Certainly we have all
heard the proverb 'When in Rome...'
but do you know it’s origin and true meaning?
The phrase is
derived from a medieval Latin phrase which is attributed to St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan who lived in the fourth century AD and wrote the proverb in
387 AD.
 |
| St Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan |
The original
Latin proverb was, ‘si fueris Romae,
Romano vivito more’ which means ‘if you are in Rome, then live in the Roman
manner’.
A visit to
Rome was a 2 night portion of an eight day trip I concluded a week ago with my
daughter Tamie, daughter-in-law Trista and family friend Heather.
Part of our eight day adventure also included a
three-night cruise from Barcelona to Rome on the Norwegian Epic. For my complete review of the Norwegian Epic
click here.
 |
| 4,100 passenger Norwegian Epic |
Cruise ships
do not dock in Rome. The port for Rome is Civitavecchia. This sea port is located on the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 60 kilometers (37 miles)
west-north-west of the center of Rome.
Civitavecchia is a working port with over 30 docks. On the day of our arrival we docked at pier
25, one of the farthest away from the port entrance.
Depending on your method of transportation the trip from Civitavecchia to Roma Termini Train Station will take somewhere between 1 to 1.5 hours.
 |
| Route from Port of Civitavecchia to Rome airport |
Rome is also ranked
as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in all of Italy.
Our eight days
of travel would only include 2 nights in Rome, certainly not enough time to see or
experience all this historic city has to offer but enough time to realize a return
visit would be a must.
First
order of business after disembarkation in Civitavecchia, was making our way to
the Civitavecchia train station. We were
holding confirmed train tickets to Roma Termini Railway Station, the main train station in
downtown Rome.
 |
| Map of the Port of Civitavecchia |
 |
| Map of Port of Civitavecchia |
Although the
distance between the port and the Civitavecchia Train Station is only 1.5
kilometers (0.93 mile), the trip would take us 30 minutes. First, we boarded a free port shuttle bus that
transported us from dock 25 to the Largo della Pace Service Center (also known
Porta di Città ).
 |
| Largo della Pace Service Center |
 |
| Welcome booth at Port of Civitavecchia | |
|
 |
| Port bus - white / CSP City Bus - Green |
From here you
need to transfer to the green CSP City Bus. They operate every 10 minutes at a cost of
$2 Euros.
Note: Be sure you have Euros on hand
as they do not take USD or credit card.
We arrived at
the Civitavecchia train station at 7:40am.
Our pre-purchased train tickets were for the regional train #2335 scheduled to
depart Civitavecchia at 8:42am and arrive into Roma Termini Train Station at 9:42am.
 |
| Civitavecchia train station |
At the train station you will find a very
small restaurant area serving coffee and pastries but nothing resembling a
typical American breakfast. They also
have a very small sitting area.
 |
| Small food area inside Civitavecchia Train Station |
 |
| Inside Civitavecchia Train Station |
 |
| Seating area inside Civitavecchia Train Station |
 |
| Seating area inside Civitavecchia Train Station |
When the train
arrived we only identified one first class car.
I had purchased first class tickets but somewhat skeptical as there were
no seat assignments on our tickets. When
we boarded the first class car there were NO seats available. A quick check of the car in front and the car
in back revealed that ALL seats were taken.
All four of us, plus many others, would have to stand. It was evident that they sold many more tickets than they had seats.
Note: I would not buy a first class ticket again as
you don’t have an assigned seat and you may end up standing anyway.
I was going to complain to the conductor but
no one ever came around to check for tickets.
We arrived in
the Roma Termini Train Station at 9:48am. We
took a taxi from the train station to Residenza Montecitorio, our accommodations for two nights.
 |
| Map showing Roma Termini and Residenza Montecitorio locations |
We took a taxi to our hotel and after checking
in and dropping our luggage, we made our way to the Spanish Steps.
They are located about 700 meters (0.43 mile) from our hotel and the walk took less than 10
minutes.
 |
| Spanish Steps / 174 steps |
 |
| Our rainy day visit to the Spanish Steps |
 |
| Big Bus Rome |
 |
| Big Bus Rome Route Map |
Note: Download the FREE Big Bus Tours app from Google Play
or the Apple Store
for an interactive companion that lists all of the landmarks, routes and up to
the minute schedules for each of the routes offered.
