MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - ROME, ITALY

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9TH, 2015

 

We were up early this day as the ship was docking at 8am at Civitavecchia, which is quite a distance from Rome.  Mom and Dad decided to stay on the ship because we knew that there would be a lot of walking and not a lot of time in Rome and Dad’s knee would not likely hold up very well.  

We were off the ship at 8:05am but had to wait quite a long time beside the exit gate while they gave priority to all of the excursion groups that needed to be loaded onto tour buses.  People were starting to get quite vocal as they would not let us pass the gate until a shuttle bus was there to pick us up and it was taking a long time.

The port at Civitavecchia is quite large and although we could have tried to walk into town, it would have likely taken us quite a while and time was of the essence.  The shuttle buses (free) pick you up at your ship and shuttle you to a parking lot that is still a good distance from town.  From there, you go to a small, tented stand where you pay €2 per person to get on another bus that will drop you in town, not far from the train station.

While all of the crowd from the buses headed directly into the train station and created quite a long line, we took Rick Steves’ recommendation from his travel guide and went to a small grocery store just to the right of the station entrance and bought our BIRG tickets at the counter there.  There was only one person ahead of us in line.  We paid €12 per person and the tickets gave us access to the trains, Metro and buses for the day.  You can buy single tickets valid for one Metro ride (€1,50 each) that also includes unlimited city buses and trams during a 100-minute period or a one day pass for €6, but then you need to buy your ticket to Civitavecchia separately.

We waited for around 20 minutes for the train to arrive and we all loaded on for the trip into Rome.  The trip in took just under an hour and we got off at the Ostiense station where we transferred over to the Metro.  We were standing on one platform and started to question whether we should not be over on the other side.  I left the group and ran up the stairs to check the signs for each platform.  I ran down to the other platform and saw the Metro was already waiting there and hollered for everyone to boot it...fast!  Fortunately, they had started to follow anyway and we all sprinted for the train.  A few of us got on and the door started to close but our friend jammed herself between so the rest could get on.  I have to imagine she had a couple of bruises from that encounter.

By this time, we had picked up another couple who had been on the shuttle bus with us with whom we had shared the tip about buying tickets at the grocery store to save waiting in line.  They stuck with us all of the way in so they did not have to try and navigate by themselves.  You can meet all sorts of people in your travels and we have had many entertaining conversations while on local transport or waiting for transport.  Might as well make it fun while going through the process of getting there :-)

We went two stops on the Metro and got off at the Colosseo stop, which exits right in front of the Colosseum.  By this time, it was almost 11am and we knew we should start heading back to the ship by 3pm or so and that left us with only about four hours of touring time in Rome.  We had to pick our priorities and keep evaluating as the day went on so we could see the things everyone wanted most to see and adjust our route accordingly.

As we exited the Colosseo Metro station, we had to pause and just catch our breath as we took in this monument that most of us had only ever seen in pictures or movies.   We noticed that there was an unusually large police presence with big police vans, police in full gear and a helicopter circling overhead.  This naturally made us a bit nervous but as we observed, the police did not seem to be very concerned and were standing around very relaxed and chatting with each other as everyone went about their business around them.  More on this story later…

We turned to the right and walked not far to the crosswalk that would take us across the Via Dei Fori Imperiali to the Colosseum and thus began our first debate of the day.  The line was extremely long and I wanted to follow Rick Steves’ advice (again) and walk past the Colosseum and down to the Palatine Hill entrance as the crowds were supposed to be much less down at that entry and you could buy the same €12 combo ticket for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine.  Some were questioning if that was a good idea or not as we should really get in line because it was going to be a long wait.  Since Rick had not steered us wrong to that point, we agreed to walk quickly down and see what the line looked like.  We walked past the Arch of Constantine and down along the Via Di San Gregorio to the Palatine Hill ticket office and there were only about ten people ahead of us in line instead of the hundreds outside the Colosseum.  Rick Steves’ “cred” went up even further in our eyes!  

