Day 11: Rome
After yesterday’s hectic and exhausting pace, we were looking forward to a slightly less intense, though just as manic, visit to Rome.
I (Steve) must admit that I was so excited to return to Rome that I woke up early enough to see our ship dock in Civitavecchia (pronounced chee-vee-tah-veh-kee-yah), the port about 35 miles northwest of Rome. The Millennium, like most modern cruise ships, is remarkably maneuverable on its own, thanks to bow thrusters and other such devices. So, no tugs are necessary to park this puppy. And the ship that arrived immediately after us was the aforementioned Voyager of the Seas!
After eating breakfast in our stateroom, we headed out for our day’s adventure. While others we’re enduring the 1.5 - 2 hour bus ride into the city (nasty traffic), we walked ten minutes from the port gate to the train station, where we boarded the 9:22 to Rome. The ride was relaxing and afforded us the opportunity to work on postcards (yes, just like this blog, we are horribly behind!).
We arrived at Roma Termini (the city’s main station) on time at 10:17 and headed for the cabs to take us up to the Galleria Borghese. We were under a deadline, as the first reservation Allan made at the museum was for 11:00, and one has to collect one’s tickets at least 30 minutes in advance. But when we got out of the station, the taxi queue was enormous. So, we thought we could walk it. We could, if our map wasn’t so disjointed. We were heading the right way, but in Rome the street names can only occasionally be found. By the time we had walked over a half-hour in the warm sun, getting increasingly frustrated with the situation, Allan felt that there was no way we could make our time window, and would therefore shoot to return at 12:30 for the 1:00 entrance reservation we also had (good planning on Allan’s part!).
Beside the Borghese, our other major goal in Rome was shopping. We headed down to the Via del Corso, the city’s main shopping thoroughfare, on our way to La Rinascente, Italy’s version of Macy’s. We had had good luck here two years ago, but alas, lightning didn’t strike twice. The linens department was no more, as was Murphy & Nye (a sports wear designer Allan was looking for). Since we had killed so much time getting down to the store, we had to turn around and take a cab back up to the Borghese to pick up our tickets (amazingly, this was our first cab ride in Rome).
The museum is the former residence of Cardinal Schippio Borghese – nephew of Pope Paul V, and in the mid-17th century, it became one of the world’s earliest art museums. His collection of sculptural antiquities was set alongside contemporary (at that time) works to show how man not only re-created the glories of ancient Greece and Rome, but surpassed it. The setting is the beautiful Borghese gardens, and the marvelous golden light of Rome allowed us to enjoy a quick bite outdoors before viewing the collection. Allan also managed to make a major purchase of a very comprehensive, exquisite book on the museum, albeit only in Italian.
The splendor of the museum’s interior (ceilings covered with scenes from both Roman myth and actual historical events) is only surpassed by some of its finest pieces. Our favorite remains Apollo and Daphne by Bernini. The delicacy of its marble is such that when certain places are tapped, it rings like fine crystal.
One of my favorites is a sculpture of the Princess Paolina Borghese done in the early 19th century. She is topless, reposed on a couch. Yet the entire piece looks real – the marble is sculpted so that the couch looks soft, with creases in the right areas. Apparently, because the subject was topless, it was considered shocking. But the Princess was such a patron of the arts that the shock was replaced with admiration to the artist’s work.
And so it went, room after glorious room, for an hour. We even went upstairs to the Pinoteca (picture gallery) to gaze upon some of our favorite paintings (and find, once again, a Madonna and Child where the latter looks like an old man). We left the museum sated and happy.
Back into the warm sunshine, we headed down the Via Veneto, one of Rome’s snazziest streets, with plenty of high-end hotels and restaurants with prices to match. We discovered that our favorite gelateria, Cafe Suggestum, no longer served gelato at a window, but sit-down only. Our sad faces quickly turned to happy ones as we found a favorite restaurant from our last visit to Rome, Terrazza Barberini, located not coincidentally, just off the Piazza Barberini. We were seated on the second floor terrace, and enjoyed a marvelous lunch of insalata caprese (basil, tomato, and the best buffalo mozzarella anywhere!), pizza cotto (with prosciutto) for Allan, and risotto alla sorrentina (rice with tomato and cheese) for myself.
After lunch we had one hour to do power shopping – and did we ever! Lovely shirts at Camicissima, lovely orange pants at King Menswear, after shave, and even a delightful paisley tie. Laden with bags, we headed back for Termini station and our 5:00 train back to Civitavecchia.
Note: Purple is the new orange.
The ride back to the port city was even faster, thanks to the express nature of the train. Once back in Civitavecchia, we mailed the postcards written in the morning and headed back to the ship. On the shuttle bus back from the port gate to the ship, the folks sitting around us were thrilled because they had actually seen Pope Benedict driving around St. Peter’s square in his Popemobile. And they had the pictures to prove it!
Once again, we had drinks in Michael’s club, and listened to everyone’s adventures in Rome. Tim and Rick decided to gird their loins and power-explore the city by foot on their own. It was great to hear about their first visit to the Coliseum, the Spanish steps, and the crazy delights of Rome. Dinner was another ho-hum affair, except for the fact that my one (yes, one) pre-dinner glass of wine got me looped. So, there were laughs all around at the end cuts of prime rib that reminded me of mom’s cooking: tough and charred. Ah well… Our next stop: Livorno, port for Florence (for most in our group) and The Cinque Terre (for Allan and Steve).
