Rome, Italy

Today we visited Rome. It was a whirlwind of a day! We were up early, had a quick breakfast, and then off for the day. We caught the train into Rome, which took about an hour from the ship’s port. Upon arriving in Rome, we went straight to the Vatican City. We had planned to start our day at Saint Peter’s and then see the rest of the city. As we walked towards Saint Peter’s, we could hear voices over a loudspeaker and see hundreds and hundreds of people. The Pope “was out”. He, along with some of the Bishops, were giving a presentation. It was not a mass, but we could not understand what the presentation was, as it is given in Latin or maybe it was Italian(?). What an opportunity…we saw the Pope and got some great photos.

The Basilica was closed because the Pope was presenting, so we decided to venture out into the city and see some other sites. We headed north, caught the metro, and went to see the Spanish Steps. Next was Trevi Fountain…and yes, we threw our coins into the fountain! Next was the Pantheon, however this one took a while to find. We went down this street and that, trying to find our way. We did get to see a lot of the City and some beautiful buildings. We eventually found the Pantheon. It is an amazing building. It was a cloudy day, so it was quite dark, but there was still a ray of light coming through the open circle of the dome.

We walked to Piazza Venezia where there is a large monument, a large building of pillars and statues, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are two burning flames that adorn the front of this structure. From here, we followed the street alongside The Forum as we walked to the Colosseum. The sights of the Forum show so much history and they are continuing to uncover more and restore this area for tourism. The Colosseum is such an iconic structure of Rome. It’s always recognizable, and such a pleasure to see in real life! We also went into the Colosseum…it’s amazing to think of what this must have looked like in its day.