Shirley Adventures: Day 5: Civitavecchia & Rome, Italy

Our next stop was in the port city, Civitavecchia. From there we headed to Rome on a 2 hr. drive. This was our favorite city out of the entire cruise. Our tour was the most exausting tour out of the whole trip.... 11 and a half hours long! We went on the tour called "Roman Holiday." As we rode on the tour bus, we watched the movie, "Roman Holiday." Our first stop in Rome was to see the Mouth of Truth. Luckily no one lost their hand. :) It was thought that a liar would loose his hands if he placed them in the mouth of the Bocca del Verita. Thought to be an ancient Roman ornamental drain cover. The Mouth of Truth has hung in the portico of the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome since 1632. Our tour guide told us that because of the movie... many people from Japan come to see the Bocca della Veritalla - the Mouth of Truth. And yes, most of the people in line were from Japan... and they were very excited. We then toured the church and the tile work on the floor was impressive.

Roman Police

Then we headed to the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately there was scaffolding at the top of the steps.

A view of Rome from the top of the steps. And some random shots of Rome.

The most famous fountain in Rome is the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Waters of the Trevi Fountain. We only threw one coin. I guess it worked because we had a great experience on our cruise and made it home safely. :)

One of the best-known symbols of Roman neoclassicism is the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of Fatherland." This is where the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italians that fell in World War I, is located.

Trajans Column
Completed in 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which commemorates Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.

More random shots of Rome.

This was where Audrey Hepburn addressed the media at the end of the movie "Roman Holiday." It is an elegant restaurant where we ate lunch and drank wine. We were VERY glad to be in an air conditioned building with cold water to drink. Rome was HOT!