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| Prison cell where St. Peter was held |
From there we walked to the prison where St. Peter was held passing the Roman Forum along the way. It was rather difficult to understand our guide much of the time, so I did not get as much info on that as I would have liked, but maybe that will keep this section smaller? :-) But, the building had five levels, the bottom being the cell in which he was held, and the upper levels re-purposed to become shrines or chapels.
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| Roman Forum |
We walked back to the Roman Forum, where again, the guide was difficult to understand. At length, we determined that my head set batteries were dying (she spoke into a microphone with a transmitter to headphones dispersed to the group). Also, someone finally told her how to wear the headset, so the microphone would stay in front of her mouth. She did not want to do so, as it would "mess up her hair". Tip = Tip - $. :-(
Anyway, we did not go through the Forum, but looked over it from above while she talked about it.
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| Colosseum |
After a couple of hours of standing, we walked to the Colosseum. We (Theresa and I) have seen the Colosseum (and the Roman Forum) previously, so it was a revisit for us. That makes it a little harder to discriminate between what we were told, and already knew, and is common knowledge. So, to keep from droning...as I am occasionally accused of...I'll move on.
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| Interior of Colosseum |
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| Beer Restaurant |
Finally, we got back on the bus, and headed to lunch. We had a guide, and a ... tour director (?) who sort of marshaled us to where and when we were to be next. She was usually quite helpful and good. But this time, she told us how wonderful this place we were going to for lunch was--it had every kind of "Italian" food you could want (I suspect every morsel we had in Italy was "Italian food", but I wasn't going to have that discussion). The place is called "Eat-aly", and does have a nice variety of food options. But...it was a little hard to figure out. They have kind of a grocery store on the first floor, and a couple of sandwich spots. Then on the second floor, there are a selection of restaurants, specific to one item. One for Cheese, one for Pasta, one for Pizza, one for meats (cold cuts), etc. We kind of figured that out with some walking around, but then had to figure out that you first grabbed a table (and noted the table number, dump your personal belongs there (to hold the table) and then leave them behind (unattended and out of sight) while getting in line to order. Theresa was in one line at one place, me in another for different food. If one went there a few times, and had the hang of it, knowing exactly what they were in the mood for, it might have been a great place. But, this was just a hassle.
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| Near Catacombs |
After lunch, we visited San Callisto Catacombs on the "Via Appia Antica" (Old Appian Way). No pictures were allowed in the catacombs, so no great ones to share. (Sorry) But, the early Christians started burying their deceased there before the end of the first century, and for a couple hundred years thereafter. The first 10 popes were buried there initially, but have since been moved (to St. Peter's, I think). The catacombs had four levels, which included the hallways, various rooms (some with altars so people could gather to pray or have Mass for the deceases, etc), and frescoes and painting in many places. Contrary to some popular rumors, there is no evidence that anyone ever "lived" in the catacombs. But, it was a safe place to worship. All of the bones have been removed in the areas where the tours were, as people used to pick up bones as souvenirs.
The original level, they dug tunnels and formed alcoves (like shelves) in the walls to lay the bodies. Then they plastered a cover over the opening to seal in the body. They kept digging deeper, and adding new "shelves" below, until some were ten or more high (or low). Eventually, the tunnels were 30-40 feet tall in places, so they began another level, below the first. Then another below that. Finally they added the fourth level above the first, so there were 4 levels total, the oldest being the second one down. There were some 25 miles of tunnel in the four levels, all in a space of land a little more than a couple of acres. There were rooms, with altars, where people could gather to have Mass for the deceased, or for prayer. It was a stunning place to see. After the catacombs, we headed back to the hotel.
For dinner, we met back at the same restaurant, a couple of blocks from the hotel. Dinner was similar to the first night, with first course (risotto), followed by a pork roast of some sort (not bad, not great), and a potato paste. I think it was supposed to be mashed potatoes, but it was thick and pasty, with no flavor. Vegetables seemed not to be on the menu. Dessert was some reasonably tasty custard in a small glass with chocolate sauce on top. It was not bad; I'd give it a 4-5 out of 10. But no drinks were included, not even water. The tour coordinator negotiated for us to get the "micro-filtered" water for one euro per bottle (which was better than the 1.80 they wanted), so that helped, but a lot of people were disenchanted at being charged for what seemed to be filtered tap water. In Rome, the water is very good, and there are fountains all over that you can drink or fill a water bottle. Some have valves to turn on or off, and others just run constantly (with a flow of about a gallon a minute). So, being charged $1.30 for liter of water was a sore spot for some. But, then the tour coordinator left early, so when the bills started arriving for the drinks (some had wine, some water, etc), the discount for water was not given, and some were charged a "table fee". Table fees are no uncommon in Rome, but for a tour that is supposed to have dinners "included", to suddenly be paying for water, and then a couple bucks for a table, people were NOT happy. We shared a booth with another couple, and were not charged for the "table", so once we got the water price straightened out, we left the mayhem and went "home".
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