Happy Forth of July! Weird to be celebrating in Rome!
I ended my last post by saying that our flight to Rome had been uneventful. Well…the second half of the flight over the Atlantic was quite bumpy for a couple of hours. Even so, I was finally able to get a little bit of sleep.
For a last minute breakfast on the plane we had a yogurt with granola. We arrived safely in Rome at 9:30am. Getting through immigration was a breeze and our bags made it!!
After getting some Euros from the ATM, we navigated our way to the train station where we purchased tickets and boarded the Leonardo Express to the Roma Termini. The train ride took about 30 minutes once we boarded. Upon arrival we navigated the Roma Termini to the Metro A line to get to our hotel (Best Western Hotel President), which is right beside the Manzoni station.
Our room wasn’t ready, so we checked our bags and then boarded the Metro A line again to the Barberini station on our way to the Pantheon.
We had a quick lunch at Peppy’s Bar. All four of us had pizza. Kate had margherita pizza, and the rest of us had Barberini with ham and salami. Kate traded a piece with me so I was able to sample both and it was delicious!
After lunch we walked the cobblestone streets toward the Pantheon. We briefly passed the magnificent, and crowded, Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). It is stunning, and I’m hoping we can come back another day when we have more time.
It was really hot in Rome today with a high of 98°, and the public water fountains are really nice. They are quite different than in the states as they run constantly, and you are supposed to either fill a bottle or lap it up with your hands.
Anyway, we made it to the Pantheon just after 2pm. The striking thing to me about this structure is that much of it is almost 2,000 years old and is in remarkable shape.
The original Pantheon was started in 27 BC by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa as a temple dedicated to all the gods of Rome. This first building burned in the early second century AD and was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian. In the seventh century it was donated by the Eastern Emperor Phocas to Pope Boniface IV and was converted into a Christian basilica
Some of the highlights for our family included that this is the burial place for a number of significant historical figures including the first two kings of Italy, the painter Raffaello Sanzio, and the composer Arcangelo Corelli. Sara was particularly fascinated by Corelli since she recently performed a piece composed by him with the Lipscomb Academy Orchestra.
I was intrigued that above Raffaello’s tomb was a statue of the Madonna and child. Almost 10 years ago I was able to see a painting by Raffaello at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia that was of the Madonna and Child.
For me the most notable feature of the building is the giant dome and oculus (opening). This is one of the largest concrete domes in the world and weighs almost 5,000 tons. The oculus in the center allows in light but also opens the temple to rain…
Because of this the tile floor is concave and contains many drainage holes to collect the water.
After spending a little over an hour touring the Pantheon, we decided that with all of our travel, and lack of sleep, we should probably head back to the hotel and take a nap. So we took a few more pictures outside and then headed back through the winding cobblestone streets to the metro station.
At the hotel, we were able to check in to our room, get cleaned up a bit, and take a much needed nap. Also, this hotel has the smallest elevators I’ve ever seen, which does not work well with Olivia’s severe claustrophobia!
We got up around 7:30pm, and Olivia had found us a wonderful little restaurant called Marco G Trattoria near the hotel.
At Marco Gs, we ate at a little table by the street and shared focaccia with parma ham, carbonara, and meatless lasagna. The meal was WONDERFUL!
After dinner, we made took a walk to the Colosseo (Colosseum), which was around a mile each way. Around the Colosseum they were having a rally race which had a few of the streets closed and was really loud.
We were still able to walk around part of this massive ancient amphitheater and snap a few nighttime pics. Our formal tour of the Colosseum is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Back near our hotel, we made a quick stop for gelato. Kate had pistachio, Sara had mint, Olivia had cherry, and I had caffè (coffee). It was delicious!
Well, that was our first day in Rome. We turned in for the night to rest up for another busy day tomorrow!