If you didn’t get a chance to read about days 0-4 in Venice and days 5-7 in Florence, you can check that out here and here. Now, on to Rome!
Day 8 (Nov. 9) – Florence to Rome, wine tasting & lunch, dinner, Rome Night Walk
We got up, ate breakfast, got our luggage from our rooms, and headed out to meet everyone and load the bus. It was a long bus ride, so most everyone slept, but we still managed to hear most everything we needed to. When we were leaving Florence, we were able to see lots of beautiful buildings and scenery from the bus.
We were leaving Florence, headed to Rome, but we had a stop to make for wine tasting and lunch! Our next stop was Le Velette winery. Our host, Cecilia, is a member of the family that has owned this winery for over 150 years.
After she gave us the history of the vineyard, which dates back more than 2500 years, and answered questions about the process of running the vineyard and winery, we were led down into the cellars.
We toured the rest of the grounds before heading inside for wine tasting and food pairing. We tried several different wines, and learned the foods that paired well with each. Spoiler alert: I am not a fan of wine.
We loaded back up on the bus and made our way to Rome. After a brief traffic jam (and a lesson from our bus driver on Italian hand gestures LOL), we safely arrived in Rome. After about an hour to settle into our rooms, we all met downstairs in the hotel lounge for our introduction to Rome. We soon headed out on foot, and then by city bus, for our night tour and dinner.
After dinner, we took a leisurely stroll, or“passeggiata”, taking in more of the sites by night, including the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, on the way back to our hotel. We even stopped for gelato!
Day 9 (Nov. 10) – Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Church of St Ignacio, & St. Peter’s Basilica
Just like every morning, we started out with breakfast before meeting the group outside the hotel. We all divided into 4 vans and navigated the crazy, crowded streets to Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, where we also met up with our guide Francesca. We had great guides throughout this trip, but she was the best!
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj is supposedly the largest privately owned palazzo in Rome, and it’s still owned (and lived in) by the original family. Their story is quite the soap opera (You can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_Doria_Pamphilj). The first room we entered would have been where the guests woud have first entered. The walls were completely covered with art.
The whole place was impressively decorated. There was luxurious fabric on the walls that not only added to the decor but also helped keep the building warm in the winter.
Every room we visited was so elaborate. I can’t imagine what it is like to actually live there! The family is basically living in an art gallery.
After leaving the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, we made our way to the Church of St Ignacio. It doesn’t look like much from the outside (but does bear the coat of arms for Pope Leo)…
…but the inside is beautiful!
Once our tour of the Church of San Ignacio was finished, we were free to do other things that afternoon. We had gotten tickets to see St. Peter’s Basilica. We stopped and ate lunch and then walked from there to St. Peter’s Basilica. We definitely got our steps in but it was nice to look at the scenery and other buildings along the way.
In case you are reading this and don’t know, St. Peter’s Basilica was built over the tomb of St. Peter, one of Jesus’s disciples. It is now also filled with art by Michelangelo and Bernini. It is one of the main places that we all agreed we had to see while in Rome.
When we were leaving the Vatican & St. Peter’s Basilica, we stopped to check out the “Angels Unaware” monument. It commemorates the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. We then made our way back toward our hotel, making a stop for dinner on the way.
Day 10 (Nov. 11) – St. Peter in Chains Church, Colosseum (outside), Pantheon, Colosseum (inside), Victor Emmanuel Palace
As with all the mornings before, we ate breakfast and then met everyone outside. We divided up into groups, loaded into vans, and headed to St. Peter in Chains. There we met up with Francesca, who was our guide again. St. Peter in Chains is a basilica, so named because it houses the chains that bound St. Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem.
From there, we walked the short distance to the Colosseum. We did not tour the inside at this time, but there was plenty to see outside, and it was just as impressive!
Leaving the Colosseum, we walked along the oldest street in Rome to the Roman Forum. While I loved all of Rome, I think the Forum was probably among the top favorites!
From there, the group headed to the Pantheon. Interesting fact: The columns are made of solid marble and weigh 60 tons. Yet, they were quarried in Egypt, barged down the Nile, then across the Mediterranean, and finally up the Tiber into Rome. One of my favorite things about the Pantheon is the oculus, or “eye to the sky”. It is not glass-it is open air. Yes, it does rain inside sometimes, but there are holes in the floor for drainage. The oculus acts as a sundial on sunny days. The Pantheon is quite a sight to see. Pictures do not do in justice.
After the Pantheon, the group had the afternoon off to do whatever we wanted. The four of us in our group had planned, and managed to get tickets to see the inside of the Colosseum, so we grabbed a quick bite for lunch and headed back to the Colosseum. It was neat to see the Colosseum from both the outside and inside. It is impressive in pictures, but it is truly something to behold in person!
After the Colosseum arena floor tour, our group of four split up. My friend and her brother hopped in a taxi and headed back to the hotel. My mom and I headed to the Victor Emmanuel Palace. While the palace was truly impressive itself, we were mainly interested in the views of Rome from the rooftop observation deck.
My mom and I left there and walked back to the hotel. We had enough time to freshen up before heading out with the group for our final supper together. It was a great way to end the tour. There was laughter, live music, and great food!
Day 11 (Nov. 12) – last group breakfast, Sistine Chapel, & Mamertine Prison
This was our last full day in Rome. Our group tour ended after breakfast. Some people had flights to catch later that day, and some, like us, opted to leave the next day. We had purchased tickets ahead of time to see the Sistine Chapel. We weren’t able to take pictures, and I’ll be honest, it was so hot (yes, even in the middle of November) and so packed that we did not enjoy it at all. Honestly, I’ve seen better pictures than what we were able to see. It is something we can say we’ve seen in person, but again, it wasn’t what we expected. I’m sure the experience would have been 100x better if they had worked on crowd control/crowd flow/something. We grabbed a bite to eat…
…and headed in the direction of the Colosseum because that is where (or close to) the Mamertine Prison is located. If you are unaware, this is the prison that Paul was kept in and also where he baptized the jailer.
After finishing at the Mamertine Prison, we headed back in the direction of the hotel. We did stop and do a little shopping on the way.
Once we got back to the hotel, we worked on packing for our flight home the next day and relaxed for a while. We decided to eat supper at a place near the hotel, and it was really good. It was a nice way to end our time in Rome.
Day 12 (Nov. 13) – headed home
We got up, ate breakfast, grabbed our luggage, loaded up the taxi, and headed to the airport. We had plenty of time at the airport so we got in some shopping there. We had uneventful flights home.
…and, just like that, our trip to Italy is over. We were, and still are, ready to go back someday!
