Day 1 and 2 Getting Acquainted With Rome
Day 1: We gathered at our hotel for a "Welcome to Italy" group meeting. Afterwards, we took an evening stroll through the winding streets of Trastevere on our way to get better acquainted over dinner. We had our first meal as a group at Ristorante Da Pancrazio. We were treated to a wonderful meal with plenty of wine to share as we got to know our travel mates. We were served in a cavernous room which was over the ruins of the Theater of Pompey one of the oldest buildings in Rome. In the nearby site of the large Curia,( a meeting place for the Roman senators), Julius Caesar was murdered by Brutus and Cassius on the Ides of March of 44 B.C.
Day 2: Today we set out with our guide from Rome as she took us on a walking tour through parts of the city. We crossed the Tiber River at Ponte Cestio, to the Isola Tiberina. We then crossed the river again at Ponte Fabricio to find out about the history of Rome's Jewish Ghetto. We made our way past the Teatro di Marcello on our way to the world's oldest museum, the Capitoline. This museum houses artifacts from Rome's golden age. There were amazing sculptures, including the bronze Marcus Aurelius on horseback, and the She-Wolf suckling Rome's founding brothers: Romulus and Remus. The detail on some of these sculptures was truly amazing. The rest of the day was mine to wander and take in the sites. I wound up at the cafe on the rooftop of the Victor Emmanuel Monument and got some great pictures of the Rome skyline as a storm cloud was moving by. Since I would be back in Rome again at the end of my Heart of Italy tour with Rick Steves in a few weeks, I'd save some of the "big" Rome attractions for then. (See the page on Rome for the Heart of Italy tour for more photos). Below you will see some of the shots I took on this tour stop in Rome.
Click the "Play" button below for a slideshow or the arrows to view pictures one at a time.
Day 2: Today we set out with our guide from Rome as she took us on a walking tour through parts of the city. We crossed the Tiber River at Ponte Cestio, to the Isola Tiberina. We then crossed the river again at Ponte Fabricio to find out about the history of Rome's Jewish Ghetto. We made our way past the Teatro di Marcello on our way to the world's oldest museum, the Capitoline. This museum houses artifacts from Rome's golden age. There were amazing sculptures, including the bronze Marcus Aurelius on horseback, and the She-Wolf suckling Rome's founding brothers: Romulus and Remus. The detail on some of these sculptures was truly amazing. The rest of the day was mine to wander and take in the sites. I wound up at the cafe on the rooftop of the Victor Emmanuel Monument and got some great pictures of the Rome skyline as a storm cloud was moving by. Since I would be back in Rome again at the end of my Heart of Italy tour with Rick Steves in a few weeks, I'd save some of the "big" Rome attractions for then. (See the page on Rome for the Heart of Italy tour for more photos). Below you will see some of the shots I took on this tour stop in Rome.
Click the "Play" button below for a slideshow or the arrows to view pictures one at a time.