Day 2: Ancient Appian Way: I traveled the Ancient Appian Way on my second full day in Rome. The Appian Way and Catacombs of San Callisto were a wonderful diversion from the intense hustle and bustle of Rome proper. Quite amazing to know that more than 500,000 souls were buried at these catacombs. Peasants to Popes, all buried in the same place. The countryside was beautiful with Cyprus and Olive trees and laurel bushes everywhere. Green parrots as well. Apparently there are villas all along the Appian Way because I saw at least three different wedding parties taking pictures or heading to the ceremony. One such bride and groom were in a vintage Cadillac with the dress caught on the car door, dragging on the ancient roadway. So many of us walking along tried to get the attention of the driver to stop. He finally did and assessed the damage. The bride didn't look too terribly upset and I think that was a good thing for the driver & the groom. BTW, I had signed up for the Archeobus (open air hop-on hop-off bus) to tour the Appian Way, but it didn't turn out to be the best option. I should have caught on when I bought the ticket with the comment from the ticket seller that they are down to one bus. Dah... it was an hour wait each time you got off the bus to get back on. I ended up walking a lot more than anticipated. Warning, until they repair their other bus, the wait times to get back on the bus will be long.
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Westerville
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We also really enjoyed the Appian Way and the catacombs. We read a lot of advice and how the trip is a bit confusing on the buses, so we opted to take a countryside tour (50 euro pp) that also included the Aqueduct Park. To be honest, these were my best experiences in Rome! There is part of the Appian Way where the drivers won't go and that may lead to some confusion. I heard the archeobus has many issues and try calling a taxi from that area. No stores, etc. We heard about a way to walk from the Appian Way to the Aqueducts but heard that you can get really lost and I had enough of that in Rome!