January 5-6, 2026

January 5-6, 2026

The 21st century is now a quarter over. That is a signal we need to step up our travel game. Aimee has been wanting me to take her to Rome but I don’t relish the crush of tourists packing hotspots today. So we are choosing to go in the winter hoping the crowds are thinner. It seemed like a good idea when we made the reservations last summer. Now when it is time to leave warm and sunny Tucson for dreary cold Europe, we are second guessing our decision. The weather forecast is rain and cold EVERY day. Arrrgh!

Our driver picks us up well before dawn. Our first flight to Atlanta is thankfully on-time and uneventful. After a long layover we are back in the air for our overnight flight to Rome. Surprisingly we don’t have to show our passport to board the plane. Facial recognition is the new alternative. In Rome we quickly make it through customs and cross the street to the train station. Thirty minutes later the Leonardo Express pulls into Rome center. Once we crossed the Tiber River, we passed lots of ruins, including the pyramid tomb of Cestius, part of the old city wall, and the Temple of Minerva Medica. The modern city of Rome is built atop the ruins of the ancient city. In the basement of the Termini train station, we stopped at the McDonalds for coffee and drank it by a section of the original 4th century BC Servian city walls the station was built atop.

We walked to our nearby hotel but it was way too early to check-in. So after dropping our bags we set out to explore the area. It is not raining so we decide to take the Metro a few stops south to visit an old palace. Unfortunately we find it closed. The Italians are notorious for strikes and changing opening hours. We then walk the short distance to the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano. This first Catholic church in Rome was built in 318AD on land donated by Emperor Constantine who legalized the religion. His statue is in the foyer. First we have to go through security as this is still considered Vatican land. Surprisingly the Mafia bombed this church in 1993 in retaliation to remarks by Pope John Paul II.

We start across the street at the Scala Santa or Holy Stairs. These were the stairs Jesus climbed to meet Pontius Pilate. Constantine’s mother brought them here from Jerusalem. Christian pilgrims climb these stairs on their knees while praying.

Visiting churches today was probably a mistake as today is the holiday of Epiphany and masses are being held frequently. We have to tiptoe around the interior of the Basilica. Remarkably the bronze doors to the church are enormous and were taken from the ancient Senate house of Rome.

In the square in front of the church is an enormous red granite Obelisk. These Egyptian monuments decorate much of Rome. This one is the tallest anywhere and used to decorate the spine of the Circus Maximus.

It has started raining again and doesn’t seem ready to stop. We walk nearby to the Porta San Giovanni to see a section of the later 3rd century AD Aurelian walls still standing. Rome was liberated from the Nazis in 1944 by Allied troops entering through this gate.

We then walk north to visit another ancient church called Santa Prassede. Because Mass is going on here also we have to wait in line for fifteen minutes. This church is richly decorated with some the oldest still surviving mosaic decorations. They remind us of the decor we saw in Ravenna several years ago.

Afterwards we cross the street to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. This is another papal property and Mass is going on here too. We see the very plain tomb of the recently deceased Pope Francis.  All these early churches are in the Roman Basilica floor plan with a rectangular building lined with tall columns. The cross-shaped transept design would be adopted much later in the Middle Ages.

Tired of the rain we walk back to our hotel and check in. We then have a late lunch around the corner. Aimee and I both have pasta dishes. I am already thinking this is too much pasta. We sat next to an Irish couple that travels around the world to participate in Tango dancing of all things.

Since the rain won't stop we spend the next couple hours exploring the nearby National Museum of Rome inside Palazzo Massimo. It contains many of the old artifacts uncovered while building the modern city of Rome. The first section covers the ubiquitous statuary busts of Rome. They are amazingly realistic showing all the bald spots, wrinkles and crooked noses of normal people. This was how Romans remembered their Uncle Joe or Grandpa Tom.

One of the prize statues in the museum is the Resting Boxer. Bronze was easily recycled so it is exceedingly rare. This one was found deeply buried presumably for protection.

One marble sarcophagus is richly decorated with deep bas-relief sculpture. This is an art form that died during the Middle Ages. Interestingly the start of the Renaissance is dated to 1401 when Florence held a competition to decorate some doors with this same style of art.

The upper floor of this museum has many examples of mosaic floors and wall painting decorations discovered. Most resemble the walls and floors we saw in Pompeii although not nearly in as good condition. We even saw a wall decoration with niches from a Columbarium (Funerary urn cemetery).

The star though is an almost complete room from the Villa of Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus. It is a surreal garden scene fresco. This room is crowded with teenage students more interested in their phones.

Back at our hotel, we finished off the Peroni beer in the room’s mini-fridge and went to bed very early.