Well, the cruise line kept telling us that you have to book an excursion with them or you may not make it back in time and you might miss the boat. So, while we did book two days of excursions we thought “Hell, Rome should be no problem” and we decided to check it out on our own.
We don’t do cruises! We like to visit a place for maybe a week and really check it out; can’t do that on a cruise! We knew we couldn’t check out Rome in a day, so we hung out the best we could:
The ship docks in the town of Civitavecchia. From there it’s a one and a half hour train ride to the main station in Rome. From the station you take the Metro to the Colosseo stop:
Tourists at the Colosseo Metro station
Sure, If we paid for a ship excursion we wouldn’t have to buy our own train tickets, worry if the train is on time or make sure we get the last train out to the docks before the ship sails off… But where’s the fun in that?
From the Metro, it’s right across the street:
Yep, the Roman Colosseum
Time for a Roman Photo Op!
Or purchase a $7 diet Coke from across the street!
OK, we paid for the location but it’s the only way to have access to a clean restroom. We also had pizza there for lunch.
The Arch of Constantine
The Obelisk of Thothmes IV at the Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Along the way…
to the Catacombs of Domitilla; We thought we could walk from the piazza to Domitilla, but as time was a concern, we took a taxi. A good thing too, it was much further than we thought. When we got there we met some visitors from Arvada, Colorado who took a taxi to the cats just like us!
Outside the catacombs
The subterranean basilica
These are the largest of the catacombs in Rome and the only ones that still contain bones! That’s why we made a point in checking them out.
Subterranean frescos
Our underground tour guide was this guy who reminded me of the weird character “Polo” played by Ronnie Corbett in the 1966 movie “Casino Royale”. I think he was perfect for the part.
After the tour we jumped into the nearest taxi to the train station and had a bit of a rush to find our last train back to the port of Civitavecchia. By some luck we made it on time, but it was a close one! If we didn’t make it we probably would have had to stay in Rome and take the train into Naples the next morning and find the ship from there.