The planning for this Italian road trip began years before it actually occurred. It had originally been planned for July 2020. But as we all know, Italy was hard hit during Covid. I won’t tell you all the effort I took to try to save this vacation with the number of hours on the phone lines with the airline, trying to reschedule, switch locations, then finally leave an open ended ticket because of the pandemic. I had pretty much given up even being able to take this trip for the near future. I am glad I didn’t though!
April of 2022, we were able to make the trip to Italy. I didn’t even tell my son till a few weeks before the trip because I had rescheduled so much, that he had seemed to just loose hope, and I’m sure he didn’t want to hear the word Covid again!
But that April, we got the flight to Italy, had to prove our immunization status and was able to fly to Rome. We landed approx. 24 hours after our first flight, had to wait for the rental car office to open and then drove into Rome to our Hotel. The Grand Hotel del Gianicolo was a beautiful old hotel with all the modern necessities. Another bonus is that it sits right down from an old Roman gate, right above the Trastevere district. Yes, you better be prepared to walk up and down those steps everytime you want to walk into the old part of the city, but it is well worth it! This fountain to the left was the Paola Water Fountain. The view of the city is great and the fountain is a view in the evening with all the spotlights on it!
The first day that we were in Rome, we went to 3 places, even before we formally checked into our hotel (they let us leave the car and luggage there).
1st place we went to was the Pantheon. I found a couple of fascinating things concerning this building. You can see from the outside how the Romans built almost all their architecture: using arches. Using these, as we know, has really strengthened then to last through the ages. Another thing I found what the guide told us about the inside of this masterpiece. The marble, with their multiple colors were quarried from multiple areas and it even ran out the supply of red colored marble at that time. He also stated that it is believed that the open ceiling was painted black and had golden stars hanging from each of those squares. So when they lit the fires at night inside long ago, the firelight flickered off these stars, recreating the outside night sky. As I have stated just a minute ago, this was an open ceiling so whenever it rained, the inside of the floor did get wet. But it also washed the floor and then drained into the drainage holes drilled into the marble during ancient times.
The second day in Rome, was for more sightseeing. The first place we went to was the Colusseum and the Roman Forum. It’s quite spectacular to imagine that this whole building was covered in white marble at one time. Even the seats and walkways were covered in marble. The nobility had their names carved into these seats but when those people died, the seat was rotated and a new name carved into the side. Talk about assigned seating! They appear to be recreating the stage that was once there over the labyrinth of paths. One thing that I noticed throughout this tour and in all of Rome is that Romans like to put their names on things. They graffiti all over the city. It has been going on for ages. If you think of graffiti as a dirty habit like many Americans did in the 80s, you won’t like it but I think of it like a cultural thing. One thing though, if you go on a group tour through here, keep your money close to you. I was warned about possible pickpockets when going to Italy. It was only during this tour with hundreds of people, that I found my purse partially opened after I left. Thankfully, I kept my paperwork, cash and cards on an inside pocket and nothing was taken.
We took the Roman Forum tour afterwards. I learned several things during this walk too. First major bit is that the river flooded the City many times. This is the reason why all the ancient buildings are on a different level than the modern day city. In fact, when they went to excavate this building to the right, the mud from these floods had covered the steps all the way up to the gigantic front doors! I can’t imaging the amount of work excavating this entire sight! The road that Marc Anthony, Ceasar and others road in on past the main square!
The second place we toured through was the Sistine Chapel. I definitely recommend to get the tour stating it skips the line! The line for the Sistine Chapel, even with Covid, Was crazy long! We were able to walk through with this ‘skip the line” pass quite easy. The sheer amount of artwork that you can see in the Vatican Museums are amazing! You probably need all day to just study each piece. There is sculptures and paintings everywhere. Beautiful old maps of what they thought the world was. even the hallways of the museum are covered in artwork! It’s far more than the eye can take in quickly! The picture to the left is from one of the hallway ceilings. You aren’t allowed to take pictures of the actual Sistine Chapel.
