Off the beaten track in Rome

Sadly, this was my last day in Rome. I’ve got everything arranged and checked in for my long flight home tomorrow — well that will be today. I’m writing this the night before, so you have something to read. And then hopefully on Saturday everything will be back to normal - whatever that is. So as you read this, I’ll likely be on one of two planes. DH and I splurged on the fare, so don’t feel sorry for me and the long flights. 

As I’ve mentioned, I love traveling solo because I can do whatever I want, how I want, and spend as much or as little time doing it. 

Please do NOT judge me for what I am about to share with you. It’s MY vacation. And yes — I totally understand that I am in a very ancient city with many cultural things available. I also don’t want to spend my entire time in a queue doing what everyone else is doing. YES - I know you can buy skip the line tickets, but you are still immersed in huge crowds. I hate huge crowds with a passion. 

Here’s what happened. When I went to St. Peter’s Square which isn’t a square, but it’s called a square, I spotted a couple of geocaches on the app. Remember —- you can’t judge - this is my vacation. Well, both of them required taking a picture of something, which I either couldn’t access yesterday or didn’t have with me. 

So after getting things squared away at the hotel reception (booking a car at a ridiculous time in the morning), I was now off to return to Vatican City. And thankfully, the chairs were completely removed and the barricades were open. 

If I had just walked into the square, I would NOT have known this, but I discovered it by reading one of the geocaches. There are 142 pillars in four rows along each side of the semi circle. Many of you have seen them if you’ve been to the square. 

One side of the Colonade in St. Peter’s Square

But - did you know that if you stand on this circle which is the center of the semicircle, that the columns align and the four (one behind the other) look like ONE!!!!!

Center of one side of the Colonade

See how it looks like ONE pillar - the other three are hidden

And for good luck, I did the other side as well. 

The other side

Again, the pillars line up

So many people just walked right by or stood on the circle and took all kinds of pictures of themselves, but didn’t look once at the columns. 

How is this alignment possible? The Colonade of St. Peter’s Square was built between 1656 and 1657 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. There are 284 pillars in total, with four rows. Each row of columns increases laterally with the one nearest the center having the largest diameter (1.42 M). So when you stand in the middle on those circles, the widest one hides the others. 

It’s pretty amazing and considering when they were built —-I thought the architecture was unique enough to warrant going back to the Vatican City. The circles were behind the barricades yesterday and even though they were just clearing the chairs, they wouldn’t let us into this area. 

One other thing to keep in mind is that Vatican City is an independent sovereign country. In the geocaching world, that means, you can get a virtual badge for finding a geocache within the country. Now that was super exciting and I hadn’t even thought about that until yesterday. I was NOT going home without this virtual badge. 

My virtual badge for Vatican City

And just in case you are interested, I have virtual badges for 13 countries, 11 of the Canadian Provinces/Territories, and 15 of the US states. Not bad considering I’m not a wide traveler 

Do not roll your eyes —- it’s my vacation. I also got a second cache which required taking a picture of yourself in the square with a flag from your country. I happened to have this on my backpack, so I got that one as well. 

Me with my Canada flag in St. Peter’s Square

Trust me — that was way more fun and exciting to me than standing amongst throngs of people lining for hours to visit St. Peter’s Bascilica. 

What was shocking is that so many people do NOT read. The owner of the geocache for the optical illusion, where he tells you exactly where to stand and what to send him in order to get the credit, just didn’t do that. I watched someone yesterday, as the workers were putting the chairs away, to take a picture of the circles. There is even a picturing on the geocache website saying the cache owner will delete their log if they don’t post the correct picture. Sigh….

I debated how to get there - should I walk or should I take the metro? I decided to walk - it was a beautiful morning. And by George - I think I may have finally got the hang of walking with Google Maps. I know - it should be easy, but my brain just didn’t work well with it, but I seem to be OK now. About time —- how many year have I been trying to get the hang of it!!!

A friend of mine saw that I was here and suggested I hit a second hand shop!!! I know —- when in Rome - it’s OK to do things that no one expects you to do. It was only fifteen minutes from Vactican City. Now here’s one more thing about the darn maps. If you look at a paper map, there seems to be a relatively straight line from the train station to Vatican City. Google Maps? It took the scenic route!!!

But it was almost a straight line to the thrift shop. 

The thrift shop

It’s not large, and it’s organized by the type of clothing and then by color!!! I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to look. No jean jackets in case anyone in my sewing group is going to ask. 

