Tried to Get to Appian Way - Toured Around Instead

We are up earlier today!  Yeah!

A quick breakfast, shower and we are out of here.  Oh happy Halloween Everyone.  Although I see some signs of Halloween around Rome it is not like it is in North America.  But it also was Bernie Dad's Birthday.  

So our first stop was Santa Maria in Trastevere Church.  We have been here before and wanted to stop in again. It is so quiet this time.  We sit and reflect and light some candles for our family, but especially in honour of Bernie Senior.  I know he is watching us and is very proud of us.

Next stop - you guessed it -- espresso.  Oh my I love how easy it is to get a shot here and how inexpensive it is.  Takes no time and we are off for our next adventure.

There are a few spots we want to visit that we never got to on previous trips and the first one is Appia Antica or Appian Way.

Google Maps provides detailed information on bus routes and that is how we get there.  Don't forget to buy your transit ticket from a kiosk or tobacco stand prior to board.  Buses don't sell tickets here.  Also buy a return ticket.  

We bought four tickets at 1.50 E each.  When you get on the bus make sure to validate your ticket.  It provides 90 minutes of travel.

Bus 118 takes you right to the start of Appian Way.  

When we get off we are a little confused.  Not sure where to go.  Finally after a bit of wandering we figured it out.  But darn it is closed.  How can it be closed.  

Well apparently there were quite a few trees that toppled over.  Lots of branches that are down and a bit of flooding that caused a mess from the storms on Sunday and Monday.

Darn...  

So back out to the street to catch the bus going back.  Thankfully it is not too far out of the city center.

We get off to see the Mouth of Truth.  Do you remember that scene in Roman Holiday?  Well I do...  

It is free to visit, and the line is not that long, but I am guessing it is at least a half hour to wait and I don't feel like waiting just to get a picture with my hand in the mouth.  You can take pictures from the side of it and that is just what I did.

Back on a bus to the Victor Emanuelle Monument.  We decided to head back to a restaurant we fell in love with the last time we were here.  

See all the added security

La Cabana is within walking distance of the monument and a lot of locals come here.

We enjoy an amazing meal and walk away stuffed.  I can get use to having the big meal mid day.  Two days in a row and I am enjoying it.

From here we have more exploring to do.

We walk to the Trevi Fountain - man what a zoo.  Always is.  I quickly take a picture and leave.  I really do not like these high tourist spots but feel it is necessary to visit.

Also watch out for the pick pockets at places like this.  Tons of people, shoulder to shoulder with little place to move.

Oh I want to add that the last time we were in Rome all those selfie sticks were a nuisance.  I am happy to report that I see fewer and fewer of them now.  Now I find people walking while staring at their phones a nuisance.  But this happens everywhere and I have to have some kind of gripe.  Do people on their phones bother you?  Or is it just me?  Stop and move over people if you need to check your phone, not in the middle of the sidewalk.  Okay I will get off my soapbox.

Next stop the Pantheon.  The crowds are minimal and it is nice to find a quiet spot to really enjoy the church and it's beauty.  I had heard that they were looking at charging a minimal entrance fee.  I am happy to say that no they are still not charging - not sure how they can as churches are suppose to be free.  But also remember you need to dress appropriately, no hats, no shorts, no talking on the phone etc.

Off to Piazza Navona.  Again it is quieter here that on past visits.  

Campo de Fiori is a miss for us.  It is a touristy area that sells mainly to tourist only.  I would rather visit a local market than this square.  But it is quite interesting to watch the people. 

We cross the Tiber and get some sundry items for the apartment.  Soap, cereal, milk, wine, sparkling water and a chocolate bar (priorities).  

Back at the apartment for 4 pm and we will relax here until later tonight when we will go out for our evening stroll and maybe a small bite to eat.  Oh and I feel gelato may be in the plans too.

  

Wednesday November 11, 2015 – Civitavecchia for Rome

It is an early port day, we arrive for 7 am but we are docked earlier to that and clearance came quick.  The NCL Epic is in port too and we have friends getting on her today.

This is an industrial port and you have to take a ship’s shuttle to the main port gate – note that the main port gate is a little further north than it use to be and from what Rick Steve’s mentions. 

The Patter mentions that the first shuttle will start at 7:30 but we are down there at 7:20 and they are loading the shuttle buses that are like public buses now – when we came to board on Oct 25 we had big highway coaches and place to store luggage underneath.  The buses we have now are quick and easy to load.  The shuttle ride is about 7 minutes and drops you right at the port gate. 

