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Published: October 6th 2022
“There‘s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but I’m born to leave.” - Charlotte Eriksson
Well, we only had a short time in Rome, but we have loved it. Tomorrow we fly back home (that is, hopefully we fly back, provided we make our flight, more on that later). We had another full day today, roaming around this vibrant, beautiful, exasperating, and amazing city.
We headed out this morning about 8:30, stopping for cappuccinos and croissants at a nearby coffee shop, before hopping on a bus to take us to St. Peter’s Basilica. We could have taken the metro, but the bus would get us closer to St. Peter’s than the metro.
We waited in the security line for about 1/2 hour before we got inside, but we listened to the Rick Steves audio tour, and the time passed quickly. The audio tour was excellent, and really added to our understanding and enjoyment of St. Peter’s Basilica. It started with describing the area outside the basilica, so was perfect for listening to as we were waiting. St. Peter’s Square is an enormous space,
not square at all but kind of oval shaped. There was lots of seating set up for the Wednesday morning papal audiences (which was why we couldn’t go to St. Peter’s during our tour yesterday). We passed through security, and entered the atrium, and then into the basilica itself.
Words really can’t describe St. Peter’s. It was truly spectacular. We roamed around, awestruck at the soaring heights of the dome, and listened to the audio tour as we moved through the vast interior. I felt unexpectedly moved by being in this holy space. “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” It was an unforgettable experience and I’m so glad we were able to go today. Thanks Ross and Beth for coming with us on their 4th time (the last only 4 weeks ago) seeing St. Peter’s! The only disappointment at St. Peter’s was that Michelangelo’s Pietá was hidden behind curtains and we couldn’t see it. It is always behind protective glass, but today it was also covered by thick curtains, so we couldn’t even catch a glimpse of it. I don’t know why it was covered up, as it wasn’t when Ross and Beth
were here just a few weeks ago. So we will have to come back to Rome (and we tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain, so that means we will come back 😀) and see the Pietá, and to climb the basilica dome.
We also went to the Vatican Grottoes underneath the basilica, which contain the tombs and sarcophagi of many popes. No photography was allowed in the grottoes. On the way out we checked out the gift shop (I got a beaded bracelet and tree of life necklace, but Susan didn’t find a gold cross - she’s been looking for one).
We walked past the Castel Sant’Angelo (built as a mausoleum for the Roman emperor Hadrian, and later converted into a papal fortress), and over the Ponte Sant’Angelo, a bridge which crosses the Tiber River and is lined with statues of angels. The views from the bridge were very pretty. Ross and Beth showed us the apartment building where they stayed at the start of their Italian trip in September, and Beth led us to a shop where she had bought a couple of nice leather purses. I bought a purse and a wallet (I mean, it’s
Italy, you have to buy purses!). By this time we were ready for a bite to eat, so we found a place nearby and shared two pizzas, accompanied by nice cold beer. It was a little cool in the morning, but got quite warm later on.
We continued to a men’s shoe shop to pick up Ross’ shoes (he had ordered them when they were in Florence, to pick up in Rome). They are very nice indeed! While we were there it was time for us to check into our flight home tomorrow. We are flying standby, so it’s really important to check in as soon as we can (24 hours before the flight), as that determines our priority. For the past few days we have been checking how many seats were available on the flight, and how many other standby passengers were listed, and it wasn’t looking good. There were fewer available seats than there were standby passengers. After checking in we ended up being 7 and 8 on the list, with only 3 seats available. Now there are always people who don’t make their flight, or who change their plans, so we are hoping there will be
enough seats for us, but we won’t know until we are at the airport tomorrow. The problem is the next flight isn’t until Sunday, so we’d have to find a hotel for two additional nights in Rome, and we really want to avoid that expense. We might also consider buying tickets for a flight to London, then flying standby from London to Vancouver. But I’m very much hoping we get on the flight from Rome tomorrow!
We then walked some more, through the Piazza Navona and on to a church that my other brother Scott had recommended that we go to called San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, but unfortunately it had very limited opening hours (10 am to 1 pm) and it was after 2 pm at this point so we couldn’t go inside. Not too far away was a church that Beth wanted to see again, but it didn’t open until a 1/2 hour or so later, so we had a spritz stop, then headed to the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria, to see Bernini’s
Ecstasy of St. Theresa.
We walked past a hodgepodge of a fountain (including sphinx-like lions and a statue of Moses) called
the Fontana dell’Acqua Felice - also called the Fountain of Moses, and then to the very amazing “Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs”. This church was built inside the remains of Emperor Diocletian‘s Baths (we stayed in the Diocletian’s Palace in Split, and our hotel was built over the baths, so this was very interesting for me). The outside of the church is quite nondescript, and gives no hint of the grandeur and space inside. It has a lovely dome, and a very interesting feature, a meridian line (kind of a sundial). There is a small oculus in the church wall, through which the sun shines onto the meridian line, at certain times during the year. I really enjoyed seeing this basilica.
We walked a fairly short distance back to the apartment, passing more of the remains of Diocletian’s baths (they look to be an active archeological site, as they are fenced off). I started this blog, and we later went for dinner just around the corner, sitting outside along the sidewalk (all the restaurants have outside seating). The food was good but unfortunately there was a mix up with Ross’ order and we
all had basically finished by the time he finally got his meal. I would say that customer service really doesn’t seem to be a priority in Rome, and there was no apology for the late meal or reduction in the bill. But we all enjoyed dinner nonetheless, and toasted our last night in Rome.
But will it be our last night in Rome? Check back to find out …
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Yum
A tasty slice of Italy!