Rome for Easter

I had planned a trip to Rome for Easter with ITT. But, not enough people were interested so the trip was cancelled. I couldn't believe it. Who wouldn't jump at the opportunity for Easter service with the Pope? Apparently a lot of people. Lucky for me, the Midwife was off for the weekend also and we decided to plan a weekend trip together. We hemmed and hawed and ultimately decided on Rome afterall. we decided late and train tickets were a little pricier than if we had made the decision earlier.

So, Friday morning, the Midwife was postcall and we headed to the train station and we were off.

We ran into Chief and her daughters heading to Venice for the day.

I had been searching for a selfie stick because I realized I was not doing a good job at pictures. I do want to prove I was actually there. We had a transfer in Venice Mestre and I found, not only a pink selfie stick, but vegan sandwiches.
Also thought it was funny to take pictures of McDonald's signs. I don't know why that cracks me up in Italy, but it does.


On the long train to Rome, we fidgeted and played with selfie stick and figured it out. Attach the cord and push the button, voila. Yes, it takes a few advanced degrees to figure this stuff out.

We arrived in Rome and wandered the train station until we found a place to by our Roma Pass. This pass allows us 3 days of unlimited public transportation and free entry into 2 tourist sites (Colliseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill count as 1). But, we also wanted to walk and explore a bit. So, we hauled our bags a little over a mile to the Spanish Steps where we found our bed and breakfast. They are doing some restoration work on the Spanish Steps, so they are closed for now, but still some great views.  Immediately outside the Roma Termini is an ancient wall to the city. It's an interesting juxtaposition to the modern.

We passed the Roman Bathhouses, but couldn't go in with bags. The streets and architecture and ancient finds everywhere are just breathtaking.

We booked on Booking.com and I was pleased with Casa Angelina. We were met at the door and shown into the teeny elevator.

How nice that they had soia milk for me and vegan pastries for breakfast.

This is a view looking towards our B&B. I loved the birds in the morning.

 And the view from the room was great.

After settling in a bit, it was time to explore. Trevi Fountain was high on our list tonight. The Midwife tossed a coin and made a wish. Apparently, every Monday the nuns collect the coins and the money is used to provide support for the poor in the city. Rumor is they collect approximately 30K Euro per week. WOW!!! That's a lot of wishes. I hope she gets hers.

 We wandered looking for dinner. We tried a restaurant from a guide book, but we had no reservations and were turned away. We did make a rule that we would NOT go to a place that was aggressively trying to get us to come in. Tourist trap. So, we found a place where the server allowed us to peruse the outside menu without pressure. I had my first sampling of Roman Artichokes. Holy Cow, a decadent item. And then a really amazing pasta for my main course. I wish I could tell you where this was, but I can't. It was just happenstance that we stumbled upon it in a random street.

Poor planning. I didn't charge and only had enough to show steps
from Train to Bed and Breakfast

Top of our "must see" list was the Sistine Chapel. The only way to see the Sistine Chapel is with a ticket to the Vatican Museums. You must go through certain halls of tapestries and maps to get inside. And, the lines are notoriously long, worse for Easter during Jubilee year. So, we purchased a tour. We woke in the morning and walked across the Tiber River and along Vatican City walls to find our tour meeting point. We booked through Viator and I honestly couldn't tell you the name of the tour company.

We joined our tour and were given headphones and radios and then it was off to the Vatican museums. The lines were long. Even for tour groups there were lines, but not as bad. Our guide got our tickets and directed us through the tour entrance.

It's totally crazy in here. Once through the entrance to the museums, we first traversed some of the grounds with great view of St. Peter's and some famed statues. I learned that the Pine Cone is a symbol of prosperity. The panels of the Sistine Chapel were explained to us because the guides are not allowed to explain inside.

I just thought the birds were sweet

Once inside the museums, we were shown through Ancient Roman statues. Our guide pointed out that some are copies. When I think copies, I think modern copies, but in this case it's Roman copies of Greek statues. Interesting. There are lots of reasons that these are considered famous and special and they have stories behind them. Too much to remember. Too much to write about.

We did get a decent view of the city and the Vatican gardens.

