Italy 2013 – Day 15 / Rome

That’s it! Vacation over.

I’m not happy it’s over, but at the same time I don’t mind either; two weeks is plenty!  We had a great time, loved every day, had some great meals, visited great cities…  all excellent.

The plan for today was to leave our bags in lockers at the train station in Rome and then head out to our hotel near the airport for the last night after spending the afternoon in the city. We took the train back from Sorrento to Naples this morning (an hour on the milk run train) then the Fast Train from Naples to Rome (70 minutes). Turns out they don’t have lockers at Termini Station, but a check luggage service instead which is an efficient system overall, but slow so just doing that ate up 30 minutes of our time!

The only thing I really wanted to do in Rome was visit San Pietro in Vincoli, so we made a b-line for it to make sure we didn’t run out of time later in the day. I particularly wanted to see Michelangelo’s unfinished tomb of Julius II after having read all about it in ‘The Agony and The Ecstasy’ not long ago.

Another reason to visit this church is to see St Peter’s Chains which are on display under the alter. I told my husband that I wanted to visit the 2 ‘draws’ and read the information about them in my guidebook to him, but somehow that did not translate in his mind into: Get a picture of the chains on display! LOLOLOLOL  Classic male / female dilemma!!  Here’s what we got – not that bad, but I would have liked a close up.

After that it was time for lunch, we found a lovely spot with a view and tucked in for another large meal and have a final celebration. Over the past few days we’ve taken to having one gargantuan 3 course mid-day meal and just a snack for supper… it somehow feels less piggish, but I doubt it’s healthy! LOL Who cares – it’s what being on vacation is all about!

The rest of the afternoon was just aimless wandering through Campo De Fiori, Piazza Navona, The Pantheon etc…  a good bye walking tour of the city.

 

Once we decided to call it a day and started heading back to the station, we came across a news story…  a scrum of TV Reporters waiting for Lord only knows who to exit from a building – no clue what it was all about!!!  For all I know, I may have had a great Italian Celebrity sighting!

 

Do you know who this blond woman is??

 

Or this brunette in the back of the cab?

I tried Googling Rome news… but my Italian is REALLY not good enough for that kind of research!!!

So that’s it for today, we are at a hotel near the airport now to make our departure tomorrow morning easier – finding this place was a little stressful since the hotel changed it’s name a few months ago!!!! LOL It’s a Best Western now.

ARRIVEDERCI ROMA!

Italy 2013 – Day 6 / Rome

We did a lot of walking and sitting today!

Like on Monday, we took the bus from the hotel for just a few stops and got off when the surroundings got interesting.  This time it was around Piazza Della Repubblica.

Shortly after we stopped for breakfast; a REAL one, not just dessert – which is what Italian breakfasts tend to be. I just had a croissant, but my husband went all out with bacon and eggs.

From there we walked aimlessly and eventually to see the Bocca della Verita, one of Rome’s many curiosities.

Then it onwards to Trastevere again, where we had our second stop: drinks in the Piazza facing the Basilica… so relaxing!

Sufficiently hydrated, we walked part way up Gianicolo to see the Tempietto: A temple built by Bramante on the spot where St Peter was crucified. Frankly, I am not sure if we saw it because nothing extra special caught my eye and we were getting a little hot so our willingness to search was waning. I will have to compare my pictures to what I find on Google.

Nice views of Rome from up there though!

We finally stopped for lunch around 1:30 and I think we left around 3 with not a lot of energy left! It was getting hot so we were looking for a shady route to get to our next destination: the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. Because we did not take a direct route, we ended up far from it so we gave up and bussed it!

We also visited the Scala Santa but did not punish our knees! (Hard to get good shots while still respecting the Believers!)

Still feeling hot and sluggish, we took the metro back and ended up at a café facing the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore for super. I was still so full from lunch, that all I had was water and an Aperol Spritz – my husband had a salad.

As we sat and relaxed, we realized we had supper at the same place during our previous visit in 2006. Go figure.

Now it’s time to recharge and prepare for tomorrow. Ciao!

