Rome

My recent cruise ended in Rome. This was my second trip to Rome. My first was 31 years ago; it was the first place I wanted to go in Europe. I was disappointed. I recall that it was hot and the buildings were crowded on winding, narrow streets. As a young man, I was impressed with the Vatican, put off by the run-down feel of the city, and disappointed with the condition of the Coliseum on other Roman buildings. Now, so many years later, and with the experience of visiting dozens of big European cities, I was hoping for a better experience. It was better, but my opinions are still the same. At least this time I got to do it with my teenage son.

We had only 2 days. We hustled straight to the Vatican Museum as soon as we got to Rome. I think maybe my wife and I must have missed big portions of it last time, or maybe they've expanded it. But it's WAY bigger than I remember. We spent a few hours walking around in the sweltering heat, looking at paintings and sculpture and other ancient Greek and Roman artifacts. The museum is not air conditioned. Finally we headed to the Sistine Chapel. There we were met with a crushing crowd of people milling around. The frescoes seemed dim and dirty last I saw. Now they look very nice. Perhaps there's been a recent restoration? The guards were busy yelling, "Silencio." They also kept telling people, "No pictures." One man kept taking pictures and was promptly thrown out. After that, we went to St. Peter's Basilica. It's just as I remember, huge, ornate, impressive. My son was stunned by the size of the dome.

We wandered back to the hotel, passing Castel St. Angelo and the Spanish Steps. The room never seemed to cool off, even with the AC on full blast.

That evening, we walked to the Trevi Fountain. Again, there was a crushing crowd. Cops were busy blowing their whistles every time someone tried to climb on something or put any part of themselves in the pool.

The next morning we went to the Altar of the Fatherland. Talk about big. Then we went to the Pantheon, a building that I didn't know existed last time I was in Rome. The exterior is in bad shape. The interior is stunning. The oculus is much larger than I expected. The Romans sure knew how to build.

Coliseum

Then we went to the Coliseum and waited in a long line to get in. And it was brutally hot by this time. We had a good time walking around, but spent much of our visit moving from scant shade to some other scant shade. It too looks just as I remember, well worn and crumbling. But at least this time I saw no bushes growing in cracks in the stone. We had planned to also stroll through the Forum, but the line to get in was excruciatingly long.

From the Second Level

Remains of the Cellar

And we went back to the hotel, having had our fill of baking in the sun. We spent a leisurely evening packing for our return flight. The next morning, on our trip to the airport, our van driver drove just like I remember Italians driving, weaving in traffic, cutting people off, horn honking, cursing others for cutting him off.

So, it was a nice trip. The macaques were my favorite part. The heat was my least favorite part. Clearing passport control at Dulles airport, with a 2 hour line, was pretty bad too.