Rome, Italy

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;” Acts 17:24

While it was sad for us to leave the ship, we knew a new adventure awaited us in the Eternal City, Rome! We rode a shuttle to the train station in Civitavecchia, and was able to buy our tickets without a problem. In less than fifteen minutes, we were on board and heading south to Rome. 47 minutes, we arrived at Rome Terminali.

We hoofed it to our hotel, a hot and humid jaunt. I waited in the hotel lobby until our room was ready, and John headed out to explore.

Our hotel is on the left side near the red flag. Across from our hotel is “St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs” basilica.

After we settled in, we boarded the hop on-hop off bus to explore the sights. We sat on the top of the double decker bus and plugged in our earphones. As we listened to Italian music, we headed off.

Rome is closely linked to Venus, goddess of love. So much so that Rome’s secret name was “amor,” which is Roma (Italian for Rome) backwards and means “love.”

My first “ooh” and “ ahh” moment was passing Rome’s Colosseum. As we passed it, I was struck by how huge it was and how massive the walls were. When I thought of how many spectators (85,000) would come to see the games of “sport,” which included the killing of Christians who were forced to face hungry lions for their faith, it was sobering.

Palantine hill is the oldest and largest of Rome’s seven hills and overlooks the Circus Maximus (500×150 ft), which is another area of sport. Chariots races and war games were held here.

Altare della Patria

We visited Capitoline Hill and saw the monument to Italy’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II. He is the one who united Italy into one country. Beneath his monument is the tomb of the unknown soldier. Currently, it is a museum dedicated to the unification of Italy.

The Four Rivers Monument

This monument pays tribute to the four known continents at that time by representing a river from each continent: Nile from Africa, Ganges from Asia, Blue Danube from Europe, and Rio de la Plata from South America.

Pantheon

It’s pretty incredible to actually visit places I’ve only read about in textbooks. The Pantheon was a temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. It was built between AD 117-138, and is noted for its Roman architecture (arches), it’s dome (world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome), and it’s circular opening (oculus) at the top.

Trevi Fountain

Toss in a coin and make a wish! (They supposedly collect 3,000 euros a day from this fountain!)

Segway

This was the best way to see Rome! I don’t know how many miles we rode, but I never would have made it on foot. I had a great “wingman.”

No smile because I was trying to take our selfie while riding. I guess kids aren’t the only ones with guardian angels! (Psst… Don’t tell Samantha!)

There are spring-fed water fountains all over Rome. They are perfectly safe to drink from and are quite refreshing on a hot and humid day!

Of course, no post is complete without the food pictures. We ate lunch at an outdoor cafe on the banks of the Tiber River.

Next stop: Zurich, Switzerland