All Roads Lead to…

Day 11 - Yep, we made it to Rome!!

We rode the train from Siena to Florence, then Florence to Rome! We had a great introduction to Rome's traffic, compliments of our van driver! It was a hair raising experience, to say the least! Note to self: do not attempt to drive in Rome!! We got to our hotel, the Novona Palace Luxury Inn, and were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to suites! It's the biggest space we've stayed in, and Scott was so happy to have a "real" shower (I.e. not just a bathtub, and not one with a partial glass door...a real, fully enclosed shower!).

After a great lunch (the food in Italy has been amazing!!) and taking the Big Bus tour to see some sites, we disembarked and just started wandering in the direction of the Pantheon.

The crazy thing about Rome is that you will be walking along, and then there will be some Roman ruin from 2,000 years ago!!

We ended up in the Jewish Ghetto just in time for an aperitif. My cousin, Tim, had recommended we come here, and although we were here to relax and have a cocktail, the significance of this place wasn't lost on us.

The second oldest Jewish ghetto in history (the oldest is in Venice), the Rome ghetto was founded in 1555 AD. It was raided by the Gestapo on October 16, 1943. A total of 1,259 people, mainly members of the Jewish community—numbering 363 men, 689 women, and 207 children—were detained and 1,023 were identified as Jews and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Of these deportees, only fifteen men and one woman survived. (Credit: Wikipedia)

After our stop here, we headed out in search of the Pantheon...and, wow! We all agreed this was the most impressive piece of architecture we've seen yet!

The Pantheon, originally built in 27 BC as a Roman Temple to ALL the gods, where anyone could worship, was completely rebuilt in 120 AD after a couple of fires. From the outside, the Pantheon's dome isn't impressive, but once you enter, you observe one of the most influential buildings in art and architectural history! The dome of the Pantheon was the model for the cathedral dome in Florence (which launched the Renaissance), for Michaelangelo's dome at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and was even the inspiration for the U.S. Capitol dome.

Following the visit to the Pantheon, we headed back to the hotel, and found a great outdoor cafe for drinks (we were stuffed from the earlier appetizers!). Lori and Gayle sneaked away after dinner and went for an evening stroll (which included gelato!), ending up at the Trevi Fountain!

We also got a look at the Pantheon at night and the impressive Piazza Navona!

Tomorrow, we will visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. It should be a wonderful day!

Transfers: We taxied from the hotel in Siena to the Train Station.

In Rome, we used Green Mobility as the Private Transfer from the train station to our Hotel

Hotel: Navona Palace Luxury Inn (we loved the neighborhood this hotel was in!)

Tour: Big Bus Tours

Step Count: 12,201 steps or 6.1 miles