Rome w Rick Steves

Our Rick Steves (RS) Tour starts. We have been following RS since Susan traveled to Europe in 1984. A RS Tour means being on the go, traveling light, and having great local guides. This RS Tour called Best of Europe is going to take us to 5 countries in 14 days, starting in Rome and ending in Paris.
So we downsized again and are ready to quicken the pace.

April 15
Met the Rick Steves Tour family today. Great group of 28 from all parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Started with a lovely orientation walk around Rome hitting the highlights with an insiders narrative that added so much more depth and history. Walked past the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, which were jam-packed with tourists.

Ending the evening over a lovely group dinner and a few bottles of wine.

April 16
Got an early start to see Vatican City and Tour St. Peter's Basilica before the crowds arrived. Our local guide explained the history of why the Pope still uses Swiss Guards and how Vatican City operates independently of Rome, recognized as its own country.

St. Peter's Basilica is vast but magnificent. Michalangelos' famous Pietra is behind glass now due to vandalism in the past but has been restored. The center alter is covered at the moment in preparation for the Vatican Jubilee in 2025. Morris climbed the steps to the top of St. Peter's dome and enjoyed a grand view. Took in the Vatican Museum in the afternoon and Michelangelo 's painting in the Sistine Chapel.

April 17
This morning, we headed to the Colosseum and Forum Ruins to meet up w Francisca, our local guide. Let's just say that she brought the forum ruins to life with her stories, passion, and love of Rome. As she reminded us, Rome is a lot to take in as a whole until you look at it like the many layers in a lasagna. 2800 years of history with a mindset of building things to last (no planned obsolescence), but as time wore on re-using of old materials (like building foundations) to rebuild on top of the old.

As we walked past his burial site, she explained the Ides of March, the infamous day Julies Caesar was assassinated. She pointed out that we were walking on the world's oldest surviving road, The Appian Way, which was Rome's vital lifeline, serving as both a military and economic artery. She ended our tour by saying, "Your footsteps are now with the footsteps of the Ceasars."

The last site visited was the Pantheon, a truly amazing site. It's the only ancient Roman building that has remained intact through the centuries. Its columns are over 1900 years old and are single pieces of marble that came from a quary 62 miles from the Nile River in Egypt. The inside is even more spectacular and still studied by students today.

Rome is such a warm, beautiful city, and we'll be back one day soon ❤️

After lunch, we hopped on the bus for Tuscany!!Read more