After a wonderful final night in The Eternal City - a great dinner followed by (arguably) Rome's best gelato & a stroll through Rome's atmospheric backstreets to the Spanish Steps - we arose early for our transfer to Rome's Fiumcino Airport.
It has been a great trip so thanks to everyone for their great company over the last couple of weeks, & especially to Edie & Cham for their hard work, from suggesting Sicily as a destination, to spreading the word, & finally to Cham's organization of some great free time activities.
What's in store for 2014? Prague, Vienna & Budapest, in September 2014!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
09/20/13: A Day Trip to Tivoli
On our last full day we left Rome behind & headed to the nearby town of Tivoli to visit two beautiful historic villas.
Our first visit was to the villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian, created to his designs in the 2nd century AD. Most of the site is in ruins now so we began our visit at a scale model to see how the huge villa complex looked in Hadrian's time.
On our final evening we rode the city bus ('When in Rome, do as the Romans do!') to the Pantheon, to enjoy a last taste of Rome before dinner.
And after dinner we stopped for (arguably) Rome's best gelato as we strolled towards the Spanish Steps, our last sightseeing in the Eternal City!
Our first visit was to the villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian, created to his designs in the 2nd century AD. Most of the site is in ruins now so we began our visit at a scale model to see how the huge villa complex looked in Hadrian's time.
From Hadrian's villa we traveled the short distance into Tivoli town center.
After lunch we next visited the Villa d'Este, the 16th century villa of a cardinal, complete with some of the most spectacular Renaissance gardens in Italy. The most striking feature of the gardens are the many gravity-powered fountains, supplied by water from two Roman aqueducts flowing through the town.
On our final evening we rode the city bus ('When in Rome, do as the Romans do!') to the Pantheon, to enjoy a last taste of Rome before dinner.
And after dinner we stopped for (arguably) Rome's best gelato as we strolled towards the Spanish Steps, our last sightseeing in the Eternal City!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
09/19/13: Over the Border to the Vatican!
After a short metro ride & walk, we left Rome & Italy behind this morning as we crossed the international border to the Vatican, an entirely independent country in the heart of Rome!
Our guide this morning was Nicoletta, yesterday's guide Stuart's wife & an expert on art history.
Our Vatican tour included seeing many highlights of the enormous world-class collection of art en-route to seeing the highlights of our tour - the Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica.
After our tour the afternoon & evening were free, so we traveled back to our hotel together, then the group went their separate ways to sightsee, shop or just relax.
Our guide this morning was Nicoletta, yesterday's guide Stuart's wife & an expert on art history.
Our Vatican tour included seeing many highlights of the enormous world-class collection of art en-route to seeing the highlights of our tour - the Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica.
After our tour the afternoon & evening were free, so we traveled back to our hotel together, then the group went their separate ways to sightsee, shop or just relax.
09/18/13: Morning options & Ancient Rome
This morning, our first in Rome, we split into two groups.
Half of the party went to the Vatican to attend the weekly papal audience, getting the see Pope Francis up close & hear his weekly address.
The rest of the group took a relaxed walking tour through the city's Centro Storico neighborhood, stopping in the Campo dei Fiori to wander through the daily market, visiting Piazza Navona, & then seeing two of the beautiful churches in this area - San Luigi dei Francesci (St. Louis of France, home to a Caravaggio altar) & Santa Maria sopra Minerva (St. Mary over Minerva, home to a Michelangelo sculpture & the tombs of St. Catherine of Siena & Fra Angelico).
After lunch we all met up again at Trajan's Column to begin our tour of Ancient Rome with our expert local guide Stuart. As well as Trajan's Column & Market we also visited the Roman Forum & finally the Colosseum.
Deciding to walk back to the hotel after our tour, we were able to make a quick detour to visit the church of St. Peter in Chains, home of the chains that held Peter in both Jerusalem & Rome & also to Michelangelo's famous Moses statue.
Half of the party went to the Vatican to attend the weekly papal audience, getting the see Pope Francis up close & hear his weekly address.
The rest of the group took a relaxed walking tour through the city's Centro Storico neighborhood, stopping in the Campo dei Fiori to wander through the daily market, visiting Piazza Navona, & then seeing two of the beautiful churches in this area - San Luigi dei Francesci (St. Louis of France, home to a Caravaggio altar) & Santa Maria sopra Minerva (St. Mary over Minerva, home to a Michelangelo sculpture & the tombs of St. Catherine of Siena & Fra Angelico).
After lunch we all met up again at Trajan's Column to begin our tour of Ancient Rome with our expert local guide Stuart. As well as Trajan's Column & Market we also visited the Roman Forum & finally the Colosseum.
Deciding to walk back to the hotel after our tour, we were able to make a quick detour to visit the church of St. Peter in Chains, home of the chains that held Peter in both Jerusalem & Rome & also to Michelangelo's famous Moses statue.
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