Blogs from Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe - page 12

A Roman ruin with cats, a church with a large dome, a church with a fake dome and more Sometimes we make short trips, often not longer than over a weekend, to major cities in Europe. We have made trips to Paris, London and Berlin for instance. This March we decided to visit Rome in Italy. There is so much worth seeing in Rome that there is no way you can see more than a tiny fraction of it in a weekend like the one we had. We decided to have a "go" at some famous sites that are easily accessible and on top of that see a few less famous sites that for one reason or another appeal to us. Largo di Torre Argentina This attraction is an old Roman ruin. This sight could be ... read more

There you go ...what a finish to the holiday. An effort on C Line Metro to A Line Metro to B Line Metro...the result a stop at San Paolo Basilica (St Paul). We were quite amazed. Was one of the four Papal seats in Rome. The original Basilica was built as a monument over the second burial of St Paul by the insistence of Constantine (in 324 AD). Then a second Basilica was built around the first by Theodosius (389) thus making it 'St Paul Outside the Wall's'. The first burial of St Paul after his beheading was on the road to Ostia Antica (original establishment of Rome by the sea). My observation is his 'means of cruxifiction' (by Nero) is why his skull is at St Giovanni Basilica (St John). In 2004 to 2009 pilgrims ... read more

Fabulous Rome...arrived in the dark and settled in fairly quickly as we are staying in the same apartment as at the beginning of our trip. It rained first day out so we just mooched around our area and so today we headed into the centre and got off the tram at Termini. Walked down Nazionale street to the 'wedding cake'. There are still a huge amount of tourists around even with the temperatures only reaching 15degrees. Fighting our way up and down the footpaths and through the traffic we took refuge a couple of times in a church or two. Started to drizzle but we kept walking on to Nuova and then to Popolo and onto the Spanish steps. By now it was 2pm so we hit the Metro at 'Spagna' to Termini and then the ... read more

No wrong turns heading to Rome though we did back track a bit to catch a fast train out of Firenze (Florence) to arrive in the city early afternoon. Our first rain of the vacation catches us leaving the station so we have to dodge puddles that threaten to grow into ponds. The driver assures us we are on the right bus, makes 2 stops, and then jumps off himself, signaling he would return soon. After 10 minutes, he does, then circles back to the bus station and starts our route again. Feeling just a little confused, but dry, we count the stops while learning the names of neighborhoods along our route, including the tourist mecca, the Roman Forum and Coliseum, on our way to the Trastevere neighborhood. Anna Marie greets us outside our Air BnB ... read more

My train trip from Florence to Rome began with me trying to convince a man that he was in my seat… The seat by the window. The one colour coded (seat five orange, is the orange seat next to the window; seat six red – his ticketed seat, was the red aisle seat). But he wouldn’t have it. I think my ‘pissed off’ face may have surfaced, but I can’t be sure. Across the aisle and up one seats eleven and twelve were both vacant, so I sat there…. And glared. When the conductor came and got my ticket reference code and asked where I was supposed to be sitting I glared at him again while I explained that he was sitting in my seat. I arrived in Rome’s central train station and my accommodation, Domus ... read more