Bob and Ann in Italy 2004

Ann in the Courtyard of the Pinecone at the Vatican Museum


The Basilica

We took the train La Spezia and then to Rome. We checked onto Hotel Sonya which was close to the main train station and within walking distance to many of the Rome attractions. Our objective in Rome was to see as many of the cultural highlights as possible. To do this, we arranged a three-day self-guided tour with InfoRoma. We recommend this company to anyone who wants a trouble-free, sightseeing-packed tour of the city. It provides a day-by-day program that includes museum reservations, maps, detailed route directions, restaurant recommendations, transit routes, restroom locations, and much more. The price is reasonable, too. (When we contacted InfoRoma a couple of years later, it was not making custom itineraries. Please contact it to se if it has started doing so again).

Our first morning was spent orienting ourselves to the transit system to get to the Vatican Museum and to visit it. The museum is a huge complex full of art and artifacts. Some are religious and some are not. The crowds in the museum were large, but they moved faster than we did mainly because they were pushed through by individual tour leaders. One of the highlights was a visit to the Sistine Chapel. It is remarkable! Our self-guided tour book was very helpful by routing us and identifying all of the "important" works of art. You can view pictures that we took at Vatican Museums Photos.

After lunch in the Vatican cafeteria, we toured St. Peter's Square, the Basilica, the Vatican grottos and the Dome.

Borghese Gallery

On our second morning, we started by visiting the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore which was close to our hotel. We then took a bus to the Borghese Gallery. It was early when we got there, so we walked in the beautiful, extensive gardens. After the gallery tour, we took a bus through the city walls to Via Veneto, down Via di Porta Pinciana, Via Ludovisi, and Via Veneto, past Piazza Barberini to Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. We got off of the bus here and walked to the Trevi Fountain where we took some photos and ate gelatto at San Crispino. We then walked past the Temple of Hadrian, visited the Pantheon, went into the churches of S. Maria sopra Minerva and S. Luigi dei Francesi and ended up in the Piazza Navona. It started to rain so we went into church of Sant' Agnese to stay dry. We were lucky because there was a wedding in progress which we could witness. After that, we caught a bus to our hotel.

Tonight was La Notte Bianca - an all-night festival celebrated in several venues throughout Rome. We went to the Spanish Steps to see Cirque de Soleil. The crowds were wall-to-wall and the performance was going to start very late, so we went to visit Palazzo Altemps instead. It turned out to be a pretty late night. More photos at More Rome Photos.

Arch of Constantine and the Colleseum

On our last day, we started by walking to the Palatine via San Pietro di Vincoli and the Arch of Constantine. We meandered through the Palatine looking at the ruins and admiring the views from its hilltop location. We then walked down to the Roman Forum and tried to locate all of the famous ruins. Then it was on to the Colosseum. After lunch we took a bus to the Piazza dei Cinquecento where we toured the Palazzo Massimo. The palazzo houses part of the collection belonging to the Museo Nazionale Romano. More photos at More Rome Photos.