Days: 12 - 14
Sept. 27-29, 2006
Conversion rate on
our visit:
$1.26 = €1.00
Rome
           
   
What We Had
Sunny & Mid 70s
Beautiful
Averages
High: 70° F Low: 53° F
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Page Index
What We Saw
•  Arch of Constantine
•  Colosseum
•  Pantheon
•  Roman Forum
•  Trevi Fountain
•  Vatican

 
  Overview

Colosseum at sunset
So how much can you see/do on the day you arrive in a city?  The day we arrived in Rome was very busy.  We started at our hotel ( 117 steps to our hotel on the forth floor ) where we dropped off our bags and settled in...for a minute!  After getting our things in order we came back together as a group, hopped onto the metro and headed for the Colosseum.  We learned that, unlike other major cities in Europe, Rome's metro is not very large.  In fact there are only two lines (north/south & east/west).  The reason...simple.  Every time they started to dig a new line (which they were working on) they run into historic artifacts.  This makes it very difficult to make much progress.  The metro we rode was on time and efficient.  Imagine our surprise when we came up from the metro and the Colosseum filled the windows of the station.

Our Amazing Tour Guide Francesca
We then met our local guide, Francesca, for a tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and the Pantheon (see the details of each under What We Saw, below).  Francesca was a fascinating person.   Born and raised in Rome by an Italian father and an American mother, she spoke perfect English.  She told us that while she and her husband live in Rome they do not have a car (they do have a scooter on which they ride double) and she doesn't even have a driver's license.  She explained that she buys an "unlimited usage" transportation pass for a mere 200+ Euros per year.  It's clear that their transportation system leaves little need for a car.  Francesca's tour of the Colosseum, Forum and Pantheon was terrific.  She encouraged use to use our imagination and travel back in time to ancient Rome to understand what it was like at that time. 

Our Amazing Tour Guide Francesca
After a wonderful day touring Rome a group of us gathered for dinner and since we were having dinner early (by Rome standards), we had no trouble getting a table.  We found a neat little place along one of the side streets very near the Pantheon.  The service, food and atmosphere were great!  

Linda and the Trevi Fountain
Our evening in Rome wasn't over yet.  We met back at the Pantheon and then walked over to the Trevi Fountain.  It was very interesting.  You have to assume it's the angle at which the pictures have been taken, because it sure looks different in real life.  The plaza adjoining the fountain is not very large and the fountain is actually part of the wall of a hotel.  It's true, however, that a lot of people throw coins in the fountain with the hope that it will bring them back to Rome.  Linda was no exception.

Vatican from the President`s residence
That wasn't all for the evening either.  We finished with a walk back to our hotel via the home of the Italian President at the Palazzo del Quirinale.  There's a really outstanding view of the Vatican from there.

How's that for packing a lot in a short period of time?

Approaching the St. Peter`s Basilica
On our second day in Rome we started out very early.  There was only one way to get into the Vatican...wait in line!  So we're back onto the metro for a quick trip to the Vatican.  There were two separate areas in the Vatican on our schedule.  First, the Vatican museum (including the Sistine Chapel).  The other wasSt. Peter's Bisilica (more under What We Saw). 

Roman Forum
After the Vatican we were on our own and we decided to spend more time at the Roman Forum.  We then followed it up with a walk down the edge of the imperial Fora also referred to as the Forum of Trajan.  This was a very large area that has only recently been uncovered and is actively in the process of being excavated with several of the original structures still visible.
   
 
 
  What We Saw Colosseum
When we walked up the steps in the metro station, the Colosseum filled our view. Imagine, we were exiting from modern transportation and the first thing we saw was a several thousand year old stadium! What a truly outstanding moment! How many times have we seen pictures of the Colosseum and now we were walking across the street to stand next to it! WOW! 

Several very interesting facts about the building. The original Colosseum was actually larger than the current structure. There were five levels from the floor (a wooden floor, not the ground) to the top and the outside was much wider on one side.  The other amazing fact is the holes all over the walls. The Colosseum was originally reinforced with iron. As Rome was declining scavengers would steal the iron and melt it down.
Colosseum
 
 
  What We Saw Arch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312.

The arch is 21 m high, 25.9 m wide and 7.4 m deep. It has three archways, the central one being 11.5 m high and 6.5 m wide and the lateral archways 7.4 m by 3.4 m each. Above the archways is placed the attic, composed of brickwork revetted (faced) with marble. A staircase within the arch is entered from a door at some height from the ground, on the west side, facing the Palatine Hill. The general design with a main part structured by detached columns and an attic with the main inscription above is modelled after the example of the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Roman Forum.
Arch of Constantine
   
 
 
  What We Saw Roman Forum
Near the middle of Rome (next to the Colosseum) there's a huge area of Roman ruins called the Forum (the Square). The area lies between the Palatine, Capitol and Quirinal Hills. The area was originally a marsh that was successfully drained by the Cloaca Maxima, a famous sewer.

