Roamin' Rome

The second half of Kyle’s Christmas visit included a trip to Rome. At the recommendation of a fellow Canadian, we booked rooms at Hotel de Petris, a lovely hotel, very well located near Termini Station

We arrived in Rome early on 27 December. The taxi drive into the city was amazing. I couldn’t get over all the palm trees, or how the evergreens were pruned.

 We dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed out to explore. Our first stop was for coffee and breakfast and to purchase passes on the OpenTours bus line.

This is an option available in all of the cities we have visited thus far, and it is a great way to get an overview of all the sights. The 48 hour passes would give us unlimited access.

The Open Tour takes about two hours. It included the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, St Peter’s Square, the Pantheon, Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum (to name a few).

By this time, it was two in the afternoon and we could get ourselves checked into our rooms. European hotel rooms are notoriously small but this hotel was above average. Both rooms had interesting alley views – bullet holes from World War II.

We were all pretty hungry by this point and there was no shortage of little Italian restaurants in our neighbourhood. We chose a little place that was very busy. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

The pizza Margherita was fantastic and the red wine, even better.
Over pizza, we planned the rest of the day. The Pantheon was within walking distance.

Originally built as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, it was re-built by Emperor Hadrian in 126AD. It became a Christian church in 609AD and was renamed Sancta Maria ad Martyres. The Pantheon is still used as a church. Masses are celebrated there, in particular on important Catholic days of obligation and weddings.

Stop 2 was the Piazza Navona. The piazza has three fountains - Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (the fountain of three rivers – the Nile, Danube, Ganges and the Rio de la Plata), the Fontana del Moro and the Fountain of Neptune. The piazza is featured in Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons.

Another building that figured prominently in Angels & Demons was the Castel Sant’Angelo. Originally a fortress built by Emperor Hadrian, it has also been a prison, a papal residence and hiding place for the Pope in times of danger. There is a covered passageway that connects it to the Vatican.

The bridge that crosses the River Tiber leading to Castel Sant’Angelo is flanked on both sides by 10 angels. Commissioned in the 16^th century, each statue is holding one of the instruments of the Passion.

Walking westerly from the castle, we headed toward St Peter’s Square. Being Christmas, the Square was full of people.

 A large nativity and Christmas tree occupied a large portion.

The lineup for the Basilica was very long and it had been a long day. We caught our OpenTours bus back to our hotel.

 After a stop at British pub, we called it a day.

The following day, Perry was not feeling well enough in the morning to sightsee. This was to be the highlight of Kyle’s trip. The Colosseum. It would be easy enough to find. It was a stop on our OpenTours bus. We hoped our early start would get us ahead of the crowds but at that time of year, there really is no good time.

 We arrived at the Arch of Constantine, which was the entrance to the Colosseum area. It was quickly apparent that the line would be long.

 As we stood in line to purchase admission, we were offered the opportunity to purchase tickets for an English speaking guided tour. It seemed a little suspect at first, but soon we realized there was a large crowd gathering. Our tour was going to provide us with a tour of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Pallatine. And the best part – we went to the front of the line.

The tour guides were most engaging. One was a local Roman, the other was a Scot from Glasgow. Informative and entertaining as well. In total, we spent about 3 hours touring all three sites. It was quite amazing.

Colosseum wall

Roman Forum

 

Originally a marketplace, the Forum was the centre of Roman public life, providing a venue for elections, speeches, criminal trials and gladiatorial matches.

The Palatine

The Palatine sits atop one of the seven hills of Rome. Here, emperors could have a commanding view of the Circus Maximus (on the left) and the Roman Forum.

Kyle and I returned to our hotel to see how Perry was doing. He was feeling much better so we decided to go out and take one more walking tour around and then get some supper. There were lots of options, but unfortunately, we didn’t make the best choice. It was a definite disappointment after the meals we had had the day before. Never trust an empty restaurant!!

One of the last places we saw was the Spanish Steps.

Our short visit was almost over. But I resolve to return. Thanks, Kyle, for preferring Rome to Paris.

A postscript to this blog, picture proof that it is a small world. On a street corner, not far from our hotel, we ran into a friend of Sarah and Tony’s from Halifax, Nova Scotia!!