Ostia Antica

Day 15
Our final day. We decide we need to go out of the city today and after some research we decide on Ostia Antica. This ancient city that is about 2400 years old. It was at one time the major port for Rome, until the river silted in and coast line moved out.

Vatican & St. Peter's Basilica

Day 14
We are off to the Vatican today. Lyn made reservations from home for us to take the Vatican Garden tour. We can now vouch for this being a very wise thing to do. We decide to throw caution to the wind and actually use a cab rather than chancing the bus schedule which seems to know no rules. We arrive in plenty of time at the Vatican Museum and as we have reservations we walk right in. There is a very long line up outside for the Vatican Museum. It goes waaaaaaay down the block.

Jewish Ghetto & Piazza Navona

Day 13

We take our time getting on the road today and make it an exploring day. We find a bus and head off in the direction of the Jewish Ghetto which is north of us. This is a lovely area beside the Tiber River and very ancient.

In 1556 Pope Paul ordered all the Jewish people to move here and live behind walls. They had a curfew and were not allowed to travel outside the area after sunset until sunrise the next day. This area still suffers attacks and is under guard every day. There are very ancient diggings here. Temples from 23 BC have been found and the remains of a fish market from the same period. There are perfectly preserved remains of 2 and 3rd century Roman houses can still be seen.

Shopping for our dinner

Day 13

My thoughts on our dining experiences in Italy. - We eat our breakfast in the apartment which consists of yogurt, fresh fruit & for Chris peanut butter on toast & our morning tea & coffee. We fit lunch in between visiting different sites. This can range from a quick panni from a food cart or a sit down restaurant. We keep trying to find that perfect restaurant that everyone raves about. So far very expensive & poor quality.

Borghese Musuem & Pantheon

Day 12

Today we have a date at 10:30 at the Borghese Museum. We have been really looking forward to seeing this with personal recommendations from Sharon and Grant and others. We phoned from Canada to make reservations as they are hard to come by and if you are going to see one museum in Rome pick this one.  We try to guess how long it will take for us to make our way across town and then double it. Good thing we did. It took us an hour and a half to get there and we were right on the button and that was after rush hour.
When we got off the bus we walked up a lovely avenue through a large park of 3 ¼ miles in circumference. More in this later.
This beautiful building was closed for 13 years while going through restoration and opened in 1997. It was a residence but was designed as a museum by Scipione Borghese to house fantastic works of art from the Roman period and Renaissance. The family continued to add to this collection as it was written in his will that the collection must never be sold from the residence. Some works were commissioned and others attained through political sleight of hand.

Coliseum, Palatine Hill & Trevi Fountain

Day 11

Big plans today. We have planned to go to the Coliseum and the Palatine Hill. Bet you hadn’t heard of that before. Well we found out all about it today. We decide to forgo the Coliseum until after lunch because the crowds are just silly. We walk past the arch beside the Coliseum and look for the Palatine. There is a large park like area to the right and we have our Roma Passes ready. Not such a long line but with the Roma pass we walk right in.

We have the Rick Steves tour but have completely lost the thread and just start to wander following the paths. This is a huge area in the center of Rome and it is an archeological site that goes back to ancient times. It is the home of the emperors of Rome and the temples and towns that accompanied them. Absolutely wonderful. To walk where these people had carried on their daily responsibilities and lived in such “interesting times” was like walking back in time. The ancient streets are there, although you really want to watch your step. Can’t think it would be much fun riding these streets in a chariot and keeping your teeth from rattling loose. Many palaces and temples are being uncovered and we must have walked hours and not seen it all.

Bus Tour of Rome

Day 10

We decide today to go downtown and get a 24 hour pass on the Jump On, Jump Off Green bus. We walk out to the main street to the bus stop but our bus never comes. Hmmm….the Pope is announcing new saints today, maybe the bus has been redirected. Off we go to the Metro station and take the subway downtown. We go looking for the Tourist Information as we want to buy a Rome Pass which will give us entrance to many different venues (two free entries and then discounts on further venues) and we can use it as a bus pass for three days. We finally find it and then we go looking for the bus company to by a 24 hour pass on the Green bus. This costs us 20 Euros. Boy was that worth it. There are 12 stops on the route and the bus comes by every 20 minutes. It stops at major attractions and is a double decker so you can sit inside or out. The whole route takes 2 hours and we decide that we will do the whole route once and then pick something to visit.
The view is great from the top deck of the bus! You see way more than you would from inside.