I (Steve) must admit that I was so excited to return to Rome that I woke up early enough to see our ship dock in Civitavecchia (pronounced chee-vee-tah-veh-kee-yah), the port about 35 miles northwest of Rome. The Millennium, like most modern cruise ships, is remarkably maneuverable on its own, thanks to bow thrusters and other such devices. So, no tugs are necessary to park this puppy. And the ship that arrived immediately after us was the aforementioned Voyager of the Seas!
After eating breakfast in our stateroom, we headed out for our day’s adventure. While others we’re enduring the 1.5 - 2 hour bus ride into the city (nasty traffic), we walked ten minutes from the port gate to the train station, where we boarded the 9:22 to Rome. The ride was relaxing and afforded us the opportunity to work on postcards (yes, just like this blog, we are horribly behind!).
We arrived at Roma Termini (the city’s main station) on time at 10:17 and headed for the cabs to take us up to the Galleria Borghese. We were under a deadline, as the first reservation Allan made at the museum was for 11:00, and one has to collect one’s tickets at least 30 minutes in advance. But when we got out of the station, the taxi queue was enormous. So, we thought we could walk it. We could, if our map wasn’t so disjointed. We were heading the right way, but in Rome the street names can only occasionally be found. By the time we had walked over a half-hour in the warm sun, getting increasingly frustrated with the situation, Allan felt that there was no way we could make our time window, and would therefore shoot to return at 12:30 for the 1:00 entrance reservation we also had (good planning on Allan’s part!).
Beside the Borghese, our other major goal in Rome was shopping. We headed down to the Via del Corso, the city’s main shopping thoroughfare, on our way to La Rinascente, Italy’s version of Macy’s. We had had good luck here two years ago, but alas, lightning didn’t strike twice. The linens department was no more, as was Murphy & Nye (a sports wear designer Allan was looking for). Since we had killed so much time getting down to the store, we had to turn around and take a cab back up to the Borghese to pick up our tickets (amazingly, this was our first cab ride in Rome).
The museum is the former residence of Cardinal Schippio Borghese – nephew of Pope Paul V, and in the mid-17th century, it became one of the world’s earliest art museums. His collection of sculptural antiquities was set alongside contemporary (at that time) works to show how man not only re-created the glories of ancient Greece and Rome, but surpassed it. The setting is the beautiful Borghese gardens, and the marvelous golden light of Rome allowed us to enjoy a quick bite outdoors before viewing the collection. Allan also managed to make a major purchase of a very comprehensive, exquisite book on the museum, albeit only in Italian.
The splendor of the museum’s interior (ceilings covered with scenes from both Roman myth and actual historical events) is only surpassed by some of its finest pieces. Our favorite remains Apollo and Daphne by Bernini. The delicacy of its marble is such that when certain places are tapped, it rings like fine crystal.
One of my favorites is a sculpture of the Princess Paolina Borghese done in the early 19th century. She is topless, reposed on a couch. Yet the entire piece looks real – the marble is sculpted so that the couch looks soft, with creases in the right areas. Apparently, because the subject was topless, it was considered shocking. But the Princess was such a patron of the arts that the shock was replaced with admiration to the artist’s work.
And so it went, room after glorious room, for an hour. We even went upstairs to the Pinoteca (picture gallery) to gaze upon some of our favorite paintings (and find, once again, a Madonna and Child where the latter looks like an old man). We left the museum sated and happy.
Back into the warm sunshine, we headed down the Via Veneto, one of Rome’s snazziest streets, with plenty of high-end hotels and restaurants with prices to match. We discovered that our favorite gelateria, Cafe Suggestum, no longer served gelato at a window, but sit-down only. Our sad faces quickly turned to happy ones as we found a favorite restaurant from our last visit to Rome, Terrazza Barberini, located not coincidentally, just off the Piazza Barberini. We were seated on the second floor terrace, and enjoyed a marvelous lunch of insalata caprese (basil, tomato, and the best buffalo mozzarella anywhere!), pizza cotto (with prosciutto) for Allan, and risotto alla sorrentina (rice with tomato and cheese) for myself.
After lunch we had one hour to do power shopping – and did we ever! Lovely shirts at Camicissima, lovely orange pants at King Menswear, after shave, and even a delightful paisley tie. Laden with bags, we headed back for Termini station and our 5:00 train back to Civitavecchia.
Note: Purple is the new orange.
The ride back to the port city was even faster, thanks to the express nature of the train. Once back in Civitavecchia, we mailed the postcards written in the morning and headed back to the ship. On the shuttle bus back from the port gate to the ship, the folks sitting around us were thrilled because they had actually seen Pope Benedict driving around St. Peter’s square in his Popemobile. And they had the pictures to prove it!
Once again, we had drinks in Michael’s club, and listened to everyone’s adventures in Rome. Tim and Rick decided to gird their loins and power-explore the city by foot on their own. It was great to hear about their first visit to the Coliseum, the Spanish steps, and the crazy delights of Rome. Dinner was another ho-hum affair, except for the fact that my one (yes, one) pre-dinner glass of wine got me looped. So, there were laughs all around at the end cuts of prime rib that reminded me of mom’s cooking: tough and charred. Ah well… Our next stop: Livorno, port for Florence (for most in our group) and The Cinque Terre (for Allan and Steve).
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