The tour begins!
We met our group in the cafeteria area and enjoyed some champagne. Lisa introduced herself and went over a lot of information with us. Picking buddies was a brilliant idea to keep track of each other. We were not allowed to pick the person we were travelling with which made total sense.
We were also encouraged to install WhatsApp on our phones so that Lisa and the group could communicate with each other. Another great idea!
Afterwards we walked to Trastevere over a very pretty bridge and the River Tiber. It was very cute, but busy and afterwards on to dinner at Ristorante Pancrazio for a typical Roman meal. It was very lovely and we shared our table with Maribel (my new buddy),
and Manuel from Texas as well as Bob and Sue from L.A.
We had a starter of pasta made with tomato with some pork jowl (which I wasn’t sure about but was pleasantly surprised), then there was the main course of thin beef slices in gravy, bitter greens, potato and crème caramel. Bread was served in bags on the table. We left very full indeed!
After an early breakfast we headed to the Capitoline Museum and split into two groups. Francesca was our guide and she told us a lot of history and interesting tidbits. We saw the famous statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Capitoline She-Wolf, Dying Gaul and much more. There was also the Colossal Head of Constantine and a few other parts of him so you can imagine just how large it would have been had it been intact. The museum was very busy because it was a free day.
Afterwards we walked through the Jewish Quarter and learned about it’s sad history under Nazism. We saw the brass markers (Stumble Stones) embedded in the sidewalks honoring victims deported to death camps. In 2025 there were about 482 of them.
Capitoline Museum
The Dying Gaul, also called The Dying Galatian
In the Palazzo dei Conservatori are fragments of a
colossal statue of Emperor Constantine the Great.
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, a masterpiece in bronze
A marble sculpture of Medusa by the Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Hercules, a gilded bronze statue
Bust of Commodus as Hercules
One Pope Urban VIII (Urbano VIII),
created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
One of three reliefs which are honorary monuments to Marcus Aurelius.
We were on our own for dinner tonight so we did something we don’t normally do and opted to go back to same cute little restaurant around the corner. The weather cooperated and we were able to enjoy being outside. The food and wine did not disappoint. I had a bite of Andy’s swordfish
and it was unbelievably amazing.