Once at the gate you can meet up with your private guide here (note Princess Excursions come right to the pier to pick you up).  You can also hire a taxi here as well.  The other option was to take the small shuttle bus to the train station – cost was 2E each.  

the shuttle from the port to the train station

But since we have about 50 minutes before our train leaves we decide to walk.  The walk is an easy one and pretty flat and for us it took about 15 minutes but give yourself 20 minutes just in case.  In fact when we arrived at the train we beat the shuttle that many from our shuttle bus were on.

the train station

Now when you arrive at the train station there was a ticket booth selling bus tickets with hop on hop off tickets and at first we were going to go in there but we noticed it said travel agent and did not look like the train ticket booth.  Sneaky… cause many were buying them, and perhaps unwittingly.

We find the ticket booth in the train station and we buy the BIRG ticket which is 12E each (may be cheaper for seniors – but I can’t confirm).  The BIRG ticket gives you round trip transport on the train and then unlimited use of the buses/trams and metro in Rome, ticket expires at midnight.

We are taking the 842 train into Roma – but we will get off at Trastevere.  Note the stop prior is San Pietro for the Vatican, but the train then heads to Termini if necessary.  

don't forget to validate your ticket

You should check the train scheduled from their website ahead of time.  The train trip to Trastevere is about 45 minutes give or take five.

check the board for what track your train will arrive on

but first a coffee stop

Once off the train we catch the #8 bus – or you can take the tram to Cesto Bridge where we start Rick Steve’s Trastevere audio tour. 

We love the tour and the places it takes us. 

The Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is stunning and the story behind it even better.

Another great church is Santa Maria in Trastevere.

   
The tour took about an hour and we cross over the bridge over the Tiber and wander around checking out churches, sites and even the Piazzo Navona. 

We are determined to go to a restaurant that our friend Claudio recommended.  We tried on two different occasions to dine her when we stayed in Rome but to no avail.  This time we make it to the restaurant Maccheroni.

The place fills up quickly with workers, no tourists, but they are very helpful and we get a starter.  Anchovies in butter for Bernie and I get a cheese and honey plate.  For our entrée I get the pasta with spicy cheese and Bernie gets their penne with tomato and basil and chilies and it is good too.  Of course a litre of house wine.  No dessert and the whole meal comes to 50E and was very very good.

We are full and we have been walking a lot but we are determined to walk to the Trevi Fountain now that it is now open.  It is a short walk of about 15 minutes and the place is packed – a lot different than the last time we were here.

We each throw a coin into the fountain to ensure our return. 

The place is hoping – all of Rome is it seems.  The weather is great (low 20s) in fact we take off layers.  We are walking back and stop by the Pantheon and then catch the tram, back to a few stops shy of the train station.  We walk back to the train station after picking up a few sundries – shampoo/conditioner and aspirin.

At the station we run into Karin and John who are just heading back too.  We catch the train just after 1500 (I believe it was 1527) and it is busy.  The ride is quick and we get up and get off all together and we notice it is a little different but we start walking along the roadway and we are laughing and catching up with John/Karin. 

After walking for about 15 minutes we all comment that this just doesn’t look similar to this morning. 

Oh no we got off at the stop prior to the one we needed to.  What town are we in?  It is not Civitavecchia.  Okay we can turn around and high tail it back and hopefully catch another train.  We are early, still it is around 16:30 and the last shuttle from the pier is 1800.

Thankfully we walk fast enough to catch the 16:55 train!  

Our last option – next option would have been a taxi.  But if by chance we did miss the ship we could easily have taken a train to the next port of Livorno for the next day.  But we made it and we are off in Civitavecchia – now this station does look familiar at 17:05.

The 2E shuttle was there waiting but we have enough time to walk back and I want to see the town a bit more.  There is quite a bit here.  You will certainly find anything you may need here.  The town is lovely and I would love to explore it some more in the future.

Taking the train into Rome is a very easy option and very economical and you have the flexibility of planning your own day.  It is very unlikely you could catch any train prior to 8:15 if docking at 7:00.

We are back on board and we are beat!  I don’t want to dress for dinner and we head up to the Horizon Court – but we are not the only ones with that idea.  The place is very busy, but the ship seems to manage quite well.

It will be an early night for us – we are both tired and I am just under 30,000 steps today.  All that walking in Rome and then back and forth from the wrong port sure adds up.  See even I can screw up but it was easily fixed and makes a great story now.

We are watching tv in the cabin right now and we have put out the breakfast room service menu for tomorrow.  

Tomorrow we are in Livorno and we are heading to Florence with a scheduled meeting time of 7:15 in Crooners we better get a good rest.

Wednesday - First Day in Rome

Finally we are up, showered and ready to go and it is around 10:30.  

