Rome then Home!!!

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Got up a little later than we planned. The hotel is very nice, but I just didn't sleep that well, and Charlene had a headache through the night (probably to very poor air quality in the area). Charlene and I went down to catch the last of breakfast, and brought back a few things for Rhiannon. We got our things packed up, Rhiannon finished getting ready, and we headed out to see Saint Peters. On Wednesdays, they do their Papel services at 8:30am, but all our research didn't indicate how long it lasted, and the Basilica isn't opened to the public until they are done with their services. We got there about noon, and it looked like the service had just recently ended. We got in the now forming line without knowing when the doors actually opened. We waited about 40 minutes, and then the gates swung open. The line slowly moved up past the metal detectors, and past the screeners who made sure our pants were long enough and that our shoulders were not bare (no bare knees or shoulders allowed), and we finally made it to the entrance.

The Basilica is flat out huge. You could probably fit the St. Jacobs Cathedral we saw back in Rothenburg into the Atrium entrance alone. Once we got past the atrium, and into the actual cathedral section, a nice cold blast of air hit us head on.... Oh, that felt so good. Cameras are allowed, so I took lots of pictures, but turned off the flash because it just wasn't helping in this environment. It really is hard to explain just how big this structure is, but this floorplan best explains the areas of interest. We spent a little more than an hour in the basilica, and then left. We wanted to grab something to eat before everything shut down for siesta, so we found a little pub/cafe on our way back to the hotel. Lunch was good, and Rhiannon wanted to stay in the hotel the rest of the afternoon (she was ready to get home, and probably has been for several days). We got Rhiannon settled back at the hotel, and then Charlene and I ventured out to see a few sites. We hopped on the 81 bus (before doing a little homework on bus routes), and got off at the Tomacelli stop. From here we were able to walk up Via Borgogona (where some of the pricey shops are located - many with guards in the doorway to keep the riffraff out), and to the Piazza Spagna (where the Spanish Steps are located). Tons of people there, but got some nice pictures, then headed up the stairs to the Trinita dei Monti at the top. There was a large scaffold in front of the Church, but it didn't appear to be there for any remodeling purposes. Tooks some nice cityscape pictures from the top, and headed Northwest for a short distance until we reached the Borghese Gardens (a small oasis in such a chaotic city). The temperature here was a good 10 degrees cooler, so we spent a little time strolling through the little walkways that make up this large park/garden area. They appeared to be doing some major construction within the garden, so a large section was fenced off from where we entered.

We took some more skyline shots of the city, then headed southeast past the Spanish Steps and onward to see the Trevi Fountain. This was a beautiful location, but was packed (lots of people smashed into a relatively small area). Got some nice pictures, then headed back toward Via Del Corso and the major bus stops. We tried for about 15 minutes to locate the number 81 bus back to our original departure point, but we were without success. There are no printed bus schedules, and after asking a bus driver where to pickup this bus, he directed us to take the 492 bus. Not feeling confident about his answer, we just grabbed a taxi at the taxi stand that was across the street. $7 Euro and 10 minutes later we were back at the hotel, and done with Public Transit in Italy.

We got back up to the room, and did a little initial packing and watched a movie. At 8:30, we headed down to the lobby, and meet up with a tour guide who took us on a night tour of some major sites in Rome. Before leaving, the front desk set a reservation for 11:00 at a recommended restaurant, because our tour was about 2 hours long.

Our tour guide didn't really speak English, and pretty much recited memorized lines of sites as we passed them, but we were able to see quite a few sites that we just couldn't get to in our short visit in this city. He first took us south following the Tiber River, past Isola Tiberina, then crossed the river near Pons Aemilius, and headed toward the the Colosseum. We went around the Circus Maximus, up past the Arch of Constantine, and stopped at the Colosseum. We spent about 15 minutes here, walking around but couldn't go inside (it was closed). It really was special to be able to see it at night though. Again, the pictures really don't give you an idea of just how big it is, or how beautiful it is lit up at night.

We left the Colosseum, and headed a short distance to the Altare della Patria or Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. This structure was completed in 1935, but is very large, and again very beautiful when lit up at night. We had previously seen this structure from a distance in the day, and it is very striking. From this area, we headed back over to the Trevi Fountain (Rhiannon hadn't seen it yet anyway), and were accosted by street venders selling their crap. We spent about 10 minutes here, grabbing more pictures, then our drive took us over to Piazza Novona. Spent about 10 minutes here, with more pictures and street venders. On our way back over to St. Peters, we went by the US Embassy, and the Historic District of Rome. St Peters looked very different at night (more pictures), then our driver took us to a spot where we got a view of the entire skyline of the city. It was very pretty, but not yet completely familiar with the layout of the city, it was difficult to identify some key features. About 5 minutes here, and we were on our way back to the hotel. Had dinner as planned (it was pretty good), then off to bed.

Got up at 5:00, and got ready to take the 40 minute shuttle ride to the airport. Got checked in without issue, we were on our way home - via Frankfurt.

I think we all have different opinions of our trip to Europe. I do believe that we all learned something about the places we visited, and we also learned that we live in a pretty special place. Our next vacation will probably be a relaxing one - probably back to Hawaii....

Bye all....

Doug

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Photos

Swiss Guards
Guarding the entrance to the Apostolic Palace.

St. Peters Basilica
from the Entrance.

The Tribune
The Main Alter

The Left Transept
South, and the Alter of St. Joseph