Then halls and halls of paintings and tapestries and maps and more statues. It wasn't just the art that was amazing, but also just the way the ceilings were decorated. These museums are several hundred years old and they were ornately decorated for the purpose of displaying this art. 

 We decided to skip the Raphael rooms and head straight to the chapel hoping to catch the door to St. Peter's before it was closed. The Chapel was both larger and smaller than I expected. And wall to wall people. We spend some time admiring the panels and looking for the features pointed out to us. Alas, we were too late and the door to St. Peter's was closed for Easter. We could go to St. Peter's if we wanted to stand in the long security lines from the Square. Instead, we opted to do different exploring and headed back to the metro. Along the way, we found this ... it even says Vegan on the sign!!!

 We took metro to the Colliseum and it was PACKED and the lines were LONG ... even the lines for the reserved tours.

So, we made a plan to return to the Colliseum tomorrow morning, early. Instead, we went to Palatine Hill and the Forum.

 

You know I love posting about food. And, we were getting hungry. These are some awesome chips. I love the wild flavors. 

Crowded metro back to the Spanish Steps and then a little wandering to find the Pantheon and see a few more iconic sites.

On the way, we came across these dogs. They broke my heart. I pet them. I asked around for their owner and was assured they weren't dumped. 30 minutes later, in a different street, there they were frolicking and playing and running among the feet of their owner. Wheh!!!

The Pantheon is gorgeous and huge and FREE!!! 2000 years old. A perfect sphere 43.3 meters in diameter. The hole in the top for sunlight is 7.8 meters wide. Still the world's largest unsupported concrete sphere.

 
On our way back we found an amazing church with an amazing art display of trees. I love trees. Life. Each tree identified the fruit and the symbolism linked to aspects of human nature and of episodes in life. Stunning, really. Maybe among the favorite finds of the weekend.

 Found a great restaurant that I think I would really enjoy again. Origani is all organic. Serves omnivore options, but has vegan options highlighted. I chose the evening special with bruschetta and salad and an amazing couscous with Eggplant. YUM!!! I had to forego the non-vegan tiramisu dessert.

Sometimes I forgot to select the start or stop. We estimated we
went about 8 miles on this day.

Then it is time for bed. Been a long day.
Plan for Sunday morning was to get up early and head to the Colliseum.

Holy Cow, not even open and the lines are long. Turns out the "skip the line" line for people with passes was actually longer than the line to buy tickets. Who would have figured. So, we got in line. People were hawking tours, $30 without a ticket and $15 with a ticket. In order to bypass the line, we thought the extra $15 would be worth it. Well, after we signed up and paid, we had to wait until they had enough people to fill the tour. Probably another 20 minutes. We could have already been near the front of the line. Oh well, we learned a bit before going in. Through security we went. Our guide got waylay'ed somehow and vanished. We waited. No one knew where he was. Eventually we gave up and read our trusty guidebook. We bumped into people later from the group. Most gave up on waiting, but apparently a few people stayed and the guide did come back to give the tour. Lesson learned. Don't do the last minute tour. Either stand in line or pre-book.

But, the Colliseum was spectacular. Unless you are there, you can't even imagine the size of the structure and all the details of the construction and architecture.

We had time to make it to the Vatican for Easter Services. Seriously? Yes, sort of. Not the official service, but a blessing by the Pope, nonetheless. St. Peter's square was packed, but it didn't feel crowded if that makes sense. Everyone was polite and orderly. So, I'm not Catholic. And I'm not a celebrity seeker, but when the Pope came out in his Popemobile, I raised my hands with everyone else. And I cried. I swear, you could feel something special surrounding Papa Frank. We waited patiently and we came out on the balcony and gave about a 20 minute blessing or sermon. It was all Italian, so I understood little. But what I could pick up were blessings across the world, not just to Catholics. He mentioned war-torn areas and refugees and politicians. He prayed for all of us. It was moving.

We had to start hoofing it after the blessing was complete. We hiked past Castel d'Angelo and across the Tiber.

 

Then managed a quick stop at Navona Square and Fountain.

 One last trek past the Spanish Steps to pick up our bags and head to the train. We had first class on the way home and were treated to Proseco ... to celebrate a great weekend?

 Or to mourn that it was over so soon?

 Garmin didn't charge overnight. My bad. So, can't tell you how many footsteps we took, but we were tired.