Tag: Roman Forum

Club Italy Vacation 2023 Day 4

Monday, June 5, 2023

This morning we were up very early to take the Metro to the Vatican. It was rainy but it didn’t stop us from arriving at our Vatican Museums tour at our check-in time of 7:15 AM and our tour began at 7:30 AM. We checked in, met our guide, and had time to use the restroom before heading out on our tour. I can’t emphasize enough what a great idea it was to do this tour before the museums opened to the general public at 9:00 AM. It felt like a private tour in the museums and the Sistine Chapel.

Our group before heading into the museums.
Our guide, Floriana
Part of the Vatican Museum on the left
The Pope’s Garden

The Vatican Museums house more than 70,000 exhibits in an area of 42,000 meters (or 26 miles)! There was no way that we could experience it all in a few hours! Floriana, our own guide for the ten of us, did a fantastic job! We took a lot of pictures of the exhibits we saw but we only posted a few of our favorites here.

Pictures weren’t allowed in the Sistine Chapel. When we were sitting in there and looking at the ceiling and the walls it was like having the space to ourselves. We thoroughly enjoyed our private tour and then when we were finished, our ticket included breakfast in the Pigna Courtyard (or the Pinecone Courtyard)!

After our delicious breakfast, we then had to walk through some of the museums to get to St. Peter’s Basilica. Well, it was packed with people and it was quite an ordeal to get out! We made it and then spent some time in St. Peter’s.

Swiss Guards
St. Peter’s Basilica- the largest church in the world.
walking inside St. Peter’s Basilica
Heading toward St. Peter’s Chair
The Apse of St. Peter’s Basilica
Michelangelo’s Pieta
The Papal Altar in the foreground
Cupola

We went from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Roman Forum. It was the political, legal and religious center of the Roman Empire and was located between the Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Hill. It was first developed in the 7th century BC. After we walked through the Forum, we hiked up the Palentine Hill and took some pictures looking down onto the Forum.

Remains of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
Temple of Saturn
Looking at the Forum from Palentine Hill.
Looking at the Forum from Palentine Hill.
Looking at the Forum from Palentine Hill.

Below is the Arco di Tito (The Arch of Titus). It was built by the emperor Domitian to honor his older brother Titus. It was created in 81-85 AD.

Our last sight to visit was the Colosseum which was built between 69-79 AD. As we walked around and then in the Colosseum you could envision the gladiators fighting, animal hunts happening or public executions.

The Colosseum

Without going into a lot of specifics, if you visit any big city please be careful. There are many pick pockets and they are extremely slick. One of the members of our group had his wallet taken and it was in a cargo short pocket that was buttoned! Crowded places are easy targets. We found the police were not helpful.

This evening we had dinner at another great family restaurant and celebrated Dave’s birthday!

It was a day filled with a lot of walking all around Rome with over 25,000 steps.

Club Italy Vacation 2023 Day 1 and Day 2

Friday, June 2, 2023 and Saturday, June 3, 2023

After over a year of planning this trip to Italy and it was finally here! Ten of us are heading to Italy!

Joseph our driver!
We are SO excited!
John Glenn International Airport, here we come!

We had an afternoon flight from Columbus to Washington, DC and had a short layover before we boarded our United flight to Rome. Both flights went smoothly and we arrived in Rome around 8:30 AM. Saturday morning. Italy was 6 hours ahead of us.

Our flight pattern.
Off the plane to catch a shuttle for the main terminal.

We had a car service meet us at the airport and drove us to our hotel which was located on the outskirts of Rome!

Hilton Rome Eur La Lama

Our rooms were ready so we all went to our rooms to clean up after our 24 hour day! We met and walked to the closest Metro station to head into Rome! We rode the subway to the Colosseum stop. When we walked up the steps, the first sight for our group was the Roman Colosseum! Dave and I were the only members of our group that had visited Rome before. The rest of our group was in awe. Their expressions and comments were priceless!

The Colosseum- their first view.

Even though our group was exhausted we spent the afternoon exploring “The Eternal City”! We walked by the Forum and visited the Trevi Fountain where we all tossed our coin over our left shoulder to ensure our return to Rome. The Trevi Fountain was the most famous fountain in Rome. It was built in the mid-seventeen hundreds. It was the largest Baroque fountain in the city and known throughout the world.

We also walked up the Spanish Steps! They were built between 1723 and 1726 and consisted of 135 steps and 3 different terraces. The steps began at the Piazza di Spagna up to the French monastery church, Trinita dei Monti. At the top was a great view filled with many tourists.

The Spanish Steps
The view from the top!

Below is a slideshow of more of the sights that we saw on our first day in Rome!

Picture 1- Piazza del Campidoglio, Picture 2- part of the Forum, Picture 3- Roman Forum as we walk by, Picture 4- walking from our hotel to the Metro station, Picture 5- the Pantheon from the side, Picture 6- the front of the Pantheon, Picture 7- Piazza della Minerva, Picture 8- Monument to Cola di Rienzo, Picture 9- Forum of Caesar