By the time we
boarded the bus at Piazza Barberini it was raining again. Along with our audio headsets we were handed
plastic raincoats.
 |
| Big Bus Rome raincoats and new friend from Central Point, Oregon |
The bus we had boarded was taking
the Red Route. We sat in the upper deck
and thankful it was covered.
 |
| Big Bus Rome / Covered Top deck |
Stops on the
Red Route included:
By the time we
arrived back at Piazza Barberini we were drenched and freezing. We made our way to a small little
pub/restaurant called Antico Ristoro Barberini and welcomed two rounds of hot coffee and Baileys.
 |
| Entrance to Antico Ristoro |
 |
| Inside Antico Ristoro |
 |
| Coffee and Baileys at Antico Ristor |
After thawing
out a bit, though still raining, we made our way back to our hotel, an 8 minute
walk.
This
restaurant is located just a couple hundred meters from our hotel and took us 2
minutes to walk there.
 |
| Entrance to Pizza Ciro |
 |
| Inside Pizza Ciro |
This restaurant
proved to be an excellent choice. We were greeted cheerfully and seated immediately. Our waiter was a lovely man, full of personality, who served us with a smile and made the whole experience very pleasant, even serenading us at the end of the evening. Although this place isn't fancy or upscale, it serves quality Italian food at a reasonable price. Prices for wine carafes were excellent. Food was also excellent, from the bruschetta with fresh toppings, to the main dish.
 |
| A toast to the day's adventure |
 |
| Bruscetta appetizer |
 |
| One of our entree's |
The evening ended with our waiter serenading us. Click here to watch the video. It
was a perfect way to end the evening.
 |
| Our server serenading us at the end of our dinner |
Our last full
day in Rome began with an 8 minute walk to the Pantheon.
 |
| The Pantheon |
The Pantheon's dome is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Once a Roman
temple, the Pantheon is now a church. It is considered to be the most influential building of ancient Rome and is visited by over 6 million people yearly.
 |
| L to R: Tamie Saffer, Trista Sparlin, Heather Harper, Sharon Sparlin |
 |
| Piazza della Rotondo with Fountain and Obelisk |
The Fountain in
front of the Pantheon was constructed in 1575 and the obelisk was added in 1711.
 |
| Piazza della Rotondo fountain |
 |
| Piazza della Rotondo fountain |
 |
| Piazza della Rotondo obelisk |
After our visit to the Pantheon we made our way to a small little restaurant in Piazza della Rotondo area called Cafe Da Claudia, one of the many outdoor restaurants surrounding the
Pantheon.
 |
| Cafe Da Claudia Restaurant at Pantheon |
 |
| View of the Pantheon from our seats at Cafe Da Claudia |
This restaurant offered us a fantastic
morning view of the beautiful Pantheon, allowing you to enjoy our breakfast while taking in the beehive of activity around us.
 |
| My order of French Toast with ham/cheese - Tasty |
Standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres
(161.3 ft) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous
fountains in the world.
 |
| Trevi Fountain |
 |
| Standing in front of Trevi Fountain |
 |
| Trevi Fountain Panorama |
There are
actually two superstitious legends to explain why people are obsessed
with throwing coins in the fountain. The first says that if you throw a coin from your
right hand backwards over your left shoulder, you will definitely return
to Rome.
The second legend, inspired the film "Three Coins in the Trevi Fountain", says you must throw three coins into the fountain. The first
guarantees your return to Rome, the second leads to a new romance and the third will lead to marriage!
An estimated €3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day. In 2016, an estimated €1.4 million (US$1.5 million) was thrown into the
fountain.
