Day 0: Arriving in Rome
After checking flight costs and arrival times, I decided to fly into Rome a day before the tour. Many of my fellow tour mates flew in several days early for extra travel and help getting over jet lag, which is a great idea if you've never been to a location before. Instead of flying in early, I found a great deal to fly out of Rome 2 days after the tour, so I planned more of my solo sightseeing for after the tour, which worked out well for me this trip.
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After my flight, catching the train from the Rome-Fiumicino airport was fairly easy - just make sure you get the right one! I booked an overnight stay in Testaccio (near Trastevere where we stayed on the tour) and my host directed me to take the cheaper local train to Trastevere rather than the Leonardo Express (which is great, but drops you off at Roma Termini station on the other side of Rome!). From the Trastevere station, it was just a quick tram ride to my lodgings. The machines for purchasing train tickets at the airport are straightforward, but I did have trouble validating my ticket (make sure you do this every ride!), and trying to figure out where to get the tram and buy my tickets. Public transportation is great and not too difficult to navigate, but it is challenging after a long flight with sleep deprivation and jet lag. I didn't get lost (this time!), but for next time I might consider booking a room in the first tour hotel and/or taking a taxi from the airport. (Finding the hotel the next day wasn't too challenging, but sidewalks were rather scarce on a busy road, making part of the journey a little nerve-wracking!)
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After dropping off my bags and sorting through some of my things, I headed out to explore the city. I always find walking around great to adjust to a new time zone, especially after being squished on a plane for several long hours. Besides, I needed to find some gelato and pizza for my first night back in Italy before getting some sleep! Wandering along the Tiber, I ended up on Isola Tiberina, which is a tiny island in the middle of the river. Most of the island is dedicated to a hospital, but there was a cute little road connecting the island's two bridges, and a gelateria - score!
From Isola Tiberina, I walked through the beautiful neighborhood of Trastevere, which is full of interesting, off-the-beaten track sites. Some of my favorites included this haphazard house which shows off the layers of Rome (more on that tomorrow), and Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, where I stumbled upon evening vespers. Trastevere is a much cozier, quieter area of Rome and I just fell in love with it. After all, where can you roam (Rome?) around on jasmine-scented streets?
Jet lag finally caught up with me as the sun set, so I opted for take-away pizza from Pizzeria ai Marmi (sorry, no pictures this time! I devoured it in record time after walking back to my room). The walk back along the Tiber was just magical with the city lights coming on in a slight drizzle. Buona notte a Roma (Goodnight, Rome)!
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Day 1: Welcome to Rome!
Buongiorno to my first full-day in Italy this trip! Our tour meet-up was scheduled at 4pm in the hotel, so I had most of the day to explore. But first things first, rather than have to wrangle check-out and check-in times between my two rooms, I checked out of my overnight stay and dropped off my luggage at the tour hotel. I had emailed ahead of my trip to ask if the hotel could store my luggage before check-in, which worked perfectly. After dropping off my luggage, my first sightseeing stop of the day was... the Pantheon!
It was a bit of a dreary day and it rained heavily more than once. But, on the bright side, I can confirm that the weather outside the Pantheon is the same inside the Pantheon. There is definitely no cover on the oculus! Because it rains inside the Pantheon, they rope off the center area in bad weather to keep everyone off the wettest marble (but be careful because it can be slippery outside those ropes). The ancient Romans knew what they were doing, though, because they also built small drainage holes in the center for all that weather!
It was a bit of a dreary day and it rained heavily more than once. But, on the bright side, I can confirm that the weather outside the Pantheon is the same inside the Pantheon. There is definitely no cover on the oculus! Because it rains inside the Pantheon, they rope off the center area in bad weather to keep everyone off the wettest marble (but be careful because it can be slippery outside those ropes). The ancient Romans knew what they were doing, though, because they also built small drainage holes in the center for all that weather!
During downpours that morning I took refuge in a couple churches and doorways. Around lunchtime I had to take refuge in a tiny bakery with a couple other drenched tourists from across Europe. We were quite a crew! I wish I had a picture of the five of us huddled around the little table tucked in the corner of this bakery decked out in all our rain gear, but you'll need to use your imagination this time. We had fun sharing desserts and chatting during the storm. From my two new Irish friends, I learned that I chose the wrong destination for good weather that May - unbelievably, Ireland was sunnier and warmer than Italy that month!
At our tour group meeting in the hotel that afternoon (after I had checked-in and dried out), I finally got to meet my fellow tour members, and our two tour guides, Sarah and Patricia. Sarah was training to lead the Best of South Italy tour later that year, but guides a bunch of other Italy tours as well. The incomparable Patricia was our main guide for the tour and was one of the best parts of the whole trip. She navigated everything flawlessly, organized additional activities for the group, and just made the trip perfect. We followed her "piano, piano" all around Italy being sure to "take our time, but hurry up!"
