Rome…..

 

Gelato Time……the most important time of the day. 

It’s a well documented fact that Rome wasn’t built in a day.   In fact, the city that now boasts a population of close to 3 million people was believed to have been founded in 753 BC by King Romulus.   The history of the city is one that has been well documented in books, art, theater, movies, etc.  It’s been built, conquered, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times.  

It’s sometimes referred to as the “City of Seven Hills” because of its surrounding geography.  It’s also called the “Eternal City” because of its ability to survive conquering empires.  As the old Timex watch commercials use to say, “it takes a licking and keeps on ticking”!

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you’re certainly not going to see all there is to see and do in this city in a day, week or month.  We’ve been in Rome quite a few times.  It’s always crazy, chaotic, loud, crowded and fun.  This one day visit was all of the above, especially fun!

The port of Rome is actually located in Civitavecchia, which is about 45 miles from the center of Rome.  There are multiple options available to get between the port and the city.  These include private car, taxi, bus or train.  We prefer the train.  It’s affordable (around $10 round trip), and there are multiple trains per hour going each direction throughout the day and into the evening.  There’s a train station near the Vatican. There is also the main, city center station (Rome Termini), which is close to most of the major historic sites, such as the Coliseum and Trevi Fountain.

If you come into Civitavecchia and don’t feel like going into Rome there are plenty of shops and restaurants along the waterfront to keep you entertained for the day…..

……and lots of benches for resting and pondering!

We actually like a station in between the two I mentioned above.  It’s Rome Trastevere.  We like it for a couple of reasons.  It’s a smaller and less crowded station.  The neighborhood of Trastevere is really nice.  We have stayed overnight there several nights over various trips.  It makes for a nice starting/ending point for a day in Rome if you don’t mind a bit of a longer walk.

This picture of the bridge over the Tiber River was taken from Trestavere. 

We mapped out a plan for the day that would take us by many of the most popular sites in Rome.  One thing about Rome that’s important to know, you won’t be alone!   It’s not even the height of the busy season yet, and the crowds were huge.  Lines at the colosseum, Vatican or St. Peter’s looked to be at least an hour in length, if not longer.  We’ve been inside previously, so a “walk by” was good enough for us.  

If you’re expecting a quiet, intimate moment at the Trevi Fountain (or any of the historic sites…..you’re probably going to be disappointed!

From Trastevere we walked toward the colosseum, passing Circus Maximus, where chariot races were held in front of thousands of onlookers.  After admiring the colosseum and marveling at the crowds, it was on to the Trevi Fountain, by way of the Forum.  Then it was on to the Spanish Steps before heading to St Peter’s Square and back to the Trastevere station.

No chariot races today!

It may look like we had the colosseum to ourselves……

….but we didn’t!  As summer approaches the temperature and the crowds will continue to increase! 

Roman Forum area

The ruins started to be unearthed around 1450.   Excavations continue to uncover more ruins still.

When in Rome…….

Trevi Fountain 

The Spanish Steps…..nice posing by the lady behind Beth!

St. Peter’s Basilica. We didn’t see the Pope this time.  We did get to see him in the square on a previous visit.  Vatican City is a country.  It’s completely surrounded by the city of Rome.  Per capita it’s listed as the 18th richest country in the world. 

By the time we got back on board the Norwegian Pearl we had walked over eleven miles through one of the most historic cities in the world.   It was a tiring day, but a really good one, creating more special experiences all along the way. 

I needed a haircut…..and got a good one!