Sunday, June 28, 2009

THE ETERNAL CITY


Rome was the only "Ship Excursion" that we took. Because Rome does not have a harbor, ships must dock about 60 miles inland in Civitivecchia. We were fearful of taking the train to Rome, getting lost and missing the boat ( quite literally) and we had quite a few "shipboard credits" with which to pay for this particular trip. We didn't do a tour, but just took the bus, with guide, that was provided to Rome. We were supposed to get there by 10:00 and meet for the return at 4:15. Clearly not a lot of time and we didn't get to St Peter's Square until after 11:00 because of horrible trafffic. The next 20 minutes were spent in line, with legs crossed, waiting for my turn at the, you guessed it, Ladies Room. I was in dire need and was most annoyed when the women in front of me twice let 4 women cut in line. Believe me, I was mumbling for sure. Of course there was no line for the men's room so Bob wandered off to start the photo journal. Our plans for today were to see St Peters Basilica and Piazza Navona. Anything else would just be icing on the cake. We spent a couple of hours in and around St Peters where Bob literally took hundreds of pictures and then wandered off to catch the Hop On Hop Off bus. I had purchased the tickets before I left home to make sure that I had them. Silly waste of time! There are several HO HO ( sounds like a bus of prostitutes or evil Santas, huh?...but HOHO is what they are refered to) bus lines in Rome. The problem is the traffic congestion. Once on, we only wanted to go two stops to the Piazza Navona for lunch and it took over 45 minutes. Any hopes of seeing P.N and then riding the bus to get an overview of the city were dashed. But that was OK, remember this was a stress free vacation. We had a pizza lunch ( again) , explored the Piazza and then wandered back to St Peters on some lovely side streets. Oh and we stopped for gelato and cappucino on the way. Day done, back to the bus in plenty of time to wait for 4 people who had to be found and brought back. Bet their day was not stress free although they showed no signs of humiliation when they finally got on the bus. I personally would have been mortified.

All pictures are in and around Piazza Navona and leaving St Peters.


Fountain at St Peter's Square ( Piazza St Pietro)
Leaving the square at the Vatican Gate
Bouganvilla (sp), just like SoCal


See what I mean, congested ( and very noisy city).
Perpendicular as well as parallel parking
Love these trees, I think I read that they are called Umbrella Pines
Beautiful apartment buildings near Castelo St Angelo

Castelo St Angelo
Ponte St Angelo
Love the chapeau.. how do you say "hat" in Italian?




My very favorite Rome picture

I had a wonderful tourist map of Rome. It didn't have every street on it, but it had small drawings and comments. We wandered the street which the map indicated "was a small, narrow street filled with antique shops". Beautiful!





That's it for Rome. Join me in a day or two for Pisa, leading up to the grand finale...Villefranche.

Later,
Janet

8 comments:

  1. I wish you could have seen more of Rome, it's so fabulous! Yes, traffic is horrendous there - all those scooters zipping every which way. Great pics Janet.

    Thanks for the shopping tip for Plymouth - hope I have time to look there.

    We're on pins and needles as Jasmin was not well yesterday, fever and aching! Many kids were sent home early from camp with similar symptoms, seems there's been a rampant 'bug' going around. Hope so much she is better when she arrives this morning - we've gotta get on that plane tomorrow!!

    Off to get my hair done! Looking forward to seeing you on Fri.
    Hugs - Mary.

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  2. i W A N T some shutters. i want S H U T T E R S!!! really really i want those shutters, plants and sun. i really do! jkj

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  3. Janet, your trip must have been fantastic, and your photos are awesome.

    You make me feel as if I were there with you.

    Thank you for sharing.

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  4. Found you through Mary at Pondside. These pics are outstanding. I will probably never make it to Europe now since I am not able to travel as well. I am happy for you that you got to go. I have done a lot of traveling in the US and Caribbean so I guess I will enjoy other's trips.
    Stop by my neck of the woods if you have time. Blessings]
    QMM

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  5. Leaving shortly - looking forward to seeing you. Don't fuss, it's you I want to see and chat with for a while! Jasmin doing better - we're hoping for a fun trip and some cooler weather than what we have here!

    Hugs - Mary.

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  6. Gorgeous, gorgeous gorgeous! Love your favorite Rome picture too...and the darling pink house/apartment too below it!

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  7. Loved the pictures. The parking reminded me of China. They make their own lanes....lol
    I have not been able to read your blog lately (Dad w/ cancer) but will do better
    Thanks for sharing
    Cindy

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  8. Hi Janet,
    Great Pictures. The car parking sideways is so funny!.I guess you park where you can.
    I enjoyed your pics.
    Elizabeth

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Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment if you have enjoyed my blog. I look forward to "chatting" with you.

Thanks,
Janet