Sunday August 5, 2012 It’s fair to say Rome was our most anticipated place to visit. Of our ten ports, Kyle had already seen many of them from modeling jobs – but neither of us had seen Rome! We were also excited because the ship docked in the port of Civitavecchia, and we had already purchased train tickets to take us into Rome; which meant no initial rushing to find an ATM or Wi-Fi. A 45-minute train ride, which felt like an eternity without air conditioning, took us to the San Pietro train station just outside Vatican City. As we passed through the station the prominent dome of St. Peter’s Basilica greeted us – we squealed like little kids in the morning sunshine, so excited to be in the Eternal City!
As with any place we visit, we didn’t have a plan of attack, or any idea how to conquer this vast city. Map in hand we circled points of interest and set off on foot. Our first stop included Vatican City, St. Peter’s Square, the museum of the Vatican, Apostolic Palace and of course, the Sistine Chapel. From there we walked to Castel Sant’Angelo Castel of the Holy Angel, constructed in 135 AD, it was one of the youngest buildings we encountered in Rome. We crossed a bridge over the Tiber and made our way to Piazza Navona, where we browsed some beautiful paintings by local street artists, enjoyed the Fountain of Four Rivers, and shared beers at a café where we remained just long enough to take advantage of their free internet. The policy of the café required a minimum charge of €25 for credit cards. It didn’t take us long to achieve the minimum, just two €11 beers, and a small coffee for €26 or $32.50… Obviously at this café you’re paying for location!
Leaving the piazza we headed to the ildings we encountered in Rome. We crossed a bridge over the Tiber and made our way to Pantheon, the house of the Roman Gods and our favorite place in Rome. We admired the Corinthian columns upon entering, stood under the magnificent dome astonished by the beam of light that lit one of the brilliant paintings below. Leaving the Pantheon we walked down an alley that led to Piazza Venezia and the beautiful white palace, II Vittoriano. It was in the shadow of the marble palace we found an ATM and grabbed cash before tracking down the Trevi Fountain. We knew we were in the right place as we fought our way thorough masses of people just to get a view of the beautiful fountain. Waiting, and assisting in pictures for three other parties it was finally our turn to make wishes and toss our Euros into the fountain. Intent on making good time we rushed over to Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps, lazily we climbed the many steps to the top, which overlooked the Fontana della Barcaccia. Hungry, hot and tired from walking we stayed in the shade of buildings as we walked along the road uphill to Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, which offered a great view of the whole city and the dome of St. Peter’s far off in the distance.
Physically and mentally exhausted we were both ready for a break, so we headed down a road that led in the direction of our last “must see,” the Colosseum! On the way we stopped in a local pizza place to grab a slice of the famous Roman stuffed crust pizza, and get away from the lethal heat. Megan was unimpressed with her first taste of Italian pizza, but it didn’t matter we were both famished. Leaving the pizza place we unknowingly stumbled upon Foro Romano, the oldest part of the city, which led us down the road to the Colosseum. We were both in awe as we approached the ancient building where thousands of years ago 50,000 Roman spectators would watch gladiators fight with wild animals. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to buy tickets or wait in line to tour the amazing structure, hindsight is 20/20 and we should have taken our walking tour of Rome in reverse and began with the Colosseum.
It was nearly 3PM by the time we left the Colosseum, and we had to hurry back to the train station to catch the 4:30 train back to Civitavecchia. Choosing the most direct path to the Vatican we ran into Circo Massimo, the ancient Roman chariot racing stadium. In Rome it is almost impossible to turn a corner and not run into an ancient building, famous church or significant landmark – regardless of whether or not the remnants of the old buildings are recognizable. We walked the length of the racing stadium and up the shady path along the Tiber toward the Vatican. 4KM later we approached St. Peter’s Square, fatigued and dehydrated and completely over the 90º degree heat. In the square we “window shopped” the fancy-overpriced boutiques just to spend a few minutes in air conditioning. Curiosity drew us to a crowd of people huddled around a water faucet pouring from the side of a building – were people really filling their water bottles and drinking the water from city pipes? Shocked at their actions we moved closer and heard someone mention that Rome has some of the cleanest drinking water in Europe. So we refilled our plastic water bottles and headed for the train station.
The train ride was brutal once again, a small sweatbox with little A/C. Megan napped as Kyle chatted up a few Brit’s who shared our train cab. Finally making it back to the Spirit, after a bus ride in Civitavecchia from the entrance of the port to the ship, we headed straight for the buffet to eat multiple bowls of ice cream to help cool our overheated bodies and unwind from our exhausting but rewarding day in Rome!
Xo, M&K
