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| Coliseum |
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| Francesco & M.A. |
Our stay was
at the four-star modern Hotel Tiber in Fiumencino (near the airport) and it was
exceptional. I even found Fox News on the TV along with ESPN and watched some
baseball. Monday morning we got up and went to the top of the hotel for a
fantastic breakfast. Most European hotels offer a “continental” breakfast
but this hotel had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hot toast, yogurt, orange
juice, coffee and more.
Our private
guide, Francesco, showed up right on time at 9am. He is in his mid-thirties,
handsome, wavy dark hair and he has a warm smile. I think MA was slightly
dazzled by him! He also spoke excellent English, a lot of which he
learned at home from his mother. But when someone speaks a second language
well, it is usually a sign they spent some time in the country of that language
as did Francesco who came to College Station, Texas for a while. Small world!
His tour company is family owned and specializes in the history, the secrets,
back roads, cappuccino cafes and ice cream parlors of Rome. They operate
with 17 Mercedes vans running every single day! And btw, they are recommended
by Rick Steves.
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| Pantheon |
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| St. Peter's dome |
The first stop of the day was Francesco’s neighborhood which is near the Vatican. We got there via his secretly known back streets bypassing the infamous Rome traffic jams. The first order of business was his favorite coffee shop where we all had a cappuccino. This was like no other cappuccino I've ever had. Excellent describes it best! From there we went to a nearby hill where we had a great view of the Vatican and Rome.
We then went proceeded to the oldest part
of the city where the streets were built for horse drawn carts and
pedestrians. They are barely wide enough for one car going one way.
Somehow Francesco had a way of finding a place to park or if not, he just
double parked! When in Rome!! We stopped at the Ciuri Ciuri, a pastry and ice
cream shop and he treated us to a really, really good canola, very Italian.
He knows all these people personally and it’s fun to watch the interactions in
Italian. At this point I knew our private tour was the right decision!
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| Pantheon interior |
Our next stop was
the Pantheon. It was built in 126 AD as a temple for all the Roman gods
but served as a Roman Catholic Church since the 7th Century You can
actually attend Mass on Sunday morning there. The Pantheon consists of a large
circular portico with three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns. The
portico opens into a rotunda which is topped with a concrete dome with a
central opening: the oculus. Almost two thousand years after it was
built, the Pantheon's dome is still the largest un-reinforced concrete
dome in the world.
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| Victor Emmanuel Memorial |
Our next stop was
at the column of Marcus
Aurelius, in Piazza Colonna. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief. It
was built in honor of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius depicting his
victories over the Germanic tribes.
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| Marcus Arilus Column |
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| Spanish Steps |
Next we stopped at the Trevi Fountain, the
largest Baroque fountain in Rome. We tossed in a couple Euro coins, took a
couple of photos and continued on to the Spanish Steps. You are supposed
to make a wish and toss them in over your shoulder, facing away from the
fountain.
From there we went on to the Spanish
steps. Francesco said that he did not know why they are such a tourist
attraction other than the movie, “Roman Holiday.” Today the food police will
ticket anyone caught eating on those steps.
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| Circus Maximus |
Speaking of eating, it was lunch time and
Francesco took us to his favorite spot where most of the UN workers come for
lunch. It is called Gustomassimo and it’s near the ancient Circus
Maximus. The Circus Maximus was the largest stadium in ancient Rome.
Popular chariot races were held her for almost a thousand years. At
one point it could seat 250,000 people, one quarter of Rome's population.
I think that's bigger than the Rose Bowl. Lunch was pasta, salad
cheese and Italian bread. Yum!
From there we drove along the
Apian Way and visited an underground Crypt, then the catacombs, one of the
ancient burial grounds for the Roman Empire and early Christians. A
church was erected at the entrance. It has a carved wooden ceiling that
is indescribably beautiful. We made a drive by the Vatican (big crowds
there), saw St. Peter’s Cathedral. The Coliseum was next, what a mammoth
structure that is and oh boy, the things that went on in there!
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| Us at the Trevi Fountain |
Once again we found ourselves in
Francesco’s neighborhood. He took us to an ice cream shop and they
treated us some marvelous ice cream, gelato in Italian. All throughout the
day Francesco shared the history of his beloved home town. We were sorry to see
the end of our tour as he drove us back to our hotel. All I can say is we
thoroughly enjoyed everything, well worth every Euro.
Tuesday morning early we checked out of
the hotel, ate breakfast and got the shuttle to the airport. We flew from Rome
to Frankfurt and then nonstop on to Houston (about 10 hours). MA spent most
of the flight with her IPAD games and watched one movie. I, however,
watched five different movies!
As soon as we got home and unloaded the
car I went to get Tanner. Susan, his adoptive mom from when he was taken
into the rescue center, had taken excellent care of him. I do think he
wanted to take one of the Irish wolfhounds home with him as a playmate.
He seems a little puzzled about where his 7 buddies are.
Well then “ciao” as they say in
Rome. Soon as we get two weeks of laundry done we’ll start planning our
next trip!
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| Good-bye from Rome |
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