Much of the destruction of the Forum has been caused by man. At the height of the Roman Empire, there were 1.2 million people living in Rome. When the Roman Empire began to fall, Rome was sacked a number of times. By the end of the Empire, Rome had been attacked and sacked so many times that the population simply left! This left Rome (at it's low) at about 10,000 people. Instead of maintaining the forum, the people left in Rome scavenged it for raw materials. Much of the limestone, for example, was melted down. In fact, much of what we see today only exists because it was buried. Remember that the Forum started as a marsh. Over the centuries, the Forum filled back in. Note the doorway in the middle picture below. At this time it is 20 feet above ground level. At the time the church was built, the bottom of the door was ground level!

But imagine...we walked on the same stones and walkways that Romans did thousands of years ago. While the Forum holds only a fraction of the original structures there are resources available to show you what it originally looked like. One really good example was used by Francesca during her tour. It's called "Rome...then and now...in overlay". The book has pictures of the Forum as we see it today and overlays that add the parts that are missing. It brought a whole new perspective to the ruins we saw.
 
 
  What We Saw Pantheon

Remember that guy Hadrian that built the wall across England? Well he's the same guy that had the Pantheon built between 118 and 125 AD. The dome is as high as it is wide (143 feet). When you're inside, it feels HUGE. The dome is a wonder, formed by one cement casting over a wood frame. The really cool thing is the hole in the roof. When it rains or (occasionally) snows, it rains and snows into the rotunda inside! For a change we were hoping for rain, but didn't get any.

So why is the Pantheon around when the rest of Rome was so torn up? Simple, it became a church (shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire) dedicated to the martyrs. So the barbarians left it alone and the locals treated with respect as well.

While clearly not as ornate as many of the churches we saw, it's size and date of origin (remember how long it took to have the Duomo completed in Florence) make it a must see!
Pantheon
 
 
  What We Saw Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain was interesting for a number of reasons:
  1. This is VERY famous...remember Three Coins in a Fountain (although only two were actually thrown).
  2. From the pictures I've seen of the fountain, I imagined it in a large encircling courtyard. Wrong on both counts. In fact I had a hard time getting a picture of the fountain because it was difficult to get far enough away
  3. A lot of people would be there throwing coins over their left shoulder to ensure they'd return to Rome. Okay this one is basically true (although I don't know for sure what they were wishing). Linda did her share as you can see.
The most interesting thing was to see that the fountain was actually attached to the wall of the hotel next door.
Trevi Fountain
 
 
  What We Saw Vatican

There is simply no way to explain what we saw at the Vatican. We started early in the morning because they do not take reservations, i.e., everyone waits in line to get in. Our first stop was at the Vatican Museum. We found that there was more than 4 MILES of paintings, statues, tapestries, and stained glass. Initially I questioned why the Church was/is so involved in the collection of art. After all, isn't there more important things to spend their wealth on? While the answer may be yes, you have to appreciate the value of the history being preserved in form of this collection.

Of all the art on display, we saw a VERY small portion. The highlight, of course, was the Sistine Chapel (bottom picture/post card). Michelangelo`s paintings on the ceiling were phenomenal! But our first impression? The Chapel was smaller than I thought. But it was a chapel! Beside size in this case doesn't matter. They were still breath-taking!

As we left the Sistine Chapel we were supposed to take a short-cut into St. Peter`s. WE MISSED IT! We were busy stopping a women who was trying to get into my back pack. She was gone like a shot and we followed her out the wrong exit. So...we walked all the way around the outside of the museum and waited in line to get into St. Peter`s. In the long run this may have been a good thing. The entrance we went in you had to decide if you wanted to go through the tombs below St. Peter's or go straight in to the Basilica. We took the tomb tour and we were VERY pleased. Not only did we get to see Pope John Paul`s tomb, we saw St. Peter's as well.

Up in St. Peter`s Basilica we were stunned at it size and content. The place is HUGE!!! In fact it`s the largest in the world and they show you that by marking the size of the most famous 'competitors' in the middle of the floor. Near the entrance we saw the place where Charlemagne was coroneted in 800 A.D. (there's a picture of Linda standing on the spot) and to one side Michelangelo's Pietà. While it was behind bullet-proof glass, it was no less amazing. You can almost feel Mary's pain!

At the other end of the Basilica you find the Main Altar which is positioned directly over the top of St. Peter's tomb. This was the same tomb we saw when we were in the crypt below.

Throughout the Basilica there are other works of art such as the Throne of Peter and the statue of St. Andrew. But again, it was the size of St. Peter's that we can not convey here. Suffice it to say that most churches would fit into the atrium let alone the naive!