The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy.
 |
| Collecting the coins at Trevi Fountain |
Leaving Trevi Fountain we made our way to the Big Bus Rome HOHO. The closest stop to us was stop #10 Piazza Venezia.
 |
| Piazza Venezia looking from Altare della Patria from the North-West |
The bus stop here proved to be a little difficult to
find. The Big Bus Rome stop is actually located at
the Theater Marcello bus stop. As you are facing
the Piazza Venezia you will head to your right on Piazza di S. Marco toward Via
del Teatro di Marcello. Continue on Via
del Teatro di Marcello to the second Teatro Marcello bus stop. It is about 500 meters (0.3 mile) to the stop
and will take you about 6 minutes.
 |
| Facing Piazza Venezia |
 |
| Big Bus Rome |
 |
| Big Bus Rome Route Map |
 |
| Bus Stop #10 looking toward Piazza Venezia |
We got off of the bus again at the Vatican stop #6. The Vatican
stop is located next to the Tiber River, the third largest river in Italy. The Vatican, however, is located across the
river so you will need to walk back to the pedestrian Ponte Sant’Angelo bridge and cross over the river.
 |
| Map for Stop #6 - Vatican |
The
walk will take about 15 minutes and will be dotted along the way with street vendors,
street entertainers and restaurants. Once you have crossed the bridge continue walking straight and you will see the main road
leading directly to the Vatican off to your left. Allow
yourself ample time for souvenir shopping here.
 |
| L to R: Trista Sparlin, Sharon Sparlin, Tamie Saffer, Heather Harper with Vatican in the background | |
 |
| "When in Rome. . . . ." |
Our next top was at stop #8 Piazza Barberini. This is the closest stop to our hotel and
also one of the two stops for the Spanish Steps. Before returning to the hotel we decided to enjoy a late lunch at the Gran Caffe Roma.
 |
| Outside seating at Gran Caffe Roma |
 |
| Outside seating at Gran Caffe Roma |
This outdoor restaurant is located just a couple blocks up the hill from bus stop #8. We ordered pizza and
drinks. Food was good and the price
reasonable. The setting was upscale and clean and we found it to be a very delightful experience.
 |
| Gran Caffe Roma Menu |
 |
| Gran Caffe Roma Menu |
 |
| Gran Caffe Roma Drinks Menu |
After lunch it was a 10 minute walk back to our hotel. With my foot issue I was ready to put my foot
up for a rest while the girls did a couple hours of shopping. By 6pm we were ready for dinner. Our restaurant selection for the evening was Angolo Sciarra Bar, just a 5
minute walk from the hotel.
 |
| Angolo Sciarra Bar in Rome |
 |
| Inside seating Angolo Sciarra Bar in Rome |
 |
| Indoor seating Angolo Scisrra Bsr in Rome |
 |
| Angolo Sciarra Drink Menu |
 |
| Angolo Sciarra Drink Menu |
 |
| Angolo Sciarra Drink Menu | |
We arrived during happy hour and enjoyed some fantastic
drinks along with a variety of finger foods. The drinks were creative and the atmosphere was electric.
 |
| Our drinks at Angolo Sciarra Bar |
On the way back to the hotel we located the stop for bus
#85 which we would be taking the following morning to Rome Termini.
Note: Be sure that you purchase your bus tickets
prior to boarding as they do not allow you to buy tickets on the bus. You can purchase them at any local newsstand. Our cost was $6 Euros for 4 tickets.
 |
| Purchase bus tickets at any newstand in Rome |
We arrived back to the hotel early, giving us ample time to
shower and pack for our early morning departure.
We were holding confirmed reservations with Norwegian Air on
a non-stop flight from Rome to LAX. The
trip to the Rome airport would take us a little over an hour and would include
a local bus and 2 trains.
We left our hotel at 6:30am and walked 2 minutes to the bus
stop. Bus #85 left at 6:38am. The trip to the Roma Termini
Train Station took us 12 minutes, arriving at 6:50am. We then needed to find the track for the
regional train #12230 which was scheduled to depart at 7:27am. That proved to be a little more difficult
than it should have been.
The tickets for the regional train would require that we make a transfer in
Trastavere. After asking directions from several people
we finally arrived at track 26. It proved to be a considerable walk.
We found this train to have plenty of seating and we left
right on time at 7:27am. The arrival
into Trastavere required us to change tracks and board another train. The second train delivered us to the Rome
Airport, terminal T3 at 8:18am.
Our
international flight to LAX was scheduled at 10:10am and we found ourselves checked, boarding pass in hand, by
8:45am. The Norwegian flight left on time at
10:10am and we arrived in LAX at 1:50pm, same day.
