Celeste came with me to Rome for 2 days and it was a whirlwind adventure! I have been coming to Rome every year since I was in my 20’s because my Dad and step-mother live there. This time I was a tourist for 2 days and it was amazing!
The first day was a travel day on the train and that was lots of fun. We went business class because it wasn’t really that much more expensive, and it was a lot nicer.
When we got to the train station in Rome (Termini), we had to get to the Pharmacy and take a covid test. That was mostly uneventful except they wanted us to leave our bags out in the open while we went upstairs to do the test and I absolutely refused. Rome is not where you leave your bags out in the open! We were lucky and they allowed us to put the bags behind the counter at the store.
Covid negative, and off we went to find a taxi. Once we got to Piazza Tuscolo my Dad took Celeste over to the other apartment to get her settled in and then they came back to his apartment. We had a lovely dinner then walked Celeste back to the other place, which is very convenient.
Celeste and I met very early the next morning to start our adventures! We hopped on the metro at San Giovanni and went to one of the Vatican stops, Ottaviano. There we were supposed to find a Bar (it’s not what you think! A bar is like a coffee/pastry/sandwich shop in Italy. Think of a much better Starbucks.) and meet up with the group for a tour of the Vatican and St Peters. After my google maps was a bit fussy and we asked someone, we finally got pointed in the right direction and found the Bar. We had time for a coffee and pastry so we did! (Well, Celeste doesn’t drink coffee, so she had milk, and they warmed it up for her!)
Off to the Vatican, and even with a skip the line tour, we had a bit of a line. But not nearly as much as without a tour at all. In hindsight, I should have thought about the timing. It was a few days before Easter. Where did everyone in the whole entire city want to go – the Vatican! And they were all there. St Peters was lovely, and I took some pictures for Mary Alice and Tom. The Vatican was mobbed! We could barely move from room to room and the only reason we didn’t get separated from the group was one girl’s bright green sweater! The artwork was stunning of course.
Sistine Chapel: breathtaking, of course. But, it was so crowded that there was no way to enjoy it at all. At that point, all we wanted to do was get out. It took us 20 minutes to fight our way through the crowd to get out the door, and then the adventure began. Because the Vatican actually doesn’t want you to leave. Once you’re in there, you’re there – for life! Just kidding, I think! But it seriously took us another 20 minutes and asking people how to get out, for us actually to get out of there.
Our next tour was of the Jewish Ghetto, Great Synagogue, and Jewish Museum. This tour was amazing. We had a Jewish Guide and started in the Museum, went to the Synagogue, and then the Ghetto. The Museum is beautiful and I wish we could have spent more time there. They had so many things to see. The guide told us about the Jews in Rome – the history and how they live today. She was orthodox, but we didn’t know until she told us!
The Synagogue is just amazing! I have some photos below. We got to sit in the pews and learned about the history of the Synagogue. Please check the link – I could write a whole article just on that! Hmmm…
Then we walked through the Jewish Ghetto and we learned about the Jews who lived there during the Holocaust and what happened to some of them. There are plaques on the ground marking where Jews lived that were taken to concentration camps. I have some photos below.
Go on this tour even if you’re not Jewish. You will learn so much and see so much. Here is the link – it’s Jewish Roma Walking Tours with Micaela Pavoncello. This is the only tour I didn’t book on Viator – but directly with Micaela.
Believe it or not, that was one day! The next day was super fun as well! We got to do 2 things I had never done before!
We met at a Bar at Piazza Tuscolo early in the morning and had some pastries for breakfast. Then we got a taxi to go to the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Rome. It’s a bit on the outskirts, and a bus would have taken hours. What a magnificent sight when we pulled up! The Visitor Center was where we were headed and it wasn’t open yet so we walked around the Temple and talked for a bit. They were cleaning the outside of the Temple (power-washing), so we couldn’t get too close.
The first thing you see when you walk in the Visitor Center is a beautiful stained glass mural across a wall. Right away, we were met by 2 young women, sisters they are called, and they took us through the Visitor Center and answered all of our questions. Well, mostly my questions! Celeste is already a member of the Church! We spent a lot of time at the stained glass wall. Here are some photos.
There was a walk-through model of a house and some educational materials, then the next room had statues of Jesus and his followers. They were huge and beautifully done. There was also a mural above the statues that was incredible. Photo below. But it doesn’t do it justice. That room was so peaceful, the backdrop was windows that faced the Temple, and with the light streaming in, this was stunning!
The next room had a model of the Temple itself, and we looked at that too. (Spoiler alert: I got to the Temple in Kensington MD on a tour since they opened it to the public after renovations, so I got to see one in person!) Normally, people that do not belong to the Church can’t go to the Temple. But there are other places to go, such as the Church, and the Visitor Center, etc.
Then we took a taxi back to the center of Rome where we met our Guide for the next tour – Colosseum Underground, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hills. We were a little bit early and starving, so we ran around the corner to a recommended restaurant and proceeded to have the best panini of our lives! The owner of the restaurant was wonderful and very understanding of our rushed eating, and honestly, I could have relaxed there for hours.
I had booked a private tour of the Colosseum, but we booked the underground section, which was something I had never seen before. It only opened to the public a few years ago. Our guide took us to the Colosseum and it turned out that only certain guides could give the tour of the Underground section, so we went with another tour guide for that part, and with a whole lot of other people. I wish there had been less people and more time, but it worked out in the end. I took a lot of photos, and here are some of them.
Next we went to the Palatine Hills, and looked over the Forum. It turned out we didn’t have time in the Forum with the Guide, and I would have rather done that, but who knew? We walked into the Forum after the guide left and walked around a bit, but we were so tired at that point, so we headed back to my Dad’s house.
In the evenings, after dinner, my Dad helped Celeste book some tours of Venice for her next trip there, and that was so helpful!
After these 2 days playing tourist, I was exhausted and I slept in the next day and even took a nap, which I never do! Celeste went to the train station early that morning and went to Venice. In hindsight, I wish I had gone with her! That would have been a blast!
