Hot as Hades Tour: Rome on our Own

After our "extremely" warm morning we were relieved to reach the hotel, though it was much farther than we thought. This ended up being a blessing in disguise. Because we were so far from the heart of Rome, we had to go into the city each day with a purpose and a plan. After the morning of our excursion we were happy to take a rest during the heat of the day. We decided to head back into Rome around 4:00 in the afternoon. It actually turned out to be wonderful. It wasn't as hot as it was earlier in the day (though still toasty). The hotel shuttle bus dropped us off just outside Vatican City and we decided to just take a stroll towards the Hard Rock Cafe. This is one of our "traditions" we have for each city we visit that has a Hard Rock. We had probably walked about 30 minutes or so and it began to get warm again. It really is amazing the temperature difference between the streets shaded by the buildings lining them and the streets without those "protecting" buildings. The kids were thrilled when we stumbled across this fun fountain. It was just what they needed to continue on.

Before we stopped for our "traditional" Hard Rock meal we made it to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

Trevi Fountain, our first stop, is a true example of how Rome took full advantage of the abundance of water brought into the city by its great aqueducts. This fountain was completed in 1762. The fountain is set in front of the palace and represents water in every form. It is said that tossing a coin into the fountain will ensure a return to Rome one day. We didn't toss a coin in. :-)

We were off to see the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps are located in the Piazza di Spagna, just about 10 minutes from the Trevi Fountain. These steps got their name because they were located where the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican has been for 300 years. We arrived in the early evening and the sun had set on part of the staircase. I thought they just looked inviting, peaceful, and a great place grab a gelato and rest, but we had dinner to find.

Next stop...Hard Rock. Thankfully Hard Rock wasn't that far of a walk from the Spanish Steps, but the kids had pretty much had their fill of walking Rome for the day. The were delighted when we finally saw this...

After dinner we just hopped in a taxi and headed back to our hotel...located in the Egypt of Rome (hahaha).

The next morning we awoke refreshed and ready to take on more of Rome. Day 2 we set out to find the Pantheon, pizza and our souvenirs from Rome. We started off our morning by taking the shuttle to the designated drop off near Vatican City and began our search for the USO Rome. For all you military peeps out there, this can be a great break. We got a complimentary drink and we had hoped to join one of the tours later that day, but unfortunately the tours fill up quickly and can get filled weeks in advance, who knew. We were hoping to do the Rome Underground tour, but we had to regroup once the woman at the front desk (whom was completely rude I might add) informed us that the tour was filled. We grabbed a drink and sat at the tables and began to plan our next move. There was another couple in the USO, whom coincidentally, happened to be on our cruise as well, though we had not met them on the boat. We began chatting with them and they recommended a tour that they had done off the cruise ship, the Capuchin Crypt. Well we had a little experience with a Crypt on our trip to Portugal, so we were ready to compare, yet another similar sight.

We arrived at the Capuchin Crypt, which was back in the Hard Rock neighborhood. Thankfully day 2 was a bit overcast and not as hot as the previous day. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside this location, but holy cow. If you google Capuchin Crypt you can see pictures of the artistically arranged bones of more than 4,000 friars who died between 1528 and 1870. Leading up to the crypt was an interesting museum detailing the life of the Capuchin friars. It housed clothing, artifacts, footwear, books and much more. I loved this museum and found it incredibly informative. The Capuchin order is still functioning today.

Next on the agenda...finding the Pantheon. Funny story. We were winding through all these streets full of tourists, with my Rick Steves guide in hand and we stumbled upon this building, which we thought to ourselves, "Finally, we have arrived at the Pantheon". I began taking pictures and all the vendors outside were selling the Pantheon artifacts, globes, keychains, watercolors and the vast.

We began walking around trying to find the entrance. We kept thinking, "It can't be this difficult to get inside the Pantheon". Well maybe this wasn't the right building, but it certainly looked "old" and there were columns, but it certainly wasn't as impressive as I had hoped. Well as we were trying to find the entrance we turned a corner and...

Ahhh...now that is impressive. The Pantheon was built 2,000 years ago, the impressive domed temple was a model for Michelangelo's dome of St. Peter's, as well as many others. Because the Pantheon became a church dedicated to the martyrs just after the fall of Rome, the barbarians left it alone and the locals didn't take the pre-cut stones to build other buildings. The columns used in this construction are actually one whole piece of stone, not individual pieces formed into one large column, such as those at the Acropolis. The Pantheon is the only ancient building in Rome continuously used since its construction. It is the greatest look at the splendor of Rome with antiquity's best preserved interior and original bronze doors.

After we left the Pantheon we decided to sit and enjoy some gelato. We needed an incentive to keep the kids motivated until we could get back to the neighborhood where we wanted to eat lunch. We headed back to the Hard Rock neighborhood...I am not sure why we were drawn to this neighborhood, but it was just quiet and shaded and peaceful. We were now in search for pizza. We found a super yummy spot. The pizza in Italy, is by far, the most amazing pizza you will ever eat. The thin crust, the super fresh ingredients and the price are all just phenomenal. The cost of a pizza, even in a fancier restaurant, is about 6-8 euro...less than $10 and though they call one pizza a single serving it can clearly serve more.

Holy Cow...are you kidding me...so delicious. At this point we were sort of felling like we had conquered Rome. We still had a few hours before we were scheduled to catch the shuttle back to the hotel, so we thought maybe we would catch a movie. We took a taxi down to where there was a movie theater, but it turns out Italy is just like it is in Spain (and potentially how it is all over Europe), but movies don't start until early evening, so no afternoon movie for us. We decided to just take a leisurely stroll back near the Vatican to catch our bus.

One of the fun things about Rome is that there are, literally, fountains of all shapes and sizes all over the city. They range from fountains as grand as the Trevi fountain and ones hidden down a little side street used for filling up your water bottle. The water coming from these is ice cold and soooo refreshing. Here's a little compilation of some fountains and other fun sights along the way...

Our final day in Rome was spent in the hotel room waiting for our train. Originally, we figured we would want a later train to Venice, so that we could get a few more hours in Rome, but we were so far away that we just hung out until it was time to catch our train to Venice. At the train station we people watched, had some lunch and waited. Once on the train we enjoyed the scenery of Italy as we headed to Venice.

Don't miss our next stop on our Hot as Hades Tour: Venice.