Today was an absolute whirlwind of amazing architecture and the highlights of Rome! Finding breakfast was a bit difficult; a lot of restaurants are closed on Sundays in Rome. Fortunately, we found a quick bite to eat before heading to the Roma Termini to start our Big Bus tour.
We started by listening to the audio tour for the full loop of the bus around Rome, which included eight stops including the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Vatican/Castel Sant’angelo, the Spanish Steps, & more! After this, we got off the bus for the stop at the Piazza Venezia, which was my personal favorite of the day! We got to see the incredibly beautiful monument building to Vittorio Emmanuelo, the first emperor of Italy, and we also climbed the 124 steps to one of the MANY basilicas in Rome dedicated to Mary. It was absolutely stunning!
We then boarded the bus again and rode one more stop to the Castel Sant’angelo. We didn’t go inside because the line was unreal to get in, but the outside was beautiful, and we got to see it from an amazing bridge across the river Tiber, from which we had a stunning view of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.
We boarded the bus and rode another stop to see the famous Spanish Steps. These were very cool, and we also got to see an authentic Egyptian obelisk at the top. We’ve been seeing these all over Rome. The first time I saw one was near our hotel, and I thought it looked exactly like the Washington Monument in D.C. (It’s not as tall, though!).
From there, we walked to the famous Trevi Fountain to get pictures. Once again, this was so beautiful! I cannot fully express it in words. After getting pictures, we headed back to the bus.
We did one more full loop of the city complete with the audio tour, and it was a great recap of everything we saw. Another highlight of the day of touring was that I heard songs from both musicals I’ve been in during high school so far: “You’re the Top” from Anything Goes on the audio tour, and the song “Hello Dolly” from the musical, Hello, Dolly! performed by a jazz trumpet player on the streets near the Trevi Fountain.
After the tour was over, we headed to a ristorante near our hotel for dinner, which was delicious! On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the same gelato place for the third night in a row, and once again, it was absolutely fabulous! It was a great last full day exploring Rome!
