DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

I was not going to post on Easter Sunday, but since this post includes Vatican City, it seemed appropriate. We arrived in the port of Civitavecchia (about an hour drive from Rome) at 5AM and didn’t depart until 11PM. This was due to the fact that it was the mid-point of two cruises and some passengers disembarked, while others embarked for the trip to Venice. There were no Viking excursions listed for Rome when we departed from Tarragona to Rome. We were going to take the train into Rome and wander around by ourselves and get reacquainted with this amazing city that we had visited in 1973. However, about half-way into the week of cruising to Rome Viking announced a few excursions and we booked a 6 hour excursion “Snapshots of Rome.”

From Viking: “Relax and take in the sights of Rome, admiring historic monuments and glorious architecture on a leisurely drive. Travel along some of the city’s most scenic routes. See ancient Roman sites, including the Aurelian Walls, Baths of Caracalla, Pyramid of Cestius, Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. Admire the Arch of Constantine, the best triumphal arch in the city, built in 315 AD to celebrate Constantine’s victory at the battle of the Milvian Bridge. Drive along the elegant Via Veneto, enjoying views of Villa Borghese Park. At Piazza della Repubblica, admire the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and Fountain of the Naiads. Your panoramic drive will also pass through Vatican City, the spiritual and administrative center of the Roman Catholic Church. As you depart Rome, the great facade of iconic St. Peter’s Basilica will come into view.

We saw a lot of Rome through the tour bus windows, and had some time to wander around St. Peters Square. We visited the Vatican gift shop, wandered around in front of St. Peters and had a cold drink and gelato. Rome is such a large city, with much to see; we got the “Cliff’s Notes tour” this time. We spent an overnight in Rome on our way from Florence to visit my family in Southern Italy in 1973 and then were there August 2-7, 1973 on our way north to Venice. We saw most of the significant sights of Rome on that trip, including attending mass in St. Peters. We would like to go back and really see Rome again.

The day we arrived in Rome, the CDC dropped their daily COVID testing requirements and Viking dropped the daily testing on the ship. However, masking was still required on all modes of public transportation.

My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-803441-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html

Next up: Naples

A beautiful ship on the way into Civitavecchia

(Download)

Docked across from us, note the size, 3,660 passengers vs 930 on our ship. We’re glad we chose Viking

(Download)

The United States Embassy in Rome

(Download)

St. Peters Square and the Vatican

(Download)

Inside St. Peters, one of my favorite photos from our 1973 visit when we attended mass there

(Download)

From in front of St. Peters; it was crowded in 1973 also

(Download)

A café almost 250 years old! Where we had a cold drink and gelato.

(Download)

I’m not looking forward to driving in Rome!

(Download)

The police drive Alfa Romeos; what a great country!

(Download)

Sunset from our veranda in Civitavecchia

(Download)

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Great tour!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Thank you NMGal, I appreciate it. The tour is only about 1/3 of the way through.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Another gorgeous tour, Dennis. Happy Easter!

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Very nice set Dennis. I like that you included the photos from 1973!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Thanks Mike. Happy Easter to you too!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Thank you Mark. Fortunately, I kept my old photos from that very memorable trip. I shot 35mm slides and kept a note on every photo I took; not too hard when you're only taking about 6 photos per day (on a 77 day trip). I put the slides into Kodak slide carousels for viewing on a screen; remember those days? I scanned them a few years ago and then lightly edited them a couple of years ago.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice set of photos--enjoyed.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Fine set Dennis.

Don

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Thanks John, I'm glad you enjoyed my photos.

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Thank you Don, I appreciate it.

andesbill

I wonder what a cruise on that sailboat was like. Great pics, but that one really caught my eye. Great angle. Too bad the sails weren’t up.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Love them light rays beaming down into...

Wasabi

Great shot on the first one, lined up the masts nicely!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

Thanks for your comments, and I wondered the same thing Bill. Our ship was considered a small ship, but a lot bigger than that one. I imagine it would have been glorious with the sails up.