Rome, Italy

November 15 and 26, 2024

When we visited Rome during the 2024 World Cruise, we were frustrated because we had only one day in Rome, and it was the Monday after Easter Sunday, so the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel were closed.  Because the Hop on Hop Off bus had been sheer frustration, we gave up and found a little restaurant near Vatican Square before we hopped back on the train.  We did enjoy taking the train to Rome and back from Civitavecchia with the assistance of a guide.

With the opportunity to spend two days in Rome, were were determined to see and learn as much as we could.  We signed up for two excursions. On the first day, we would do “Easy Rome,” to give us an overview.  Then on the second day, we would take “Best of Eternal Rome & Vatican Museums.”

Day One

As our bus left the lovely port city of Civitavecchia, the highlight was the awe-inspiring fort. The outer ring of four towers was completed in 1535 to protect the city against pirates when the city belonged to the Papal States. Michelangelo de Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni designed the elevated portion of the fort. 

Our motor coach was cramped and crowded, with absolutely no knee room.  We felt like we were in a Delta airplane!  It was rainy and cold that day, so we were grateful that, hopefully, we would not have much walking.  We had bundled up, but we Floridians are not accustomed to windy, rainy, bone chilling cold like this.  The 90 minute ride provided beautiful views of the countryside as we traversed south to Rome along the coast. However, because the windows were covered in smears and raindrops, taking photos was fruitless.

Once in Rome, we drove past the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, Circus Maximus, the Borghese Gardens, and the Aurelian Walls, which were the most ancient of the Roman’s defenses against the Barbarians.  Our guide provided plenty of useful information along the way — too much to absorb, but all very interesting.

Traffic, however, was a bear.  In Italy, motor scooters and motorcycles are everywhere, zooming in and out, running red lights and running up on sidewalks.  It’s terrifying.  Even when you get a signal to walk, and even when vehicles have a red light, drivers and cyclists keep coming at you, honking. Cyclists ignore the red light and veer around you.

Our bus then crossed into the smallest country of the world, the Vatican, to view St. Peter’s Square and St’Angelo Fortress (the ancient Adrian Mausoleum).

We were enjoying all of the sights, when the bus stopped at People’s Square, for an hour of “free time.” The square has a beautiful obelisk and twin churches.  As we were standing, waiting for everyone from the bus, we were wet, it was windy, and I was shivering uncontrollably, my teeth chattering.  We asked the guide for a recommendation about where to eat lunch.  She pointed to two restaurants close to the square (one had inviting heaters with flames) and said those were very expensive and go the other direction.

We stopped at the first restaurant we could find and tried to warm up.  The front door kept puffing open, sending cold drafts at our feet.  We ordered pasta dishes, but my pasta with ragu meat sauce seemed flavorless.  Wine warmed us up.  Joan ordered red and I asked for white, which was delicious.  Cliff ordered “a beer,” but when he tasted it, his facial expression was hilarious.  Apparently it was the just about the worst beer he ever had. It was all he could do to choke some of it down.  When I asked for bread, the waitress brought a plate and a basket of what looked like Italian bread.  Well, what we have discovered in Livorno and Rome both is that the crust of the flavorless bread is as hard as a rock.  The large shared plate was for us to pour olive oil for the the bread.  I added salt and pepper to the olive oil and it was pretty good.

We dreaded going back out into the chilly, wet weather.  We had to wait for all the other folks from the tour bus to arrive.  I did get a bit of car sickness from the cramped bus, and had to go to bed right away when we returned to the ship.

We were definitely relieved and grateful to have better weather the next day.

Day Two

The morning started a bit chilly, but it warmed up enough to be quite pleasant.  The sun felt good.

We met at a huge motor coach that was completely different than the one we rode the day before.  It was first class, with leather seats, and huge, with tons of leg room. I was thrilled.  The total number of passengers was TEN!  We could spread out, so everyone could have a window seat. Maybe the low attendance was because this tour cost $270 a person, but it was worth every penny.

We enjoyed the same lovely ride into Rome.  Traffic was even worse than the day before, but we didn’t mind as much, because we didn’t have our knees up to our chins.  We could relax.

This "Best of Eternal Rome" tour was to cram as much as possible into 11 hours.  The bus drove directly into the heart of Rome, passing St. Paul’s Basilica, the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, and Circus Maximus. 

For the Trevi Fountain, we had to disembark a couple of blocks away.  The fountain was under renovation, but the city had set up a ramp so that tourists could walk across, right in front of it.  We snapped photos, but didn’t want to get in the long line, so we grabbed some of the “best gelato in Rome” (according to our guide), right by the fountain.

Then we walked to Piazza Venezia (Venice Square), along imperial Forum Avenue, to stop for a view of the Roman Forum.  It was breathtaking.  It is absolutely amazing how well the ruins are preserved.  I was starting to get emotional about everything we were experiencing.

Next, we walked over to the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine.  Our guide was excellent, providing tons of information, again too much to absorb.  However, we were given plenty of time to look around and take photos.

By now, we were getting tired, and definitely ready for lunch.  We were taken to a beautiful restaurant — I didn’t catch the name of it, but I had seen it before — probably in Condé Nast magazine.  It was beautiful.  We had all the white or red wine we wanted to drink, and way too much food.

Now we were refreshed and ready to cross the River Tiber (with the trees turning yellow for Fall), to the Vatican State, and step through Bernini’s colonnade to St. Peter’s Square.  We viewed St. Peter’s Basilica from the outside, then headed to the magnificent Vatican Museums.  The guide was excellent, but there was more to see than he could possibly show us.

We did get to see the Pinecone Courtyard, the Belvedere Courtyard with its famous statues, Candelabra Gallery, and the Tapestry and Geographical Map Galleries.  I was astounded by the huge collection of Roman and Greek antiquity -- room after room of incredible statues that came to life for me as I recalled my years as an English teacher, teaching the students mythology.

When we noted all of the “nude” statues throughout the Vatican Museum, our guide shared that the grape leaves were placed strategically on the appropriate anatomy, because the nuns kept fainting.

In the Sistine Chapel, were were not allowed to talk loudly or take photos, which meant really just sitting down and taking it all in. Because we visited in the slow season, the chapel was not crowded.  We could see the beautiful mosaic floors.  Apparently, the chapel is usually so jam-packed you can’t even see your feet, much less the floor.  It was a beautiful, inspiring visit.

The Swiss Guards would pound their halberds on the floor if someone misbehaved, such as trying to pose for a photo or talk loudly.  We were not allowed to take photos of the guards inside, but once we got outside, it was okay.  All of this was out of respect for the Sistine Chapel.

Next, we toured the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica.  It was absolutely incredible. It is just overwhelming how much there is to see.

Just like everywhere around Rome, renovations are taking place in the Basilica.  Every 25 years, Rome celebrates the Jubilee Year of Hope.  The Pope opens the four holy doors, one at a time.  Millions of pilgrims will visit Rome to walk through each of the four doors for atonement of all of their sins.  On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opens the holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica.  Then on December 29, 2024, the holiday door of St. John Lutheran; the third door on New Year’s day, at St. Mary Major.  On January 5, a final door is opened in St. Paul’s outside the walls.  Additionally, the Pople opens a holy door in a Roman Prison to encourage prisoners to look to the future with hope and confidence.

"The Best of Eternal Rome" excursion more than lived up to expectations. We were thrilled that we had this wonderful chance to return to Rome for deeper exploration of the "Eternal City."