Jeans, but no jackets

Then it was off to catch up with my tour group for the afternoon. It was near a metro station, but I decided to walk since I had time. The station was called Pyramid. I wonder why! This was across the street from the station. It’s called the Pyramid of Cestius built between 18 and 12 BC near Porto San Pablo. 

Pyramid of Cestius

I was a bit early, so I went to find some place to eat and use the WC. This pizza was pretty decent, but I have had better. 

Lunch

Our group was meeting outside the metro and it was clearly indicated on Google Maps. However one person was missing and she came running over a few minutes after we were to start the tour, while her husband waited at the train side of this metro station. No worries —- we all got organized. And they had been waiting at the train for 90 minutes. I get it that it’s a bit unnerving to wait for a tour at a random spot!! I always look twice and when you follow the links on Google Maps —- it took us to the EXACT spot. We were also told to arrive 30 minutes before and when she didn’t spot anyone, maybe she should have started asking questions. But I digress. 

While waiting, I needed the WC again. OH MY GOODNESS —- a self cleaning WC. Well, let’s give this a whirl. I inserted my .50 Euros and the door slide open. 

Self-cleaning WC

Yikes —- as I walked in the floor appeared to move and there was water everywhere. I think the floor sort of floated and as you stepped it sank into the water. Not much, but I bet if you jumped you would have got splashed!!!

The TP was metered out — maximum of ten sheets, but you had to press the button for that to happen. A place to get soap and water and blow dry the hands, although I couldn’t make them work. I think this was one of those things you must experience twice in order to get the full deal!!!! And there was a big yellow button on the side near the door which was a warning that your time was up. 

The self-clean toilet

Fortunately that light didn’t come on while I was in there, but can you imagine if the washing started while you were still inside. Imagine being in a car wash!!!! I had visions!!!! By the way —- the several car washes I’ve seen here look like the ones back home, EXCEPT there is no building around them. 

While I waited for the tour guide, I noticed these two cars in front of me. WAIT —- there were two Fords parked in front. They were the first NA cars I’d seen. Well, NA branded, but definitely not the kind of car we would drive back home. No trucks at all in the city and the cars are small —- well, they range from tiny to small. Although these two do look mid-sized. 

A Ford in Rome

One other thing I’ve noticed is that people YELL - a lot. I didn’t see exactly what happened, but a polizia walked between two cars to get to the metro and some lady (in one of the cars) started yelling her head off at the cop. As I watched, I realized that he parked his car behind hers so she couldn’t get out. Anyway —-she got out of her car and there was a shouting match. The cop let her stew for a while and eventually moved the car. 

I’m sure there was more to that story than met the eye. 

This is one of the gates to the Aurelian Walls which were built between 271 AD and 275 AD. I’m not sure if all the walls are still intact, but we saw miles of the walls as we drove in our bus for our tour. At one point (and perhaps still today), the walls enclose 3,500 acres of land!!!!!

Apparently, you can visit the walls and walk on top of one of the sections. That’s for next time. 

A gate in the Aurelian Walls

The tour I booked was not the traditional Rome tour and it took us to see some very unusual sites. As you know, I’ve been totally fascinated by the aqueducts on my Spanish hikes, so when I saw the opportunity to visit the Roman aqueducts, I was in. We had to drive about 16 miles out of the city. And well, you should know by now, that the traffic here is crazy. It’s rush hour all day, every day!!!!

But it was fascinating to hear the stories and did you know there are two aqueduct lines in these arches? 

Part of the aquaduct system

The aquaducts of Rome

Much of it was destroyed at some point because it was a way for their enemies to cripple the city by cutting off the water supply. Did you know that Trevi Fountain is fed by an aqueduct (Aqua Virgo) Obviously, not this one as it ends abruptly just beyond the left of the first photo. 

It was all super fascinating, but there was also another part to this tour —- catacombs!!!! I have never been to any catacombs and this was my chance. There are 66 catacombs in Rome!!!! Who knew! And apparently, they are not connected to each other. 

This is one of the largest with tunnels running up to 17 KM inside, although only about 12 KMs have been excavated. I’m guessing that is the TOTAL of all tunnels, not the distance from the entrance. We were not allowed to take pictures, but that didn’t stop someone (not from our group, but two people were asked to join our group) from taking a few until I told her it wasn’t allowed. She thought it was just flash photography. Apparently, she doesn’t listen and doesn’t read the signs. 