This first evening, we ate our first ever authentic Carbonara. We both fell in love with this dish! I’m not really sure which one of the dishes we tried on this trip was our all time favorite but this was definitely #1 or 2!
The next tour we had after getting a small snack at a sweet shop, was to the Castel Sant’Angelo. Originally built in the 2nd century, this circular fortress was a tomb for Hadrian but was later converted into a fortress in the middle ages followed by a Papal residence. It is intriguing to me how each Pope put a signature on certain rooms, making them their own. The artwork inside, the frescos are amazing! And the story of the Archangel on top is a good story too!
After finishing the Castel Sant’Angelo, we had an aperitivo followed by a long walk up the old Il Gianicolo. This led up the back way to our hotel. This road gave us great views of the city in the late afternoon sunshine. That evening we ate at Babybao. It was a cute little place in the Trestavere District. Justin picked it out and I’m glad we did, the food was very good!
Part 2: trip to the coast up next
Discover more from Wander Life Wonder Life
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. Its always useful to read through content from other writers and use a little something from their websites.
Thank you for your kind words! If I can ever answer any questions, let me know!
Im extremely pleased to find this web site. I want to to thank you for your time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely savored every part of it and i also have you book-marked to see new information in your web site.
Thank you very much for your kind words! I can’t wait to share more stories!
After I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Thank you!
I am not new to traverling but I am newto blogging about it. I can look into how to remove you from the list. I am not sure why it would send you 4 emails, I never post that much! I’ll look into that as soon as I answer everyone and post the new pictures!
I was extremely pleased to discover this site. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely loved every part of it and i also have you saved as a favorite to check out new stuff on your blog.
May I simply say what a relief to uncover a person that actually knows what they are talking about on the net. You certainly realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More and more people should check this out and understand this side of the story. Its surprising you are not more popular since you surely have the gift.
I want to to thank you for this very good read!! I certainly enjoyed every little bit of it. I have got you book-marked to check out new stuff you postÖ
Thank you very much for your kind words!
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis. Its always useful to read content from other authors and practice something from their websites.
Thank you! I try to relay some of the information that I find out during my travels so I can make other travelers’ trips easier.
Greetings! Very useful advice within this article! Its the little changes that make the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Thank you very much! Please let me know what you think about my newest blog!
I have to thank you for the efforts youve put in writing this blog. Im hoping to check out the same high-grade blog posts by you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own website now 😉
I am glad you enjoyed it! Let me know when you do start your own website, I would love to visit!
hey there and thank you for your information – I’ve definitely picked up anything new from right
here. I did however expertise some technical issues using
this website, as I experienced to reload the website
a lot of times previous to I could get it to load
properly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK?
Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will very
frequently affect your placement in google and could damage your
high-quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and can look out for much more of your respective
intriguing content. Make sure you update this again very soon.
Thank you for letting me know!
What’s up to every body, it’s my first visit of this web site; this website consists of remarkable and in fact fine data for visitors.
Thank you very much!
I blog frequently and I genuinely appreciate your content.
Your article has truly peaked my interest. I’m going to bookmark your site and keep checking
for new information about once per week. I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.
This article offers a fascinating perspective on the subject. The depth of research and clarity in presentation make it a valuable read for anyone interested in this topic. It’s refreshing to see such well-articulated insights that not only inform but also provoke thoughtful discussion. I particularly appreciated the way the author connected various aspects to provide a comprehensive understanding. It’s clear that a lot of effort went into compiling this piece, and it certainly pays off. Looking forward to reading more from this author and hearing other readers’ thoughts. Keep up the excellent work!
Can I just say what a reduction to search out someone who actually is aware of what theyre speaking about on the internet. You undoubtedly know methods to bring a problem to gentle and make it important. More people must learn this and understand this facet of the story. I cant believe youre not more well-liked since you definitely have the gift.