Italy 2013 – Day 4 / Rome

I have to start with an apology for lying to you yesterday.  I said we did not visit the Basilica in Trastevere yesterday… but we did.  Too much wine with lunch perhaps so I forgot as soon as I left? LOL HA! Cathedral-Fatigue must be kicking in already!!

Another great vacation day, even if we did get SOAKED TO THE SKIN this afternoon during a thunderstorm. Sure we had our jackets and umbrellas, but my shoes got so soaked I doubt they will be dry by tomorrow!!

Instead of taking the metro in the morning, we like taking the bus because we can see out and enjoy the city. This morning, the weather was so great (=nice and cool in the shade), so we got off the bus at Porta Pia and walked to the old part of town. When we passed Piazza Barberini we got side tracked by a visit to the ossuary in the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Concezione…  it was amazing!!!  but no pictures allowed so you will have to Google to see why.

From there we continued hoofing it, passing the Trevi Fountain again and eventually ending up in the Piazza della Rotonda again (Pantheon) where we decided to stop for a mid-morning snack. Excellent timing because barely 5 minutes after we sat down, it began to rain.

We waited until we thought the rain had stopped before carrying on, but the respite lasted only about 20 minutes and then the downpour started. We ended up ducking into “just anywhere” to have lunch with the intention to wait it out again. My husband liked his meal, mine left a lot to be desire plus the wine was not great either. spleh.

I think by about 2PM or so the coast became clear and we eventually made it to our goal: St Peter’s.

It was just as impressive (and CROWDED) as last time; we had a great time (what’s not to love?) Thankfully the sun cleared up after that visit and we continued on our foot journey – onwards to Piazza Popolo and the Tridente, stopping for supper around 6:30.

 

This picture makes me laugh! Check out the suspicious waiter and the guy pulling up his pants after his meal!! LOL

Still filled with a little energy after supper, we decided to see how far to home our feet would carry us, and just jump on a bus once we got fed up. We made it all the way to Porta Pia again…  not bad!

On the way, we walked by the Palazzo Barberini where I was able to take my requisite cat-shots! So cute.

So that’s it for today, an early night because we have to get up early tomorrow morning to catch the train for our day trip to Arezzo.

Good night!

Italy 2013 – Day 3 / Rome & Ostia Antica

As predicted, another great day!

It was supposed to rain but didn’t (not while we were out and about anyway – now that we are back at the hotel, the thunder is pretty bad) so that was a nice turn of events! Although, it would have been nicer to have known FOR SURE so that we could have skipped lugging the umbrellas and jackets around all day!! LOL

We started the day with an excursion to Ostia Antica; Rome’s Pompeii. It was nice, glad I did it, a nice way to kill a few hours but I think I am done with Roman (and Greek) ruins for life. I hit my quota.

We were thankful for the overcast-its-almost-gonna-rain-but-didn't-rain weather, because there was a wind in the air that kept the temps down. Would have been murder without the cloud cover because it’s all wide open spaces with ZERO shade.

  

After that, we spend a little time walking around the grassy basin that once was the Circus Maximus, then crossed the Tiber to have lunch in Travestere.  Good meal, shitty service and therefore too pricy for the overall experience…  but it did feel good to take a load off! (I had a Caprese salad and eggplant parmesan)

Much to our surprise, it was around 3PM when we got out of there! We spent the next few hours exploring Travestere but skipped the inside of the Basilica di Santa Maria; been there done that.

After that, we just wandered aimlessly around town, hung out briefly in Saint Peter’s Square but since it’s on the agenda for tomorrow we didn’t linger.  We eventually decided to see if we could get a table with a view in Pizza Navona and sit, have a drink and watch the world go by. Luck was on our side, it was about 6PM when arrived and we got an excellent table at one of the many cafés and kicked into full chillax-mode. It was so ideal, we decided to stay and have supper there too; after our huge lunch we just had enough room for a small plate of pasta – not a bite more! (I had Tagliatelli with mushrooms)

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like the guy at the table behind me and I are sitting together! ha!

On the way home, we stopped at Piazza Della Repubblica to get some night shots:

And we also got a shot of the controversial JP2 statue outside Termini Station.  I don’t really see what all the fuss is about; I like it!