We walk down our street, and there are some ruins of Ludus Magnus.  We are walking towards the Colosseum and the crowds are heavy.  The structure still has some scaffolding but it is still very impressive.  

Of course this is our first time here and we are trying to figure out how to get thru the Forum but we soon realize we have to go around the Forum.  Lots of crowds and the sidewalk is packed but we manage.  

We are trying to make our way to Campo de Fiori to start the Walking tour of Rome from Rick Steve's book.

After getting turn around numerous times we finally walk into the beautiful square.  It is still early so the food/flower/you name it stalls are selling their items.

We buy some cheese and some salami for a lovely vendor - ask for samples before you pick.  We bought from Mauro & Marco Berardi  who were very helpful and let us try a few things before settling on two salamis and a cheese.  Will go perfect with our wine later.

Our next stop is Piazza Navona with the Four Rivers Fountain.  

The beautiful Church of St. Anges and her statue, which I did get a picture of but sorry turned out fuzzy.  Will hopefully get back and take another shot later.

Next stop is the Pantheon and it is quite busy and we are getting tired - we are at hour three and we didn't get breakfast or a coffee so we seek out someplace to eat and get back to tour later.

We head to Miscellanea that is located right behind the Pantheon.  The place is busy with workers on their lunch break and some students.  We take a seat and we are both so happy to just relax for a bit.

A lovely couple - Scotty and Mindy - beside us are here visiting too.  They are from Dallas and they are on a bike trip, they started in Croatia and ended here.  I am so impressed.  

For lunch we get a litre of house wine (sounded good at the time), a bottle of water.  We start with bruschetta, a salad and a tomato and basil pasta. We share the entire meal which is a good thing cause there is quite a bit of food. The total cost of lunch came in at 35 E.

Okay now that we have some food, and some wine - we are feeling good and giggly.  We decide now is the time to head to the Pantheon.  It is quieter and we are able to enter and really enjoy the space.

We turn on Rick Steve's audio guide for the Pantheon which is about a half hour and he goes into detail about the site.  

We are walking, we are walking... that is what it feels like cause there are numerous walking tours and we swim thru them as we head to our next stop.  

The Egyptian Obelisk - what is stunning is you are walking down narrow streets, many are just pedestrian access only and you come out on this huge square and each square has something amazing in it.  

Here the Egyptian Obelisk stands tall and proud as the trophy by Augustus after his victory in Egypt over Mark Anthony and Cleopatra.  

Right there is the Parliament building and we see lots of security and camera crews just waiting for a chance to speak to a politician.  

The tour takes us into the Galleria Giolittis, which is perfect as we both need to use the washroom.  But oh there is a long queue.  Many women are in line, and the men's line is short so many women just use the men's as there are stalls in there.  So when in Rome.... I use the men's and Bernie used the women's no kidding, he used the men's washroom.

Crowds are getting heavier, it is getting noisy and sure enough we see why.  The Trevi Fountain.  But it is still under renovation.  They said that it was going to be done this fall; however I am pretty sure that is not going to happen.  Still lots of work to do.

People crowd up to the plexi glass and take a picture, oh and many selfies, and those dreaded selfie sticks.  Really hate those, and twice today I almost got smacked by them. But if you really want one trust me here is the place to get them, they sell them all over the place.  

We stop into the beautiful Santa Maria in Trivio church.  A mass is going on so we sit quietly at the back and admire the beauty.  

Back onto our walk and we are heading towards the Spanish Steps which is named for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, which has been here for 300 years.  

Oh no there is fence blocking the stairs... gee it looks like it is under renovation too.  Oh well, so take a picture and move on.  

By now it is five and we look at each other and I say "I have hit the wall and I need to rest".  Bernie agrees so we turn right and head to the Spagna Metro Station.  

1.5E is the fare and we are heading to the stop closest to our apartment - Manzoni.  Of course it is rush hour and the trains are packed!  I mean PACKED.  We squeeze in.  

I know some would be very worried here about theft, but take precautions.  I kept my camera at my chest and I had nothing of value in any of my pockets.  Bernie is carrying the pacsafe knapsack and has his wallet in it and has the locking mechanism attached and is holding the bag in front. We also left most valuables - like most cash, passports and a different credit card at the hotel in our portable safe.

sorry blurry but you can see how busy the train is

Each stop people squeeze on!  We get to our stop and we push thru (seems this is common and somehow it works).  

We end up at the road way and I have to get my bearings.  I pull out my phone and use the wonderful map app that I found that doesn't need wifi and can identify exactly where we are and I can figure out where to go from there.

We could of taken the tram a few stops but it is only a short walk (five minutes) to our apartment.  And boy am I glad we are here!  

We basically drop everything and crawl into bed - it is around 5:30 pm.