Christmas Eve morning was another beautiful sunny day in Rome. We started off the day with another Italian breakfast and a walk to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. There we bought tickets for our hop-on hop-off open top double-decker bus tour. From there we had a great view of the city as the bus winded through the ancient streets. Our first stop was the Coliseum. As the bus turned the corner the Coliseum came into view in all its glory. The imposing structure didn’t look so big, until you got up close to it and could realize its impressive size and its presence in the middle of the ancient world. Approaching the coliseum we met several roman soldiers who took Tiffany captive for pictures. Once released we saw the incredible stone archway that stands next to the coliseum and the carvings that adorn it on all sides. From there we made our way towards the entrance. We chose to explore the coliseum on our own and made our way through the corridors, the rich smell of history all around us. The view from the ground level of the coliseum is impressive to say the least. The floor, that would have been the stage for gladiator battles, is missing, only a partial replica of the original floor exists. Below a vast network of rooms and hallways that once held soldiers, slaves and animals is able to be seen. Standing on the ground floor, looking up, it’s easy to get an appreciation for the sheer size of the massive structure. Walking around, the coliseum is a beautiful place, the architecture and realization that this was built nearly 2000 years ago (year 80 AD), it’s easy to be in awe. We then moved up to the 2nd floor of the coliseum and into the museum section. Looking back through time, we saw pots and jars and sculptures and artifacts from ancient times. The view from the 2nd floor was even more amazing than the first and also gave us an awesome view of the surrounding buildings and ruins that surround the coliseum. Very much in awe, we finished our tour and headed back to our bus.
Our next stop took us to Piazza Navona. The piazza was buzzing with crowds as the Christmas market was alive and full of sights and sounds. The fountain in the middle was a beautiful sight. Our next stop was San Luigi dei Francesi church, home to 3 Caravaggio masterpieces including my favorite paining “The Calling of St. Matthew” (the others are “The Insipiration of St. Matthew” and “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew”). After spending 30 minutes or so enjoying the artwork, we headed to the Pantheon, with it’s amazing architecture, concrete dome and oculus. After that we made our way back to our bus. We grabbed a seat down on the lower level for a drive around the city, at this point it had began to sprinkle, so we took cover. We headed back to our hotel to relax and get ready for our big christmas eve dinner.
Our big dinner was nothing less then amazing. We had a nice walk to the restaurant Le caveau (not the best part of town, but a great little restaurant tucked into an old unsuspecting building. Inside it was bright and warm. As we entered we could see what would later become part of our appetizers, oysters staring back at us, waiting for us to indulge. We started with a bottle of white wine, as our menu (as traditional italian christmas meals do) revolved around seafood! Out came the first plates, starting with a Gigantic Oyster, salmon on grilled bread, and seafood salad, that had octopus, shrimp, calamari and veggies. Next, all of a sudden out came mussels in a tomato sauce. Then before we could blink, there were calamari, fried artichokes, fried fish and fried broccoli. When the waiter came by to check on us, I told him we were enjoying everything. He said, “good, that’s the antipasti (appetizers).” Then came risotto with crawfish and prawn heads, linguini with clams and shrimp. Next, a whole sea bass for each of us accompanied with artichokes and salad. The food was delicious and by this point we had eaten every creature in the sea. I couldn’t imagine what was next. So our waiter came by to get our dessert order, we had a choice of Tiramisu, a Fruit Plate or something called translated into what they called "American Cake". Tiffany went for her favorite Tiramisu, and I, very full at this point, opted for the lighter sounding fruit plate. Well out dessert came, Tiffany with a beautiful serving of Tiramisu with chocolate sauce, and my fruit plate came out....an orange, an apple, a plum and a tangerine, all whole and sitting on a plate....not quite what I had in mind, but we both had a good laugh as I tried to steal some of Tiffany’s tiramisu. After an espresso, we made our way [waddled] to the door. Dinner was delicious and enough food for the entire population of the Vatican.
Outside we grabbed a taxi and headed back to the Vatican for midnight mass. We didn’t have tickets to be in St Peter’s for mass, but wanted to be there outside to experience it none the less. The drive to the Vatican from the back seat of a taxi was very cool, lights down every street, people walking all around, Rome all lit up at night. For some reason, I love riding in Taxi’s at night around new cities, getting to see them all lit up, not having to worry about driving or anything else, it’s part of my favorite expeience while traveling. The ancient city didn’t dissapoint and our ride to St. Peters was great. Once there the square was a sight to behold , all lit up, with a huge christmas tree, nativity sceen and the Basilica illuminated in ways that gave it a very powerful and mystical presence (the photos give a better idea of what i’m talking about).
David, Tiffany & Oliver
Sounds like a wonderful time
ReplyDelete