As far as my Laptop goes, blogging with it is not bad, but the picture organizing is not going as smoothly as I thought. It’s all so small and I find I am quite useless without a mouse!! Not convinced that this was worth the investment, but I have it now so I will keep practicing!!

That’s it for today, Goodnight!

Italy 2013 – Day 2 / Rome

What a FULL day!!  If they can all be this good, the I declare the entire vacation a success even though this is only Day 2.

As predicted, breakfast was dessert; sticky buns and sugary bread things so all I had was a slice of stale toast. Just as well anyway because I always overeat on vacation so I’ll save a few calories by default this way!

We started the day in Piazza Popolo, then meandered all over the city. It was a HOT one! You can already see in the picture here how hazy it was, and this was a little before 10AM.

We walked up and down the Spanish Steps…

Threw coins in Trevi Fountain…

Spend some time at the Pantheon…

And took a walk through Piazza Navona all before lunch!

So with a next-to-nothing breakfast and a marathon morning tour of city, we took our time recovering during lunch. (Shared plate of cured meats & a mushroom pizza… and of course, some Barolo!!)

After lunch, we decided to knock off one the “must do” activities from my list, and that was to visit the Basilica di San Clemente to take the  archaeological time travel down down down through the centuries to see the first century house buried under the modern city. Meh, it was just OK.

On the way there we passed the Coliseum, and it’s a good thing that this is our third visit to Rome because a LARGE section or it was covered by scaffolding. In our case, the disappointment factor was nil, but I do feel for all the tourists in Rome here on their “Once in a Lifetime” visit!! Too bad for them :(

 

For the rest of the afternoon we walked and walked and walked all over town, wandering aimlessly, poking into churches here and there, stopping for coffee, and finally ended the day at Campo De’ Fiori around 7PM for dinner. (Still full from lunch, it was grilled fish and water!)

I can’t get over how crowded Rome is! I don’t recall thinking this the last time; my husband says it’s no different than previous visits, but I find myself dodging people left and right everywhere I go!

So, that’s it for today! It’s after 11PM again and I need my beauty sleep!

Ciao!

Italy 2013 – Day 1 / Rome

With Love From Rome.

Feels funny being back, I feel like I was just here yesterday!! 

We got off to a little bumpy start: Our cab driver got pulled over and earned a 161$ ticket on the way from Home to the airport. I went a little overboard with the pre-vacation resto splurge and ate almost to the point of illness (don’t feel sorry for me, I don’t deserve it). Our plane to Rome was late leaving London, our luggage took FOREVER to get to us, (fleeting thoughts of the bags not making the connection) the train into the city was late…  but we’re still in one piece!

The hotel is just like we remember it from 2006, we’re satisfied… although it’s important to note we have not slept yet! The room is smaller than the last time, but still: nothing really to complain about… except for the Wifi. It’s spotty at best so I don’t know how this whole blogging set up is going to work!

When I blogged from my Ipod, even without Wifi at the hotel, I could still upload my posts whenever I happen to find a connection throughout the course of my day. From the laptop is trickier because I am not carrying it around with me so I am a slave to the “Now you see it now you don’t” connection at the hotel.  I think I will bring it down to breakfast with me tomorrow morning if I can’t get it working tonight and see how that goes.

But back to Rome: Since we arrived at the hotel a little after 7PM, we did not have much of a full day – but we still went out for supper! We remembered a resto we loved in 2006 in the Piazza Barberini and decided to go there again because it was close to the metro (5 stops from the hotel) or a short bus ride away. Even though we felt strong enough to eat out at 8PM, who knows when we would hit the wall!!

It was to die for!!  hopefully a sign of things to come! They gave us a cozy little corner table and we did not pass up the chance to have some Barolo to wash it all down… the PERFECT start to what will be a great vacation I am sure.

Now, it’s passed 11PM so I must force myself to sleep so that I can hit the ground running tomorrow! I hold out little hope for a great breakfast, in Italy the hotel breakfasts always resemble dessert more than breakfast to me. I am just psyched to start the tourist- adventure!!!