Day 5 - Thursday January 22, 2026 - A day in Rome
I wasn’t expecting much from this tour as it was the “free” included excursion. It amounted to a bus tour of Rome with no stops . From the windows of our bus, our tour guide pointed out various buildings. At about 11:15 we stopped and were given almost 4 hours of free time to go and what we wanted.
Once Wayne and I were on our own, I enjoyed wandering the small streets and strolling around. The day got much better.
These are pictures I took from inside the bus, not much.
Papal Basilica di San Paulo
Thus is better, out the window of the bus you can see Pallatine Hull and the grounds of the Circus Maximus, the first chariot racing stadium
Arch of Constantine
Pictures of the Colosseum as we drove by
Basilica di San Giovanni. The popes official seat built in the 1700’s with statutes of the apostles on it he roof
As we crossed a bridge to park the bus while we all got off, we could see St Peter’s Basilica in the distance.
Once on our own we set off in the direction of the Pantheon and walked through Plaza Navona with its pretty fountains.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Pantheon, Wayne wanted a coffee which turned into “and a pastry”
Arrived at the Pantheon . We didn’t buy tickets so we just looked from the outside . This was built by the Romans in the 2nd century. It is one of the best preserved ancient Roman buildings because it has been continually used throughout history. Since the 7th century it’s been a church.
A street artist painting with spray paint
On we walked to the Trevi Fountain. I was here in 2023 and it was so crowded. You could barely get to the front of the line to take a picture. Today it was much less crowded and we easily walked to a spot where we could take pictures.
The old saying is , throw a coin in the fountain and you’ll return to Rome. Throw two coins and you’ll get married, thrown three coins in and you’ll get divorce. One coin was enough for me.
We stopped and rested for a bit. Everywhere you look there are neat old buildings and cars, cars, cars and small cc motorcycles. Many times I wasn’t sure how one would get out since they were parked so close together
On The way back to our meeting place, he stopped for a slice of pizza. It’s all laid out just like that with all sorts of different toppings. They scissor cut the amount you want and weigh it. And then throw it in the oven to heat it up.
Back at our meeting place we walked back to the bridge and took some better pictures of Saint Peter‘s Basilica
We got back on the bus to start for home and our tour guide and bus driver took us into the Vatican City. Above is the wall surrounding the Vatican City.
Finally, a close-up of Saint Peter’s Basilica
No, we didn’t elect new pope just some steam coming out of a chimney, with the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica behind it
The last looks of the Vatican City as we turned and headed back to the ship.
It’s a little after 5 PM here and we’re back on board. Tonight, a sit down dinner in the restaurant which I’m looking forward to.
Tomorrow is a sea day as we head for Malta. We will arrive early on Saturday and spend Saturday and most of Sunday on Malta. Malta used to belong to the British empire, but now they are a separate, autonomous country. A new one for both Wayne and myself.
Will be playing cribbage tomorrow and losing as usual. Wayne was just nice and made a nice comment. It’s rare. He says I’ve only lost one game, which is true, but then he skunked me on the last game which puts him one game up. If I could only count the points I would do much better.
During World War II, the Germans really wanted Malta as a gateway to control in the Mediterranean. There’s a lot of history on Malta and hopefully I’ll pick some up.
Total steps today, 11,008. I’m sure that’ll help offset our upcoming dinner.
Beautiful photos. It took me back when Maryanne and I vacationed there. We were on a semi- private tour throughout Italy. Did not see Malta. I’d loved to go back.
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