pinot grigio and valpolicella. The piazza looks golden in the evening light and we can see into the apartments surrounding the square; some with ornate chandeliers and gilded artworks.

We say our goodbyes - we're all heading off in different directions in a day or two - Julie to Venice, Liz back to work and Jim and I are heading down to Pompeii.