Rome: one more day to go!

Our time in Rome was a long weekend from Thursday to Sunday, which was a good amount of time. If you're stopping in Rome for just a day or a few hours, you'll have to really choose what you want to see and leave the other stuff for another trip back.

Surprisingly, November seems like an ideal time to go. You don't have to battle the crowds like you would during the summer or any school holiday and you don't have to deal with stifling heat (so I hear) that the summer months also bring. My guess would also be that prices are also seriously inflated during high season as well. Outside of one day of light rain, the weather was decent while we were there, with highs in the mid-60s and lows in the upper 40s.

So far, we'd seen many of the monuments in Rome and been to Vatican City. Our Saturday was spent in the ancient city center of Rome, touring the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. Of course, we also had to make our daily stop at the Pantheon to visit it one more time before we left.

Outside of Colosseum

The Colosseum was an easy walk from our hotel. I would highly recommend booking a tour in advance- either a private tour guide or one of the tours the Colosseum offers. Right now, they are offering a tour called Underground, Colosseum and Third Ring, which is what we did. It was really interesting. Also, if you reserve tickets beforehand, you get to skip the long line that everyone else is in, which is great.  I think if you just buy a regular ticket you only go on one level of Colosseum, which is not much.

We started the tour on the floor of the Colosseum, so you could get an idea of how it felt to be in the center of everything. The tour guide gave a good amount of history about the Colosseum (originally called Flavian Amphitheater) including information about the gladiators (mostly slaves) and how it was built. Unfortunately, like many other monuments in Rome, all of the valuable materials have been stripped from the structure.

Only remaining seats viewed from the floor of Colosseum

We then went into the Underground, which was where animals that fought were kept in waiting and gladiators entered and exited through tunnels. Interesting fact: at some point during the 100 day inauguration of the Colosseum, the underground and floor of the stadium were flooded and they had boats battle. The rooms underground were built after that, but you can still see where the aquifer brought in water.

Ruins of Underground rooms

The third ring of the Colosseum is the top level and has just recently been opened back up to the public for touring. It appears that renovations are ongoing, so I'm guessing they may open more at some point. The third ring would have been considered the worst seats in the house, but does boast a great view of the entire Colosseum along with Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.

View from the third ring

Palatine Hill overlooks the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. Numerous palaces are located on the hill, with various structures being built by emperors throughout the years. The structures are all in ruins, but it's worth the walk up to look around and explore. The site has good signage explaining what each area is/was.

Ruins of a circus used for animal exercise and display

The Roman Forum is not what we were expecting- it's actually a square in the middle of ruins that is where significant events took place in the city center. I think we were expecting a building of some sort, but the Forum is surrounded by large structures and a number of funeral monuments, including where Julius Caesar was cremated. You should go see it though- ultimately it was where ancient Rome developed and the center of commerce in the city, pretty significant!

Roman Forum

View of Forum and Palatine Hill

Just on the other side of the Forum is a "new" building (1925) that most Romans hate- the monument to Italy's first king who united the country. It is a massive building that doesn't necessarily fit with the ancient architecture that surrounds it; it is also disliked because it was essentially built on top of the ancient city center of Rome, which seems to mean much more to Romans than this new building.

Altare della Patria- monument to Italy's first king

From there we saw Circus Maximus, which used to be an ancient Roman chariot racing arena and large entertainment venue. Now…it's pretty much just an open field. BK and I should have researched this one a little bit more, as we were disappointed after walking up on it, and actually weren't even sure if we were in the right place.

Circus Maximus

We ended our day with some shopping in the city center, then enjoyed sitting on the Pantheon Piazza for a snack and people watching. We had a great dinner at a place right around the corner, then headed back to the hotel to watch the TCU game.

Our Saturday night view

We headed back to Basel on Sunday afternoon, so we didn't do any additional sightseeing. We enjoyed sleeping late and our last Italian lunch before heading to the airport for the short flight home. We've just been in Basel a couple of days, and will be heading to the US shortly to visit for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see everyone!

Vatican City: a country of its own

The first full day in Rome greeted us with rain and cloudy skies. Luckily, we had scheduled a tour of Vatican City for that day, which just happens to be an inside activity. The only downside of the day was that we had to move our tour up because of an ordination being held at St. Peter's Basilica. We were informed by our tour guide that you pretty much never know what's on the agenda in Vatican City, so you may be in for an unforeseen closing or something.

View of St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City is amazing. The sheer opulence and magnificence of it all greets you from the moment you arrive in it's vicinity. This was probably my favorite thing that we did. The whole thing just intrigues me; specifically how much the Vatican symbolizes power and dominance (I say this as a non-Catholic)…it's just a little crazy to me.

We hired a private tour guide for the day, which I would highly recommend. We started in the Vatican Museum which is full of all kinds of art and historical artifacts, some of which were bought by various popes, some of which were commissioned and others that were gifted. When you think about this museum you should think of the likes of The Louvre and The Met. 

Globe sculpture in museum courtyard

The Vatican has more Red Porphyry that anywhere else in the world. It is a rare stone from Egypt and is the most valuable stone in the world no longer available for mining, which is a little crazy. I had never heard of this stone before, but it is all over Vatican City and is sprinkled throughout Rome. Additionally, the museum boasts many sculptures, paintings and tapestries. One of my favorite rooms we saw was the room with maps drawn as murals on the walls. Unfortunately, we had to kind of rush through the museum due to the closing of St. Peter's Basilica.

