Up this morning after a late night of partying and packing. We dock at Civitaveccio, the port nearest Rome, and sit to await our call for disembarkation. At 8:45, we are called (Green #3) and we proceed down the gangplank for the final time to claim our luggage. All goes smoothly except for Needelmans. One of their bags takes a walk about with another passenger before finally turning up some distance away as the miscreant passenger realizes his mistake and leaves the bag sitting alone. Reclaimed, we waltz out to the waiting zone to claim our transfers into the city of Rome, to which our road leads (as do all, we are told.)
The drive into the city on Saturday morning is very easy as the traffic is light. We arrive at our hotel, Pantheon Royal Suites, at 10:45 and unload our full fifteen passengers and all luggage. As rooms are not ready for some time, we check-in and leave the luggage as we stop for a bite or coffee before our 1:00 meet up with our tour guide for a 3-hour walking tour of the central City. As we are just across the square from the Pantheon, we fight our way through the crowd and head for the Coliseum. We gain entry and tour with 2,000 other tourists this most famous of all arenas. We learn that the word “arena” is derived from the Latin word for sand, the covering on the false floor of the original coliseum. Much easier to sweep blood and guts up with the sand than to scrape it off cobblestones one imagines.
From there, we walk next to the Forum, descending down into its valley and strolling along the cobblestones and learning of all the history and use of these architectural remains that were once administrative buildings, temples, then churches and one vast open space for the meeting of the citizens and the killing of emperors (Julius for example.)
Back to the hotel by 5:00 after an exhausting 4 mile plus stroll, we regroup with a cocktail and then strike out in groups to discover restaurants. Mostly successful, some more quickly than others. We enjoy a Roman Holiday meal of sorts and then stumble back, exhausted but ready to rest and attack our last full day in Rome.
