Having learned of the Roma Pass, our first stop on Monday was to the tourist office. This pass allows purchasers to skip the lines at the first locations and get discounts at a few others, plus free public transportation for three days. It was an excellent purchase. Our first visit was Trevi Fountain followed by the Pantheon, as they were right around the corner from the office and the hotel.
After that we went to the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill as planned, luckily the weather obeyed, offering sunshine, so it wasn't too chilly. The lines outside the Colosseum were unbelievable, immediately I wondered if we would ever make it through the gates to visit, then all of a sudden people created their own pathway through the masses and we followed. As it happens that was the line for the holders of the Roma Pass, meaning us. Having that little pass in hand allowed us to walk past everyone, getting inside almost immediately. Inside the structure was unbelievable, such a piece of crumbling history. The courtyard contained the ruins and I was surprised to see little blossoming flowers just growing on the sides of the rocks.
Leaving the Colosseum, we immediately went to the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forums, unfortunately, we probably should have stopped for a snack, but we were OK. The grounds were expansive showing everything from a large bird house to ancient ruins.
Lunch and a visit to the hotel gave us the energy to find new areas to explore, a church with two churches inside ancient ruins below the main cathedral; Santi Giovanni e Paolo, a bust of Mother Teresa and returning us to Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Santa Maria has a well known face statue inside, the Mouth of Truth. Supposedly if you go up to the statue, place your hand inside the mouth and tell a lie, the mouth will chomp down on your hand. We did not wait in line to take our chances, but still capture it in a photograph. Dinner this evening was an absolute feast at Santa Cristina; the recommended dish was zucchini pasta, homemade recipe, so Mom and I ordered that along with a filet mignon, deciding to split the two. No room for dessert, but I am sure it would have been delicious.
Tuesday we ventured to the Vatican. Somehow we went inside the Cathedral while a service was about to start, managed to look around, escaping before the full service started. We made the executive decision to go up the dome, not the best decision of our trip to say the least. I had a bit of trouble on the stairs because it was a right leg dominated climb and Mom experienced a bit of claustrophobia in the climb. There were warnings about heart conditions, etc, but no warnings about tiny, itty bitty hallways or stairways. We made it to the top, caught some fresh air, dreading the journey down. We made it to ground level, in great need of a rest in the open air away from the crowds.
After a somewhat disappointing lunch of pizza we decide to go down to the Giardino Roma, thinking it was a short walk from the Vatican. Unfortunately, the walk wasn't as straightforward as the map made it seem; we ended up at a bus terminal after climbing more stairs, so off we went to the hotel for proper directions to the park. I guess not many tourists visiting Rome ask to visit the green area, because the hotel attendant was unfamiliar with the area. We hopped off the bus near Santa Maria in Trastevere, enjoyed a gelato and wandered inside the church, just to have the doors closed behind us, signaling the start of a funeral. I don't know many people who have experienced that, but it is a rather uncomfortable feeling, crashing a funeral for an unknown person. We managed to sneak out and make our may to Fonte Acqua Paola and Porta San Pancrazio.
At last we made it to the top of the park, catching view of Monumento a Garibaldi and the statue of his wife. Just this year, a new statue development was placed inside the park, busts of leaders were placed all around the walkways. Overall the park was a beautiful location in Rome, that I highly recommend visiting if you have the time. My favorite area was the statue of Garibaldi's wife, Anita, on the horse. They had her story on four different panels, each on one side, fighting alongside her husband. We caught a bus down from the top of the mountain, just to be dropped at the bus terminal we had found earlier that day.
With a bit of time to spare before our dinner plans, we visited the island. It is a miniature piece of land with almost nothing on it. We were told it is a more thriving place during the summer.
That night we had dinner reservations at a French restaurant run by nuns, complete with singing of Ave Maria. The entire restaurant was empty except for one couple just finishing and a pair of clergymen behind us. A rather awkward experience, especially when I ordered dessert, the waitress, a nun, was not happy with me wanting the dessert. The food was good, but it was not the exciting experience I thought it would be with the entire restaurant singing Ave Maria before their meal.
Our last day in Rome was a dreary, cloudy day, making us thankful that we had hit all of the main spots on our list in the days prior. We did venture out to the train station to get my ticket home, a stop for some lunch and a visit to the Wax Museum. The Wax Museum was an entertaining spot for an indoors day. Some of the statues were a bit off in their representations, but it was still a fun place to visit. Afterwards, I decided a hot chocolate or something would be nice, oh what a mistake that was. Just two blocks past our hotel, we get caught in a downpour, getting completely soaked despite having raincoats with us. That experience made us completely happy to return to the hotel for a change of clothes and a chance to stay dry, finish packing up the hefty bag I was sending home with mom full of winter clothes.
As you can see, our trip was a wonderful vacation. It went by so quickly though, as you can imagine.
No comments:
Post a Comment