Red porphyry bathtub

Tapestry

Mural map of Italy

From the museum you enter the Sistine Chapel, which is breathtaking. The intricate detail and stories displayed on the ceiling and walls is really just a lot to take in. It is supposed to be a silent place, but it tends to not be so much. I would post a picture of it, but you are not allowed to take photos. Here's a random fact for you: it's not that you can't take photos because it's a sacred space, but because when they restored the Chapel a few years ago a Japanese media company funded the whole thing and now has the copyrights to it. So, no pictures. Weird, right?

From the Sistine Chapel you then enter into St. Peter's Basilica. It enormous to say the least. St. Peter's is actually open to the public and, barring any random events, anyone can go in. Since we entered into the Basilica from the Sistine Chapel we didn't have to wait in line to get in, which was nice. 

Jubilee doors- only opened every 25 years

One thing that I found really interesting about Rome in general, was that many of the materials used to build the Vatican were taken from other monuments from around Rome. So, for example, the Colosseum and Pantheon have been essentially stripped of all marble and copper they used to have. And now where do those materials reside? Inside, and as part of the Vatican. It's viewed as a sort of recycling in Rome, but I also think it's a shame that other monuments were stripped of their beauty to show the power of the church and to build these huge buildings and ultimately country.

Chancel in St. Peter's

St.Peter's dome

I cannot even describe the enormity of St. Peter's Basilica. It is the largest church in the world, and absolutely feels that way. There are markers on the floor showing how large other churches are in the world (Westminster Abbey, a Boston cathedral, etc). Two popes are here in waiting to become saints of the church and it is believed that St. Peter is buried under the alter of the church. Many famous artists contributed to both the building and pieces of work in the Basilica. It is a beautiful building and like nothing I have ever seen before. You have to visit if you are ever in Rome.

The "Arms of God" in Vatican Square

After we finished in Vatican City we decided to stay in that part of the city and went to Castel Sant'Angelo. This castle was formerly used as the Pope's fortress and is connected to Vatican City via tunnels that allowed for the Pope's safe escape, should Vatican City be attacked. If you have a limited amount of time, I would skip this one, but it was still interesting to see and had great panoramic views of the city from the top of the fortress.

Castel Sant'Angelo

We still had much more to see in Rome, and Saturday brought much more sightseeing and nicer weather for us. More to come!

Our last European destination this year

Remember how I said our motto in life right now is, "When in Rome"? Well, we finally made it to Rome to live it out. I shouldn't say finally, since we've been SO many places since we've moved to Basel, but Rome was the one last place we wanted to go this year, and before the Lentil comes along next spring.

BK and I traveled to Rome this past weekend and had an action packed time. The Lentil seems to be punishing me a little bit for our love of travel, as I seem to not be adjusting quite as quickly as normal after we travel to and from places. Such is life- only a few more flights before I'm grounded for the last trimester.

We started our first afternoon wandering around the city, just needing to make it to the Spanish Steps in time to meet our tour guide for an evening tour. Our first stop was at Santa Maria Maggiore. We didn't plan this stop, but found it near our hotel on the way to a more central part of the city. Like many of the cathedrals in Rome, it is beautiful and incredibly ornate. I love all of the ceilings in the buildings. It seems so often we forget to look up, but in older buildings, often the ceilings are given more attention than walls or other decor.

BK and I then stopped for a little afternoon snack to get some sustenance and do some people watching. Of course, in Rome, there are fountains and usually a church in every square.

From there we continued to make our way closer to the Spanish Steps, but first stopped at the Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception. My dad recommended that "we just Google it and go." Somehow we stumbled upon it unknowingly, then decided to go ahead and go in. We didn't go in the sanctuary part of the church, but the main attraction is the crypt. It is kind of weird, and a little serial-killeresque, but the crypt is decorated with the bones of deceased monks and other poor Romans. The rooms are divided up into types of bones, such as the pelvises, shins and thighs, skulls, etc. It's interesting, but like I said, a little weird.

From there we met our tour guide from Angel Tours for our Heart of Rome Tour. The tour could have up to 15ish people, but lucky for us, it was just me, BK and our guide. This was a great way to start off our time in the city, hearing about some history and being able to ask any questions we had. Like I mentioned, we started at the Spanish Steps, which aren't actually Spanish. They derive their name from the fact that the Spanish Embassy is in the same square. It's also where we took our weekly pic :)

From there we went to Trevi Fountain, which actually deserves all of the hype it gets. It's an amazing piece of work attached to a building. It was commissioned by a wealthy family in Rome many years ago and has over 3,000 Euros per day thrown into the fountain. BK and I threw our coins in, with our right hand, over our left shoulders, to ensure we would someday return to Rome.

After Trevi Fountain we stopped at a funeral monument and were pointed in the direction of a couple of unique churches we should see. One included a church that appears to have domes in the ceiling, but in fact, is 3D painting done on the ceiling with a flat roof. Very interesting…I'll wrack my brain, but the name escapes me right now.

We then saw BK's favorite site in Rome, the Pantheon; in fact, he liked it so much we went back every day we were there. It is an amazing building, and a true mathematical achievement.

The truly awesome thing about it is that it was built in 118 AD, is still standing, is still in use, and remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It measures 43.3 meters high as well as across. Raphel (the artist) and the first two kings of Italy are buried inside the building as well. The building has been studied throughout the ages as an architectural marvel.

From the Pantheon we enjoyed Piazza Navona, which boasts three impressive fountains, along with a church and cafes around the perimeter of the square. The fountain pictured below symbolizes the four rivers of the world coming together in Rome. It (like many others) was commissioned by the Vatican and each statue represents a different continent.

After we finished with our tour, BK and I enjoyed an easy dinner at a local pizzeria recommended by our tour guide, then called it a night. We spent Friday at the Vatican…more on that later!