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Published: October 8th 2007
What a packed day! We pretty much ran through the whole city of Rome today. Once again, we splurged for the ship’s transport to and from the city. Since the ship docked in Civitavecchia, we decided it would be most prudent to rely on the ship’s transport rather than the trains.
We were dropped at St. Peter’s square and grabbed a cab to the coliseum. The cab ride was crazy - the driver was swerving in and out of traffic, around busses and other taxis… but he had us at the coliseum quickly. Luckily, we had purchased tickets for the coliseum before we left, so we were able to skip the queue and walk right in after picking up our tickets at the reservation desk. The interior of the coliseum was fabulous! We walked right up to the second level and were able to clearly see where the different seating areas for the different classes of people would have been. The floor was originally wooden, but we could now see all the intricate passageways and storage areas below for the animals and gladiators. A model showed how pulleys and other mechanical systems were used to bring animals and people up
from below through trap doors in the floor. Architecturally, an immense, fascinating building.
We walked through the remains of the Roman Forum on our way to Trevi fountain. WOW - that fountain is huge! It takes up the entire side of a building! In fact, it seems to almost form naturally out of the marble foundation of the building behind it. We were sure to toss a couple of coins to ensure our return. Our next stop was the Parthenon - a dome that is as wide as it is tall! The bright sun was shining in the oculus at the top of the dome, illuminating the inside beautifully.
We continued our walk across the city, ending at the end of the line to get into the Vatican Galleries. Unfortunately, the line stretched around several street corners and we were not entirely thrilled about standing in the sun for hours, trying to get in to get a glimpse of the Sistine Chapel. Luckily, the line moved quickly and we were in within 35 minutes. By following the signs to the Sistine Chapel, we made our way through a lot of the different galleries. Unfortunately, we didn’t really have
time to stop and truly enjoy a lot of the artwork. The map room was particularly impressive - a long hallway with a fully painted ceiling and fresco maps of Italy painted on the walls. The details were incredible! We did eventually make it to the Sistine Chapel and were able to take some time to marvel at Michelangelo’s masterpiece. It was so much larger that we expected, making it even more impressive. We will definitely have to return here another time and learn more about everything in the Vatican Galleries and the Sistine Chapel in particular.
With just an hour until we were to meet our tour group to return to the ship, we added ourselves to the line for St. Peter’s Basilica. After making it through two security checks - one a metal detector, the other an appropriate clothing check - we had a little bit of time to explore. The basilica itself was awesome - the scale of everything is so grand, it is difficult to truly appreciate the size. Paintings, sculptures, the altar… everything is immense! Overwhelming, really.
Throughout Rome, we found that every corner we turned brought a beautiful old church, building, or
fountain. It is unfortunate that we didn’t have more time - we will definitely have to come back!
By the time we got back to the ship, we were starving! We asked the Maitre D’ if it was possible to dine during the early seating instead of waiting until 8:45 for dinner, and he fit us in. Since we ate early, we had time to lounge in the hot tub after dinner and catch the late show (an Irish comedian). We went to one of the lounges after that an listened to the ship’s 4-man a cappella group, “Top Deck.” We even hung around to catch some karaoke!
A full, but fantastic day.
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