Rome on our Own
May 18 - 19
High: 75
Low: 58
Partly cloudy with rain in the afternoon
Saturday
The South of Italy tour begins in Rome. It does not cover any of the "usual" tourist spots in Rome because Rick has other tours that do, and since folks go on multiple Rick Steves tours, he makes sure that each is a unique experience.
Not having been to Italy before, we got there a couple of days early and started our tour on our own. On our first day we decided to download Rick's "Heart of Rome" recorded walking tour.
On our way to the starting point, we passed the modern entrance to the Mercati di Traiano, and decided to go in and see what it was. It turned out be a gateway to the massive ancient Roman ruin of Trajan’s market.
Research about what we wanted to see was invaluable, but never underestimate the joy of serendipity. Stumbling into the market proved to be an excellent introduction to the wonders of ancient Rome.
We eventually made our way to Campo Dei Fiori, where Rick’s recorded walk begins. We felt the recording was excellently paced and gave ample time to get from place to place.
On that first walk we each hit "play" on our phones at the same time to try to sync the audio, but each time we stopped the audio to look around, we had to re-sync, which isn't optimal. The next day we realized that if we used just one of our phones and each took one of the earbuds that problem is solved.
The tour took us to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Temple of Hadrian, the Trevi Fountain and finally the Spanish Steps. Whew! That was quite a lot for folks that had just stepped off a plane at 10am that morning - and we enjoyed every moment of it!
Sunday
House of Celio
The highlight of our second day in Rome was visiting the House of Celio, an ancient Roman house under an early Christian church near the Colosseum. The murals on the walls are excellently preserved and serve to give you an idea of how colorful life in the ancient city was. I recommend it highly. It is not a major tourist attraction, so you have the ability to take your time and imagine the lives lived inside those walls.
The Colosseum
That was followed by a visit to the Colosseum. We had managed to snag tickets for the "attic", which lets you take an elevator to the very top of the structure and get a bird's eye view. The tickets are timed and limited. We only encountered a half dozen or so people as we wandered. It was an excellent way to see it. We also went down to the interior of the Colosseum later, and that was crowded and uncomfortable to the point that I cannot recommend it to anyone.
View from Palatine Hill
Later we took a guided tour of Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome and considered one of the most ancient parts of the city. The ancient Romans believed that it was where Romulus founded Rome. During the height of the empire it was home to multiple emperors. Our guide was excellent. While there was a crowd queued up to enter it, inside there is so much space that it did not feel crowded and the views were spectacular.
Monday
Our third day in Rome was the first day of the tour, but it didn't start until late afternoon, so we had the day to ourselves. We got early morning tickets to the Vatican museums, including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. We got very lucky on this one. When we entered the Sistine Chapel there were only a couple of dozen people there. We were able to comfortably stroll around and drink in the paintings. By the time we left, it was crowded to the point of discomfort. I'm sure that all of us had booked similar early morning tours, and it was luck of the draw that we were among the first to get in. I will say that even if we had been in a later group, I would still have been glad to have gone.
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Most places you visit you want to look around or down, to see statues or intricate mosaic tile floors, but when in the Vatican - everywhere in the Vatican! - look UP! The Sistine Chapel is far from the only place within its walls to have spectacular artwork on the ceiling.