Day 21 Rome Italy Port of Civitavecchia

Tout Description: Experience the elegance of Rome on this exceptional guided walking tour of its most exquisite sights. A scenic 90-minute motorcoach ride to the Eternal City begins the day. Visit the spectacular Vatican Museum, a complex that houses one of the most impressive and varied collections of art in the world, and the Sistine Chapel, home to the masterpieces of the great artist, Michelangelo. Stroll through St. Peter's Square, the striking piazza that frames the entrance to the Basilica. Enjoy outside views of this sacred Renaissaince Church. Savor a mid-day lunch in an elegant 5-star restaurant/hotel. Proceed to the Colosseum, one of the grandest of all city monuments, and end your day with the wish that you'll return once more. Legend has it that if you turn your back and toss a coin into the exquisite Trevi Fountain you are guaranteed to someday revisit Rome.

OK, Now our version:

     

We started out with an hour and a half bus ride to Rome. Our first stop is the Vatican museum and gardens. It is the smallest country in the world, 44 hectares. There is a huge line, but we got to bypass it. This line is just to get in. The line is so large, that I doubt you would get in that day. Seriously! It is VERY crowded. Part of this has to be because it was a Saturday, and we found out later there was some sort of celebration in Rome the day before, with a parade. So that might have swelled the city's population some this weekend.

I think without a tour group you would never get in. It was an overwhelming.

So much art, tapestry, paintings, and statues. Such opulence of the church.

The Sistine chapel is beautiful, much bigger than I thought it would be, and you aren't allowed to take pictures or talk in there. I pictured a chapel being a small place. They won't let you talk or take pictures there. It was 140 ft long. Then we went to see Saint Peter's Square and basilica. Absolutely fabulous, words don't describe it.

Someone in our tour group took a fall and was taken away by ambulance. I wonder how they get back to the ship, or if they will miss the sailing. It's noon now and we are heading to the golden trough. We were told lunch was in a roof top restaurant, but no. It was a lovely dining room though.

We went on to the Colosseum which was huge but just in the middle of town. There's no space around it. 

I think they should restore at least part of it. It would be more impressive if it was restored so you could get a better perspective of what it would have bee like in it's prime.

The steps are steep and tall. From there we walked down the Roman forum.

 

Our guide said the buildings were painted with many bright colors in wax so the colors did not last.

Saw some buildings in partial states of repair and a new monument that they put up with horses and very valiant looking.

 

Then we walked down to the Trevi fountain. 

It was so crowded. We couldn't get near it. I did get a couple pictures by lifting my phone over my head, but we never could get close enough to throw any coins in. It was hot and by this time of the day we were all tired. So we had a gelato so we could use their bathroom and walked to where the bus was supposed to be waiting. It wasn't. Our guide called the bus and he says I'm right there. I'm almost there. 20 minutes later he still wasn't there yet. We were beginning to worry that he wasn't going to get there with enough time for our hour and a half journey back to the port before the ship leaves. But eventually it all worked out. Our tour and one other tour group came back just in the time of nick. We don't know if anybody else was later. A shower felt so nice. And I'm going to have a salad for dinner cuz I didn't get one for lunch.