EuroTrip 2011 – Rome

Rome > Siena > Florence > Venice > Munich > Brussels > Amsterdam

The husband and I packed our enormous backpacks and headed off, thanks to a batch of frequent flyer miles, on a two week vacation to the cities listed above. I’ll put up a post per city over the next couple of weeks – in part for myself, to remember the places we went, as well as for others to enjoy. The trip was March 15-29, 2011 and here it is, April 8th, and I’m still having a hard time getting back into the groove of things at home. I was told that means we had a terrific time, and I’m inclined to agree 🙂

Roma! We landed in Rome early on March 16th after leaving the USA on the 15th. We were able to take the train from the Fiumicino airport to the main train station in Rome (Termini), find our nearby hotel (Hotel Papa Germano), and be all checked in and settled with the room by 10am. It was drizzly but about 60 degrees F, so not incredibly terrible. We grabbed our things and took the metro out to the Vatican City. After going through metal detectors and security (something new since my last visit in 2002), we were permitted to go inside St. Peter’s Basilica. First we saw the inside of the Basilica, marveled at the size of the place, the art (The Pieta!), and just took some good time taking it all in.Photo to the right is of the inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, looking up at one of the many, many domes inside.

We then decided to go and climb the cupola, “a piedi,” and save one Euro per person. If you took the elevator, it cuts out 231 stairs from the total of 551 stairs. We arrive at the top of the 231 stairs where the elevator lets out, and it’s the gallery inside the basilica. Nice view of the whole basilica from a safe, fenced in walkway that goes around the entire cupola (see photo to the right). Great, we think, that wasn’t too bad, we’re there, and that’s it, and we go back down, right? No. There are another 320 stairs that wind in the narrow space between the inner and outer skins of the cupola, taking you ALL the way to the top of the highest point in the Vatican. At one point, near the top, the walls curve in on a diagonal so that you are basically walking up those stairs leaning sideways. Doug demonstrates the beginning of the walls moving in on his 6’4″ frame in a photo here.

We make it to the top, and the view is spectacular. Spectacularly pouring rain too. Good thing we brought the rain jackets instead of heavy winter coats. Anyway, I shuffle out, get a photo of the view (photo to the right), and then wait in line to head back down all 551 of those stairs again. At the bottom, we went back inside to the Crypt which holds the tombs of 91 popes including the most recent burial, Pope John Paul II. I had the pleasure of sitting through Easter Mass in 1998 with him, in the Vatican on a high school trip to Italy. I’m not the world’s most religious person, but the dude was pretty well liked and a master of I don’t even know how many languages, so even if the religious importance of the mass flew over my head, the cultural importance of JP and the pope’s position certainly did not. When we got to the point where his tomb was, a large group of mourners (he died in 2005 by the way), clutching tissues and sobbing, had been given a sizeable area to stand and mourn as long as they wished. Doug was a little shocked, and I was too, given the amount of time that had passed. Found out after we got home, that he’s set to be beatified on May 1, 2011, so that might have been part of it too.

After spending most of the day at the Vatican, we walked a short distance to the Castel Sant’Angelo. We were pretty beat by that point, and the Castle offered us some more stairs that we begrudgingly took to the top of the castle (photo to the right is from the top). A stage and sound equipment was being set up outside but we couldn’t figure out what it was for.. something was going on, in all that rain?After that, we took the metro back to the hotel and took a short nap before dinner. Dinner in Italy doesn’t start until 7 or 8pm and forget about even finding a restaurant open before 7. It’s a later event than it is in the USA, and is always at least an hour or two long. You relax, enjoy yourself, chat, and have a full, FULL, 3-course-minimum meal. We took advice from the hotel reception staff and went across the street, still a little travel weary, to La Famiglia. They had a tourist menu for 16â‚¬ plus 4â‚¬ tip. The wait staff spoke English – I speak Italian, or at least used to be pretty good after studying it in college plus the semester abroad for four years – and the food was delicious, ESPECIALLY the orange custard Tira Misu.

March 17. We wake up and finally figure out that the stage setup from last night was for the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification. We were up early, and a little worried that everything would be shut down for the day because of the big holiday. Instead, we find out that everything is free because of the big holiday – we didn’t pay a single admission fee anywhere all day long! Not bad. So we wished Italy a Happy Birthday and set out to the Baths of Diocletian which wasn’t quite open yet. So, we go on a walk around the block and stumble into Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs). Camera crews are set up inside and outside the church for something (probably as part of the celebration of the unification), but the cathedral is still open, so we go in to waste some time before the baths open. Turns out, the cathedral was built using the existing walls of the ancient Roman bath. There’s also a really neat sundial built into the floor, also referred to as the Meridian line. A small hole in the wall allows a spot of sunlight that shines at solar noon to mark the date. It was pretty neat to see something like this inside a cathedral, and we took some time looking it over (photo to the right).

The Baths of Diocletian finally open, and we go inside (for free!). The courtyard outside is lined with row after row of grave stones gathered from various sites around Rome. The museum inside contained so many incredible artifacts including a large collection of items from burials in the surrounding area. It was totally visual overload, and I REALLY enjoyed spending time inside (and out of the rain). We then hop the metro out to the Coliseum – a must-see landmark in Rome. Noticing a long line at the Coliseum, we walk down the street and stop in for some pizza. The rain had stopped for a short while, but started up again just as we were finishing lunch. The wait staff moved us under the umbrellas on the outdoor dining area, and let us hang out with our wine until the downpour stopped. At the coliseum (photo to the right), entrance is free again, and we dodge in and out of passing downpours, wandering around the complex.

It looked like the rain finally gave up for the day, so we decided to hit up the Roman Forum and Palatine hill. I still get chills walking on the ancient Roman roads (Via Est Via Romana!), thinking that I’m walking on the same stones where Julius Caesar, Cicero, and other notable Romans once walked. Those four years of high school Latin really bring ancient Rome to life in a way that can’t possibly be described in words. We spent the remainder of the day exploring the forum including the Stadium of Domitian (photo to the right). Headed back to the hotel, and again upon recommendation by hotel staff, went off to a nearby restaurant, Da Vincenzo. Another fantastic meal, served by an English-speaking waiter with quite the sense of humor (he had us laughing all night). Another classic Italian dinner, complete with wine and dessert. We went back to the hotel and got ready for our morning departure to Siena.