We slept in pretty close to 8, but decided that we better get breakfast so we were down by about 9.
We ate and fiddled around a bit and found out the front desk would call us a cab to take us to the catacombs. We had a very interesting cab driver-a woman who had decorated her cab with Hello Kitty stuff. She was actually pretty good looking, but had strange lips and tattoos (not on her lips!) She also spoke no English, but with her GPS and the address she drove right to it exactly where I though it was. Cost 15 Euro. Even though one book said it was just four miles, it was way too far and treacherous to ever walk it. Wish I had a picture. One of those that will just be a memory in the mind. :)
San Sebastian and a Free Bus Ride
I had decided to take us to the Catacomb San Sebastiano where supposedly Saint Sebastian is buried. He’s the one you always see in the paintings with the arrows sticking out of him. He was martyred twice. The first time with the arrows he didn’t actually die. When we arrived, we just missed an English tour. The cost was 8 Euro each. My main concern was that at 12 the whole place shuts down for two hours so we didn’t want to miss the last morning tour.
Catacomb of San Sebastian
Our guide. No photos allowed in the catacomb.
Bust of San Sebastian by Bernini
Tomb of San Sebastian
Relics of San Sebastian. Do we believe that it is really one of he arrows?
We made it just fine and had a great tour from an Indian woman who was full of great info. Apparently there are over 7 miles of catacombs and over 100,000 are buried. She also said that the bones of Peter and Paul were housed here for a time, but I don’t think there is any solid proof of that. We also go to see some of the mausoleums from the Roman times and a place where they held a feast on the Day of the Apostles which is June 29 I think.
The tour ended in the church built by Constantine to honor Sebastian and along with his body even had one of the arrows he had been shot with. When we got out, everything was closed so we couldn’t even buy a bus ticket, but out guide said to just get on the bus 118 in front of where we were and ride it to the end of the line and back. We didn’t even worry about not having a ticket, the bus driver won’t sell you one and apparently no one will ask you for it. So we took our long ride around, which worked out great because when the bus made it back to the catacomb area when it did stop the bus was instantly totally packed, standing room only. We rode it to the Circus Maximus stop and then walked up to the Coloseum.
The Colosseum and Forum with Rick
I decided that I wanted to go into the Coloseum again so we just stood in line. Didn’t take that long really and we bought tickets for the Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Coloseum. We has a Rick Steves tour of the Colloseum and that made it all really easy. It was informative and fun too.
Pensive Christine at the Collosseum
Collosseum from the second level
The Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum
Tourist pose
I am actually on the trip!
Street food. Mozerella and pomodoro paninni
From there we got a little snack at the place you had to go to enter in to the Forum and Palatine Hill. WE used the crazy multi-sex bathroom and then backtracked to the Forum. Along the way we even saw some papaveri, must be a sign Gary!
Papaveri on the Palatine
The sack of Jerusalem
Once in the Forum we used the Rick Steves Forum Tour which took an hour or so. It’s always great to have good info in places like this. In the Temple of Julius Caesar I had not remembered seeing the flowers that are continually left there.
After a little difficulty, we found a way to get out as the Arch of Severus was closed. We even had someone take our picture in the spot up above the Forum where we always have it taken. Pretty fun.
Same spot we always nave our picture taken at the Forum
We walked up a zillion stairs to the Capitoline Museum is and then down past the Theatre of Marcellus to the river and then back to Trastevere.
We were back in the hotel by 4:30 and watched most of the Italy-Slovakia game. Sorry to see italy lose actually.
Another Great Dinner in Trastevere at Dar Lucia
We decided to take one of the Rick Steve’s dinner recommendations for Trastevere from the guide book and picked Tratoria da Lucia which apparently has been in business since 1938. I have my bearings completely now and we found it with out too much trouble. We actually got a table outside without a reservation and soon many were turned away. We had the recommended specialty Spaghetti alla Grecia with pancetta.
Spaghetti all Grecia
Cortoni with peas and fava beans
Notice the two accordion dudes in the back ground
Then Christine had what they called beef stew with small onions and I had a contorni with fava beans and peas which was delicious. We shared a bottle of water and a liter of wine and crusty bread.
For dessert we had the panne cotta with chocolate and this tasted nothing like Hersey’s and two espresso all for a total of 55 Euro. It was a great experience. We wandered back through the streets of Trastevere, stopped at an Internet café for five minutes before it closed and then made a back a little after ten.
We plan to take the 9:50 train to Foligno which will get us there at 11:15 just in time to get the car before noon. We shall see how it goes.
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