The Arch of Constantine

We did not spend a long time going through the Palatine.  We wandered through the paths in the direction of the Roman Forum and spent some time seeing the sights there while reading about them from our travel guide.  It was just incredible to see all of the old buildings and monuments that were still standing, even if some parts had crumbled away.  We left via the exit at the far end near Capitol Hill and headed to the Vittorio Emanuele Monument since we were already in that area.  

The view over the Roman Forum from atop Caligula's Palace.  You can see the top of the white Vittorio Emanuele Monument in the distance.

Making our way through Palatine Hill

Temple of Antoninus Pius & Faustina (in the Roman Forum)

Looking back toward Caligula's Palace (arched building behind the three columns)

As we were walking up the road, we heard a big bang from behind us in the direction of the Colosseum.  We turned and saw a plume of smoke rising behind a line of police vans spread across the Via Dei Fori Imperiali blocking off all traffic and our view of what was going on.  We would find out later that there are frequent demonstrations held near the Colosseum.  One thing we heard was that anyone planning a demonstration would always want the Colosseum as the backdrop because news stations love to broadcast something with a dramatic background and it always tends to draw the cameras and get attention for whatever issue is behind the demonstration.  Makes sense, I guess.

Out of all of the places we saw this day, the Vittorio Emanuele Monument was the one that I could not tear my eyes away from.   It was huge and a gleaming bright white with gold accents here and there.  There was so much to look at and I just stood there trying to take it all in and absorb the vast expanse of marble and the columns, carvings and statues.  Unfortunately, my husband had to bring me back to reality to remind me of the time and that we had to move on.  Access to the monument is free but you can buy a ticket for the elevator (€7) that gives you access to the roof and what is likely an amazing view.  I wish that we had more time as I would have spent a lot more time exploring this spot.  I found this web page that explains the meaning behind several of the main statues and carvings.  An interesting read.  https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/monument-to-vittorio-emanuele-ii-in-rome-italys-birthday-monument

Vittorio Emanuele Monument

Finally, we made our way down the street toward the Colosseum.  The demonstration was over and the street was no longer blocked by police vans.  There was no sign that anything had happened there.  We made a brief stop at the Tourist Information Center on the left hand side of the street to have a bathroom break, eat some snacks and have some water and then we headed to the main event, the Colosseum!

By this time, it was around 12:30pm and when we arrived, the lines still looked really long.  There were two lines: one for ticket holders and one for people buying tickets.  We entered the ticket holders line and breezed past the long line for ticket buyers.  We were stunned when we actually entered the corridor inside the Colosseum as the ticket buyers line that looked so very long outside, snaked around again on the inside and was even longer than it had first appeared.  We were so glad we had bought our tickets where and when we did, as we were passing through the entry gates in under five minutes.

The corridor inside the Colosseum.  We are walking in the ticket holders line and the line to the right is still waiting to get around the corner to the ticket booth.

We were probably inside the Colosseum about 40 minutes as you only really have one main corridor that you can follow around the bowl of the structure.  You can purchase guided tours and one of them takes 1.5 hours (called Colosseum, Underground and Third Ring) and gives you access to restricted areas that are not accessible for people with just a general entry ticket.

The portion of floor that you see was built to show where the original floor stood with corridors and rooms below

It was really so incredible to be inside this famous structure with so much history.  As we read the history outlined in our guide book, we really got a feeling for just how violent and bloody of a history it was.  Killing people for sport and entertainment is very disturbing, to say the least.

Sights on our way to Trevi Fountain

Our next stop was Trevi Fountain so we followed the map in our guidebook and headed in that direction.  We were getting quite hungry at this point, so we searched Trip Advisor for gluten-free pizza restaurants near Trevi Fountain and found ‘Pizza in Trevi’.  We stopped there for lunch and Dave enjoyed yet another ‘real’ pizza that was gluten free.  He stuck with gluten-free for the entire trip but in France, there were no gluten free options at the market and so he tried some bread anyway.  We had heard that a lot of celiacs are able to eat the bread in Europe so he was close enough to the end of the trip to test that theory out.  Sure enough, he was able to eat the bread with no consequences.

Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain was in the process of being restored so most of it was in pieces with a high fence surrounding the area so we were not able to see the fountain at its best.  We heard that it had re-opened just a few weeks after our visit.  We soothed our disappointment with some delicious gelato and sorbet from a gelato shop right beside the fountain area.  So delicious!!

Trevi Fountain

Mmmmm....Mango and Lemon sorbet!

We enjoyed our refreshing treat while we walked to the Spanish Steps.  When we got there, the steps were closed off with a large fence and, after some research, we found out that restoration of the steps was to begin the following week.  On the positive side, we were able to view the steps without being crowded with tourists.  On the negative side, we were not actually able to walk up the steps.  C’est la vie!   We spent some time wandering the Piazza di Spagna before heading to the Spagna Metro station to catch the Metro to the Termini Station.

 

On our way to Piazza di Spagna

Spanish Steps

The architecture around the Piazza di Spagna

The Spagna Metro stop was just at the end of this street

Termini is the largest station in Rome and where Metro lines A and B intersect.  We knew from our travel guide that the train back to Civitavecchia generally leaves from tracks 27-30 and that we needed 10-15 minutes to walk there.  As we were reading the departure times, we realized that the next train was leaving at 3:42pm and it was around 3:30pm so we started running, following the signs for tracks 27-30.  They weren't kidding!  It was a long distance and we ran almost the entire way.  I spotted the train and as I ran up, the train door closed with an ominous hiss.  My heart sank and I looked back at the others and hollered “The doors just closed!!”.  I thought we had missed it by seconds even though the clock said we had two minutes to spare.  There was a man standing nearby who smiled indulgently at me, reached out with a flourish and pressed the green button on the outside of the train.  Wouldn’t you know it, the doors slid open.  Another lesson learned, unlike the Metro, you have control over train doors from the outside. 

 

We all got on board and were able to find seats, although we were not together as the train was quite full.  We still sat and waited for several minutes before the train eventually left and there were some people who had to stand in the aisles as the train was packed.  The return trip took about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Dave slept and I read a book and enjoyed the scenery.  

When we disembarked back in Civitivecchia, we knew we had to find an ATM to get some euro as we had a tour the next day and needed cash to pay.  We were not able to get all of the euro that we needed as European banks impose their own withdrawal limits that were lower than our regular bank limits.  We would need to find another ATM the following day to get the additional euro that we needed.

Once we got cash in hand, we started walking toward the parking lot where the shuttle bus had dropped us off that morning.  Well, it was definitely a very long walk.  After a full day of walking and then a full out sprint to the train, we were running low on energy.  I would guess we walked maybe a mile and a half back to the parking lot and then waited in line for the shuttle bus.  We got back on board around 6pm and all aboard was 6:30pm with departure at 7pm.  We were relieved that we had not waited for the next train as we would have been running very close to the wire.  We were ravenous so we headed for supper right away and crashed in bed quite soon after. 

We were really glad that we self-toured into Rome as, aside from the travel time (which would likely have been even longer by bus), we found it very easy to navigate the train and Metro system.  In calculating our expenses for the entire day, including transport, entrance fees and food, we spent a grand total of €83 for the both of us.  

Before the cruise, we had heard from a few people that they did not really like Rome, I tried to keep an open mind and I have to say that my experience was just the opposite.  I really loved Rome and cannot wait to have a return visit.  Now, perhaps our experience was enjoyable because it was October and it was a bit rainy and somewhat cool day so the crowds were not oppressive, nor was the heat.  I’m not sure what the difference was but we knew we had not come close to seeing all that we wanted to see of Rome.  If we have the opportunity for a return visit, we would love to visit Vatican City, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo and also spend more time at the Victor Emmanuel Monument.  We totally enjoyed our day in Bella Roma!