Port of Call Rome

Vatican City across the Tiber River

The storms over the water had disappeared for our second day in Civitavecchia’s port and we were ready for a trip out to Port of Call Rome, the Eternal City. We used the free port shuttles to the main gate, walked over to the train station, and boarded the train to Rome’s Termini station, a trip of about 55 minutes at a cost of $7 per one way ticket. This option worked best for our day in Rome plan.

Rome is nicknamed the Eternal City because ancient Romans believed that no matter what happened to the world or how many empires came and collapsed, Rome would go on forever.
Well to a degree they were right, so far.. The city is still there almost 3 thousand years after the empire started and Rome excels in Roman Empire architectural antiquities, global Roman Catholic presence, fashion, shopping and an all around cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Piazza Navona

If your interests in life’s offerings cover all of those areas, don’t go and visit just for one or two days. Rome needs a week at a minimum to scratch the surface of its culture and history, just like Paris or London.
Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Florence, Lisbon, Athens, Berlin, Vienna and Budapest are more like 4 to 5 day European destinations, while cities like Dublin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Luxembourg, Prague, Malaga, Sevilla etc. are adequately serviced with a full three day stay.

Just a list of architectural must-sees in Rome encompass at the minimum the Colosseum, The Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Forum Romanum, The St. Peter’s Basilicum, the Sistine Chapel, Palatine Hill, the Spanish Steps, Circus Maximus, the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, the Via Appia Antica and that’s not even talking about any of the museums or the Villa Borghese Gallery or any of the other “lesser” basilicas, such as my favorite San Giovanni de Laterano or the magnificent fountains (Trevi) and bridges over the Tiber River, the lifeline of old Rome.

So in our travels, we have come to the conclusion that the Hop On Hop Off Bus City Tour gives us the best overview of where we want to go a little deeper in our discoveries.
We’ll usually do the entire tour loop in one go and then on the second go-around we’ll get off where we want to walk around and learn a bit more.

Now there are of course a number of tours available to choose from. We decided on the Red Route mostly out of convenience as the Hop On point was right at the Rome Termini Railway station where the train from Civitavecchia dropped us off.
The route offers 8 stops and 22 points of interest, runs daily from 9am to 7pm, with buses arriving every 15 minutes. The full loop trip lasts almost 2 hours in busy traffic, so plan wisely, because you only have 6 hours or so to explore Rome before heading back to the ship in Civitavecchia, which takes another hour of train travel.

The Loop of the Hop On Hop off tour

The 8 stops of our day in Rome included Termini Station (1) to The Colosseum (2) to Circus Maximus (3) to Trevi Fountain (4) to Piazza Venezia (5) with access to the Pantheon and Capitoline Museums, further on to the Spanish Steps (6) and the shopping quarters, followed by the Vatican (7) and the St.Peter and ending at Piazza Barberini (8).

The loop passes most of the major points of interest including
– The Trevi Fountain
– Piazza Venezia isthe central hub of Rome, Italy, acting as a major traffic intersection and a key starting point for exploring the city. It is dominated by the massive white marble Altare della Patria (Victor Emmanuel II) monument) and the historic Palazzo Venezia. It is well worth visiting for its central location, stunning architecture, and proximity to the Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill.
– Piazza Barberini and take the Via del Corso and the shopping district to the Spanish Steps (abt. 1/2km or a 7 minute walk)

Ms Adidas (TJ) on the Hop On-Hop Off at the Coliseum

– Campo De’ Fiori, the big open flower and fresh market. In the morning it hosts one of the most characteristic markets of the city, with stalls selling fruit, flowers and spices. At sunset it comes alive with cafes and bars, becoming a meeting point for Romans and tourists. A square that speaks of a popular and convivial Rome, always in motion.
– Piazza Navona with its three fountains
– Vatican City and the Vatican Museums / Ancient City St. Peter’s Basilica Castel Sant’Angelo Basilica di San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
– National Roman Museum, close to the Termini stop, actually includes 4 museums – If you’re into Roman-Greco architecture and art, you will need at least a full day to visit this jewels of the ancient times including The Baths of Diocletian and Piazza del Campidoglio
– Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus, Pantheon)

Spanish Steps

Rome, a city of fountains and piazzas

Piazzas Everywhere

Building and square dedicated to Pope Benedict XIV

Piazza Campo de Fiori

Victor Emmanuel II monument

The old is artfully integrated for preservation.

The-world-is-still-in-the-grip-of-Covid

Roma Santa Maria in Trastevere

The-Forum-Romanum-from-a-distance

Now nothing is free in Rome, although there are differently scaled admission prices for different people. Just go online and find opening hours and admissions to all of them.

We only had a good 5 hours to spend in Rome, so we decided to stay on the bus for a little over 2 full loops, which dropped us back to Termini Station for a train ride to Civitavecchia.

At the train station we learned, that the last direct train from Termini to Civitavecchia departed from a platform way outside the station itself and we had 6 minutes to get there before departure. The race almost killed us. Literally! A whole group of cruise passenger were running the aisles and platforms in panic, because missing this train almost certainly meant, we were on our own getting to Naples to catch up with the Cruise ship.

We made it with less than a minute to spare, fell into our seats and thankfully sat across from the ship’s nurse, who was so nice to share some nuts with TJ, as we discovered that we had not had anything to eat since that morning’s breakfast.

Exhausted and only mildly impressed boy our day in Rome, we acknowledged that we were not in shape for this type of travel. We probably could have prevented the death run to the train, had we prepared our itinerary better. Suggestion is therefore to use Apps such as Google Maps, Google Translate, WhatsApp and CityMapper, which are most useful when they support a well-structured itinerary, not when they’re used reactively.