Our second port in Italy was at Civitavecchia, a port where we were able to get a train into Rome. We always wanted to visit Rome and this was a great opportunity to do it. We had previously booked a tour of the Vatican so that was our first stop. We took some pictures while waiting for the the start of the tour in the Piazza San Pietro, the most popular of the many squares in Rome.  Notice how empty the square is and also notice the chairs in front of St. Peter’s that were being set up for the Pope’s address to the people the next day.   We arrived early enough to look around outside before all the crowds gathered. It is said the square can hold 400,000 people and the area is surrounded by 284 columns designed by Bernini.

Our tour met outside of the Vatican.  The tour guide finally showed up, a delightful fellow from Ireland.  We had about 12 people total in our group and headed around the Vatican to the entrance.  We could see inside to where the famous Swiss Guards, the Pope’s personal security, are stationed.  The Vatican is it’s own sovereign state and contains the residence of the Pope.  It has its own post office and postage stamps, gas station etc.  and is governed by the Pope.  Gas is actually cheaper inside the Vatican because there is no tax.

Then it was into the inner courtyard.

There we had a briefing from our tour guide since he would not be able to talk once inside the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo’s famous ceiling depicts the story of the creation to the flood. No pictures of the chapel can be taken, since Fuji Film now holds the copyright on those famous images.

After the chapel we visited the Vatican Museum where we saw the original of the statue that inspired “The Thinker”.

The Original Thinker

And Nero’s huge bathtub and many more beautiful ceilings and tapestries.

Then into St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican,  to view Michelangelo’s Pieta, the beautiful marble sculpture of Mary holding Christ after his death.  It was difficult to get a picture of the Pieta because there is protective glass around it because several years back it was vandalized by a deranged person.

After we completed our Vatican tour, we caught the train over to the Colosseum and the Forum.

We returned by train to Civitavecchia for a nice stroll back to the ship.  We stopped along the way for ice cream, and arrived at the ship by 6 pm.  It was getting dark as we arrived in our room, and the view from our balcony was breathtaking.

Categories: Vacation
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