After a quick intro to tour group rules and selection our buddies for the trip, Patricia took us on a quick walking tour around Trastevere. We first stopped at the Chiesa di San Francesco a Ripa just two doors down from our hotel (Hotel San Francesco), which used to be the monastery for the church's monks. Then we walked across Trastevere to the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. This is one of the oldest churches in Rome and the medieval mosaics on the exterior and interior are stunning. But more interesting to me is the way this church exemplifies a medieval recycling trend. Bits of marble taken from other ancient sites in Rome decorate the church's exterior (with a medieval graffiti twist) and the columns inside were "upcycled" from various places in the Caracalla Baths. Notice the difference sizes, styles, & heights of the pedestals?!
We closed out the evening with a delicious group dinner at Cajo & Gajo. As a solo tourist I was nervous about finding people to connect with on the tour. Luckily, that night at dinner I sat near a bunch of wonderful women who became my travel companions and close friends on the trip and beyond! Linda was another solo traveler on the tour and we roomed together a few times on the trip (we had an odd number of solo travelers, so we rotated roommates throughout the trip). She is a Rick Steves' pro - this was her 9th tour! Karla and Karrie, our mom-and-daughter duo made up the other half of our small group. It was Karrie's first RS trip too, and Karla's second (her first was also with Patricia).
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Day 2: Layers of Rome
After breakfast at the hotel, we hopped on a tram to the Victor Emmanuel II Monument - a monstrous, Fascist monument constructed to honor the first ruler of a united Italy (and dubbed "The Wedding Cake" by Romans). The theme of the day was the long history of Rome and all its layers, which our local guide Francesca calls the "lasagna of Rome." (All the local tour guides were incredible in their own way, but I have to admit to being a little star-struck by meeting Francesca in-person after seeing her with Rick on so many of his episodes in Rome.) Capitoline Hill was a perfect snapshot for Francesca's lasagna theory. Sandwiched between the 1930s Wedding Cake and the Renaissance Capitoline Museum is a medieval church. And everything in Rome is pretty much built on ancient ruins, which you can see under the Capitoline Museum and in its special view of the Forum.
While teaching us about some of the most interesting pieces in the Capitoline Museum, Francesca shared her master plan for reorganizing museums when she finally takes over Rome! She taught us a lot about the ancient art on display in the museum, but my favorite nugget was her instructions about how to identify ancient Greek and Roman statues (and how to spot a Roman copy of a Greek original). Turns out the Romans loved to copy Greek art. Because the ancient Greeks sculpted most of their statues in bronze, they no longer exist - but many of the ancient Roman ones in marble still do! The clue for finding Roman copies also originates from these materials. The bronze favored by the Greeks was light and easy to mold in various poses without much concern for even weight distribution, but the Romans needed to make sure their heavy, marble statues stayed upright and balanced. To keep statues upright in odd poses, the Romans had to add supports for their figures, which is why a lot of marble statues have random tree stumps, posts, and other things for the figures to lean on. So next time you see a statue with some random support, you know it probably wasn't part of the original (Greek) design, but a Roman imitation!
Francesca also took us on a tour of the Jewish Ghetto, where she recounted the history of many of its main sites and the Nazi raid in 1943 when thousands were arrested and deported in one day. Many of these families never returned to Rome after the war and the Italian government recently started placing plaques outside homes in the neighborhood to commemorate the individuals affected.
Our walking tour ended at the Largo di Torre Argentina, which is the ancient site of Julius Caesar's assassination (and now serves as a cat sanctuary) and we had the rest of the day free for individual sightseeing. After a quick lunch, we decided to explore more of the ancient ruins of Rome and walked along Via dei Fori Imperiali to see Trajan's Column and the Colosseum, and then explored the Circus Maximus and the Bocca della Verita'. Instead of a big dinner, we opted for snacks from the local grocery store - an undeniably cheap option for those on a budget or with limited time. To end our time in Rome, Karla suggest taking a sunset walk to Gianicolo Hill (or the Janiculum). Although not technically one of the 7 hills of Rome, it is still a fantastic view and one of my not-to-miss suggestions when in Rome! Words and pictures really cannot capture the beauty of this moment and the peacefulness of a quiet sunset enjoyed with new friends.
Day 3: Tivoli & Hadrian's Villa
After packing up and checking out of our hotel, we loaded onto the tour bus for the first time for a quick drive to Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa. The villa is located just outside Rome and was Emperor Hadrian's way of escaping the city. The ruins are vast and archaeologists are still excavating the site today. Be sure to check out the model before exploring the site because it really gives you perspective on the enormity of Hadrian's summer "villa" (more like palace complex!).
Patricia led us around part of the site to show off some of the temples, baths, and water-side dining areas. Then we had some free time to wander more of the grounds alone. We had fun exploring the ruins (and dodging the enormous muddy puddles we found along the way) and enjoying the beautiful views of the surrounding towns and olive groves. But my favorite site was the Maritime Theater, which Hadrian built with a moat as his own private island home for peace and solitude (as if he couldn't find that anywhere else in his own massive retreat complex!).
We all got back on the bus after our exploration and headed off to Puglia, with a short stop at an Autogrill for lunch. Autogrills are popular highway rest stops in Italy, but don't let that description fool you! Many of them serve delicious, fresh cuisine. One of the biggest draws is the freshly made pasta. They usually have three options and you can try all three (tris), two (bis), or just one. Our pastas of the day included risotto and spaghetti alla carbonara. Yum!
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Pictured in header: Isola Tibertina in Rome