Day 45 – Civitavecchia (Rome) –
Friday 29/6/12
Weather – Fine and Sunny 25C - 30C
(in port, closer to 40C in Rome
Sunrise – 5.41am
Sunset – 8.51pm
Time difference - minus 8 hours ex
Sydney
Piacere di conosceria Roma !!!!
Today is a big ticket day again, with
both of us anticipating a memorable day for our first ever visit to
Rome. You know when your expectations are raised a bit, and there is
a latent concern, that you dont mention, but its there, that the
city, or day may not be all its been cracked up to be by others who
have been before you. So you keep a lid on the anticipation, coz you
dont want to feel overly disappointed if it is not what you expect,
and just hope it turns out as well as you would hope. So.........
well you just have to wait and see huh :)
We had decided that we wanted to do
Rome on our own, as in, not on a organised tour. We used Princess to
get us into Rome and back, but we were on our own for the whole day.
A bus shuttle took us from the ship to Civitavecchia Port railway
station, where we hopped on a 'private train'. It was a 4 carriage
train, with only Princess passengers aboard, who were doing the same
as us. There was a bus option into Rome, but the train sounded so
much nicer, and it was. Lovely carriages, fitted with comfortable red
leather (yeah imitation) lounge chairs, frilly gold curtains etc etc,
and so much quicker, less than hour in. Each double carriage had one
transit guide each, we had a young guy, and the others had a young
lady guide.
Today is a public holiday that marks
the start of a long weekend celebrating St Peter. As a result many
shops and buildings were to be closed, so we were not sure if that
was going to interrupt our day, as it turned out it was probably a
good thing as many locals had hightailed out for the weekend. The
incredible queue of cars waiting to board ferries to the islands was
testament that theory.
The train took us to St Peters station,
where our transit guide escorted us from the station to St Peters
Square, where he was to set us free. We walked only about 10 mins
through a few side streets, then an underpass, and through a
colonnade of pillars, where we heard music and hymns being sung. Out
onto a courtyard that was a sea of cobblestones, and then it was one
of those breathless moments. This was it, we were standing in Saint
Peters Square. I was overwhelmed with where we were, and what I was
seeing, trying to unpick the landmarks as best I could, so much so
that I was oblivious to what the guide was saying. Luckily Donna got
in close and paid attention to what was being said.
Suffice to say, the SHB photo was taken
here, whilst we absorbed the buildings, and the aura of the place. A
mass was being beamed out to the big screen in the square, which just
added to the occasion. We eventually dragged ourselves away, and
embarked upon our self styled walking tour of Rome. We walked along
Via della Concillazione to Piazza Adriana where we saw the Castel
Sant' Angelo (aka the Mauseoleum of Hadrian), a towering cylindrical
building. Then we crossed the Tevere River by way of the bridge,
Ponte Sant' Angelo, which ran into Via del Banco di S.Spiroto.
A few lefts and rights as we looked for
our next goal, the Pantheon. Yeah well, we got lost, but we had fun
sorting ourselves out!! We eventually found Piazza Navona, which is
home to the Fountain of Four Rivers. A few more zig zags in the
general direction of the Pantheon proved successful. Awesome,
awesome, awesome, we were lucky enough to have a quick squiz although
there was a mass under way. I can see why this has a reputation.
The weather was heating up now, but we
pushed on, this time in search of the Colosseum. On our way along one
of the main drags, Via del Corso, we came across San Marcello al
Corso, a lovely church, devoted to Pope Marcellus 1. A plain jane
building outside, was just something to behold inside, I am so glad
we took time to have a look.
We then came across the Piazza Venezia,
home to the imposing white marble building, Monumento Nazionale a
Vittorio Emmanuele 11. The structure is really just so imposing at
135m wide and 70m high, with its external stairways, Corinthian
columns, fountains, sculptures and statues. It is also home to the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
By now, we could see our quarry, whilst
looking down the impressive Via del Fori Imperiali, which was closed
to vehicle traffic. The Colosseum is as grand as we had hoped for,
and it needed another SHB photo here. We popped into a Tourist Info
centre and picked up a decent map, and also took time out at a
restaurant for a rest, drink and feed. Donna had a carbonara pasta,
and I went for A la Matratciano that was the spiciest I have ever
had.
Now we had a dilemma. We only had a
limited time, so we were not going to fit in a visit to all that we
wanted. Thats just how it is with one day port visits with cruising.
The fact that we passed on the Hop On Hop Off bus, that would have
got us around quickly, was more than offset by walking everywhere, as
we did wanted we really wanted to do , and that was absorb the life
of Rome first hand on the ground, and in the back streets.
So the dilemma was to we track a
northern route back to St Peters, to visit the famed, Trevi Fountain
and the Spanish Steps, or do we take the longer southern route along
the picturesque River Tevere. We did not have time to do both. We
chose the latter, and so glad we did it was just lovely, and the
shady promenade provided some welcome respite from the heat.
We got our way back to the shops
outside Vatican City, when Donna realised that she had lost her
prescription glasses. So we back tracked about a km or so, and lucky
lucky lucky, there they were resting on the window ledge that we had
used for a sit down rest stop about half an hour earlier.
Back to Vatican City, a little
shopping, and then in search of a watering hole on the way back to
the station. We came across some of the mob, outside a pub en route,
for some refreshments, and bonus, free wi fi. So kiddies, you now
have some photos, which I trust you would have seen by now.
A short wait, and our 'private train'
came along on schedule, and took the weary travellers home to the
ship. A long shower, and a short dinner, a quick catch up with some
friends, and then the movie addict (Donna) was off to the theatre,
whilst I prepped the blog.
So, the day turned out to be as
memorable as we had hoped, and Rome is definitely on the 'must return
to' list, which is filling up rather fast :)
We left berth on time at 7pm, and
retraced our courses out through the breakwaters. The pilot jumped
off, and we headed west north westerly across the Tyrrhenian Sea. At
1.45am we will pass between the islands of Porto and Porto Ferraio,
then alter course towards the north. Another pilot on at 6am and
enter the Livorno harbour, and be secured alongside by 7am
Great day again. We are on such a roll,
having a ball !!!
