July 17, 2009

This morning we docked in the port city of Civitavecchia and took a 75 minute train trip into Rome. Unfortunately, by the time we caught the train there were hardly any seats left, so we had to stand near the washroom area of the train for the entire duration of the trip. We got off the train near the Vatican City and spent the morning touring St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museum, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. We expected long line-ups to enter St. Peter’s, and had doubts about even getting in to the Sistine Chapel, but were pleasantly surprised to be able to visit both without very little waiting. The amount of art in St. Peter’s and the museum is overwhelming, but we tried to take in as much as we could before lunch. After lunch near the museum (where we set a new record price for a meal – 85 Euros, or around $135 CDN – needless to say, this wasn’t my first choice but I lost out to those who wanted to sit down for their meal in a restaurant) we caught a bus for the Coliseum.

We planned to exit the bus at the Piazza Venezia, the largest marble monument in Italy. As the bus stopped, Karen and the boys got off but the rest of us were blocked by a woman with a bunch of shopping bags who wouldn’t let us out. Before we knew it, the doors closed and the bus was off down the road. As we drove off, Karen motioned that they would stay at the bus stop. The bus wound its way around the piazza and took off down another road for several minutes before stopping. Karen’s parents and I walked back to the piazza and then had to figure out which road we had left Karen and the boys. Karen’s father and I each chose a road, and fortunately, Dad spotted Abram and we were eventually reunited.

We walked to the Coliseum and toured the interior. Like yesterday, the temperature was around 35 C. and we were fairly tired, but we did the best we could before catching the metro back to the main train station where we ran to catch our train. Karen’s Mom literally hopped on the train seconds before it departed at 3:39 p.m. We managed to all find seats and made it back to Civitavecchia by around 5:00 p.m. We later learned that the next train was suspended, and at least one couple we talked to who are from Vancouver had to hire a taxi for 100 Euros to get back to the cruise ship. So, we considered ourselves fortunate!