People are so ignorant or choose to follow their rules. It is a sacred place and you had to cover your knees if you were wearing shorts! Anyway —- no big deal. This picture was in the lobby and we were allowed to take pictures there. 

I cannot begin to describe the catacombs. First, there are no bones left —they were all moved into cemeteries many years ago. The catacombs were first started because it was against the law to bury people within the city. There’s a lot of history here and I believe at one point Christianity was illegal and well —it’s complicated. Christianity was finally tolerated after the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. 

For the most part, the people were not buried with valuables - that tradition started years later. Families were buried together in a room. 

But when you talk about catacombs —- it’s like a bee hive down there. Narrow aisles, niches in the walls on both sides, dark and well — I would NOT want to get lost down there!!!! Apparently the guy (Antonio Bosini) who originally discovered the catacombs in the late 16th century got lost for three days when he first discovered them.!!! There are 40 skylights (now filled in) that lit the place and many oil lamps were found with the dead. 

The thing to remember is that this was the RESTING place as they waited for something better - the resurrection of Jesus. So when we say Rest in Peace, it’s not technically the end. I’m sure I have not explained that well and others may not feel the same way. 

This was our small bus and the guy did a pretty good job despite the horrific traffic!!! 

The final stop on the tour was the Appian Way. This was the first major road in Italy and the first section was completed in 312 BC and its goal was to connect Rome to Brindisi in southeast Italy. Part of the road is cobblestone, which is NEW. One family, who was running out of money made part of the highway a toll highway!!! That has something to do with the Castrum Caetani, but I can’t find all the details. 

These are the rocks from back in the day. It sure reminds me of Pompeii. 

Original stones on the Appian Way

And then we got back to the Pyramid metro station where we were let off. The tour was supposed to last 3 hours, but I think the traffic added at least an hour. I forgot to pack snacks, so I was getting hungry. 

It was about 3 KM to the main train station and I wasn’t even tempted to walk.  I paid 3 Euro and took the metro. Hey —- if you’ve taken the metro in one city- they are all alike. Just find the station you are at - find the one you want to get to. Check the end station, so you know what direction to get on and you are golden. 

The metro

Within a few minutes, I was at the main train station. I noticed that there are NO ads in the cars, unlike in NA where there were ads in the cars back when I took the metro daily in Montreal (1980s). 

NO ADS

Once I exited the metro, I had to find my way out of the train station, but that was easy enough. There is the metro (several lines), the commuter trains, the high speed trains - all converged in one spot, but just keep watching the signs — it’s super easy. 

While this may or may not work for you if you travel solo, but traveling by train and getting a hotel near that central train station is key to getting around. At least that’s what I’ve found. All roads lead to the train station!!!

I was so tired and hungry by this time, I sat in the little sidewalk restaurant just outside the door to my hotel, I didn’t care —- I had a beer and a coke. 

 Then some bruschetta. 

With pasta!!!!

The hotel just dropped off my box breakfast for tomorrow morning so I don’t have to buy expensive food in the airport. Which is good since I’m getting there very early and my flight is at 8 AM. I’ll have loads of time to kill, so I have lots of food to eat. It’ll be a surprise to see what they packed, but the darn thing is heavy!

And that pretty much wraps up my day. It was an amazing dive into history and I have literally just dipped my baby toe in. You could spend the rest of your life understanding the complexities of European history. I learned a lot, had fun with my geocaching and checked out some unusual things that didn’t require lining up in a queue — something I am NOT good at. 

I would definitely come back and I see by Nina’s comment that I also need to get to Florence. I need to get to Germany one year to visit with her!! I keep getting offers from people to travel with them and I have a trip planned for next year already. But MUM’s the word until things get confirmed. Yes — I will be travelling with someone — but that’s OK. 

And on that note, I must get ready for bed. 

Wait — I have a question for you. What kind of traveler are you? Do you open your suitcase and dump everything in the drawers and bathroom and then require lots of repacking time. Or do you put everything back in the suitcase/backpack so the room looks tidy? I’m the tidy one —— when I get into the room, I only unpack what I need that night and the rest stays in the suitcase. So if I needed to pack right now, it would take me 5 minutes!!! Of course, I don’t have tons to pack anyway and it’s all in separate plastic bags (at least what’s in the backpack) so fewer things to pack. 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!