Day 11: Post-Tour Travel to Rome
Good-Bye Mamma Etna...Hello Rome!We took a taxi to Catania's airport from our hotel that the front desk kindly arranged for us the night before. They also arranged for us to take breakfast bags as we didn't have time to eat at the hotel. Catania airport is on the smaller side, but does have flights to all over Europe. Our flight left on time and out the window I was able to take photos of Mamma Etna (above and left) as we said good-bye to Sicily... ...and hello to Rome! We grabbed tickets from a machine in Rome's airport for Trenitalia's Leonardo Express train to Roma Termini station. Upon arrival at Termini we stopped at a newsstand and got three one week public transport passes to use on the metro for our week in Rome. We then hopped on the metro one stop to Republica and walked to our hotel from there. |
Hotel AberdeenHotel Aberdeen is quiet with a friendly staff and good breakfast as well as good AC, a must when in Rome in the summer. It is also close to a metro stop and walkable to the main train station. We wanted a hotel in this area as we had several day trips planned that we needed a train for. We got a triple room for the week and it really worked out quite well for us.
Practicalities ~ Laundry |
For laundry we are wash it in the sink type people, so we do bring along a length of cording we can tie up to hang our quick dry clothing over. However, a lot of the time our rooms do have a wardrobe or closet with hangers to dry our clothing, like the one in the bottom middle picture. With the doors open on it our clothes dry quite quickly. If you would rather pay for one of the tour hotels to do it for you, that is an option, just ask your guide.
Church of Santa Maria MaggioreThe basilica celebrates Mary the mother of Jesus. It was built in 432 AD while Rome was falling, and is one of Rome's oldest and best-preserved churches. The city had been sacked by the Visigoths in 410 AD and the emperors would check out in 476 AD. The pope's would step in to fill the void. The 5th century mosaics give the Santa Maria Maggiore the feel of an early Christian community. |
Pro-Tip: Take the warnings Rick's books give you about the opening and closing hours and dress code of churches in Rome seriously. We saw a lot of people walking around churches with paper 'shawls' over their shoulders or tied around their waists for bare mid-riffs or too short shorts. I had on 'top of my knee' length shorts and fully covered shoulder tank tops and was fine. Be reasonable and respectful and you should be fine too.
Santa PrassedeThe mosaics at the Church of Santa Prassede, from 822 AD, are the best Byzantine-style mosaics in Rome. The Byzantine Empire, unlike the western half and Rome, kept going in Constantinople. Byzantine mosaicists preserved the art and brought it to Rome during their Dark Ages. The mosaics in the Chapel of St. Zeno are why I wanted to come see this church. I love Byzantine style mosaics as an art form and couldn't wait to see them!
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The Apse Mosaics feature in the half dome Christ in a blue background flanked by saints. He has commanded Peter (on the right) to spread the Good News to all the world. Peter came to Rome to preach, but was met with hostility. He asked for help and was taken in by a woman named Pudentia (next to him) and her sister Praxedes (to the left of Christ in the middle), whose house was located here. The church is named for Praxedes. The saint on the far left has a square halo, indicating that he was alive when this mosaic was made.
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Pro-Tip: Make sure you have coins for the churches so that you can turn the lights on for the great works of art you are there to see. We needed coins for the apse mosaics and the Chapel of St. Zeno in Santa Prassede. Most churches had works of art we wanted to illuminate and needed coins for.
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