Day 29

This morning we packed up our meager belongings and headed for Piazza Repubblica hoping to visit the Baths of Diocletian but after speaking to a resident English woman was told that we should set aside a full day for this. Since we only had the morning, we decided to leave this for our next trip to Rome.

We said our farewell to Rome this morning and arrived into the chaotic transportation terminal at around noon. Thankfully, when we arrived 6 days ago, we figured out our return to Fiumicino airport. We watched other frazzled travelers get refused on the shuttle back to the airport due to the fact that they did not have a special reservation card to get on board. People were actually asking US what to do.....finally, Italianized!

We got our Lufthansa Airline flight with a stop in Frankfurt, Germany before arriving back into Paris.

Tomorrow we will fly home. Our feelings are mixed; anxious to get home but not wanting this wonderful vacation to end.


THE END.......til next time

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rome to Paris

Day 28

Today will be our last full day in Rome and we have enjoyed every minute. We would come back in a heartbeat as there are so many sights to see that a week doesn't even begin to capture a small part of this great city.

Today we took a wonderful stroll through the Trastevere neighborhood. It is on the west side of the Tiber River, south of the Vatican and across the river from the Forum and Capital Hill area. We started our walk crossing the Ponte Cestio to the Isola Tiberina where the largest building is the Fatebenefratelli, the public hospital favored by Roman women for childbirth. The island's reputation for medical care lives on. During the walk, you could see ancient fragments that are recycled ingloriously into medieval buildings. We went to the last traditional cookie bakery in the area called Biscottificio Artigiano that strives to keep the traditions of cookie making alive.





We entered the beautiful church of Santa Maria of Trastevere which is one of Rome's oldest churches with the most beautiful original mosaics. We spent a moment with St. Anthony who is the saint of the poor. People leave prayers on scrap pieces of paper by his statue.


From there, we headed to the Ghetto where some 30,000 Jews lived in earlier times and some still do. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the synagogue as it is not open to tourists on Saturday. We were, however, able to sample some deep fried artichokes which is a dish they say only Jewish grandmothers can properly cook. They were very good.





Here is that fabulous artichoke dish.

We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of Rome ending the day once again at the Spanish Steps.



We say goodbye to Alessandro

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Roma, Italy

Day 27

Up bright and early for our train ride from Roma to Napoli. The weather was spectacular and the scenery down the coast was beautiful with brilliant red poppies growing along the tracks for miles. As we neared Napoli, the terrain seemed to turn more arid and tropical looking.





As we didn't have very much time to spend in the city, we decided to take a "hop on, hop off" bus tour. We got a pretty good overview of the area including the gorgeous coastline and breathtaking vistas.


Napoli is a rough and tumble town; quite different than Roma but with its own charm. The people call themselves Neapolitans and appear to be much more aloof towards tourists than what we had become accustomed to in other parts of Italy.


One of the young ladies on our bus told us of a place to go for pizza because, as it is known, pizza originated in Naples. She said this was one of the oldest pizzerias in the city. We discovered that this was the very place where Julia Roberts had her pizza in Eat, Pray, Love. They serve only 2 different types of pizza, 1 type of beer, regular Coke and water but the place was full the whole time we were there.






We caught the 8:33 PM train back to Rome along with a pretty good sunburn. The trip took about 2.5 hours each way.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Napoli, Italy

Day 26

A stark contrast waking up this morning from honking cars and screaming sirens, to quietness and the calm of birds singing. Today we visit the Vatican.




Saint Peter Basilica taken from Saint Peters Square in front.


After a short ride on the Metro we found ourselves among hundreds of people trying to sell a guided tour of the Vatican. After refusing many we finally succumbed to Arien; a charming Albanian who used his persuasive tactics to woo us into a tour. We were not disappointed. His guide, Arnoldo, was very knowledgable and had a very subjective view of the Vatican and its practices. He was no theologian but described a lot of the symbolism represented in some of the artwork, including Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel0 as well as The Last Judgement also in the Sistine Chapel. The Basilica of Saint Peter is the largest church in the world. The second largest is in London and it is but half the size. It can hold 50,000 standing people. It is truly an amazing structure.


Ceiling in the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo


Arnoldo our guide


The Last Judgement also painted by Michelangelo when he returned to Rome and was allowed to bring his gay companion Tomasa back with him from Florence.


The Pieta, by Michelangelo, which was brought to Rome from Florence to prove to the pope that his art was up to their standards.


This enormous 9 storey alter which only the Pope can serve mass at.


The Vatican has its own postal system as well as their own stamps. You can see the postcards that we mailed from here.


A Swiss guard, an elite group that keeps the Vatican and its residents safe.


From the Vatican we took a long walk up one of the hills for a panoramic view of the city


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Elevenstar Rome, Italy

Day 25

As Alessandro was unable to put us up at Elevenrome for the balance of our stay here, he offered their new facility; Elevenstar instead. We were pleasantly surprised at the charming room he showed us. It is tucked away down a little side street on the second floor of an old stone building and has a small terrace surrounded by buildings and potted plants and to make it even better, it was cheaper by10€.



We caught the Metro and headed back to the Piazza Spagna which had a completely different look and atmosphere in the light of day. We roamed the narrow alleys and lanes searching for just the right Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci or Dolce & Gabanna bag only to learn that it was out of our price range








We made our way over to the Pantheon and meandered past a world famous gelataria called Giolitti's but unfortunately we had already had our daily gelato and were ready for some pasta.






The Piazza Navona is an oblong square filled with artists and musicians and lined with ristorantes. We found our pasta right in front of a wonderful musician playing the blues. It was amazing to listen and eat more delicious food, drink wine (which just so happens to be the Italian wine that i discovered that I loved when in Arizona earlier this year) and very expensive coca cola light (7€). In the centre of the piazza is Rome's most famous fountain called The Four Rivers by Bernini. Four burly river gods representing the four continents that were known in 1650 support an Egyptian obelisk.

Location:Elevenstar, Roma, Italy

Day 24

Awake at 7:30 to some loud Italian screaming...this is not the Ritz!

We did the Caesar shuffle today starting at the Coliseum; heading up Palentine Hill and into the Roman Forum.


The Coliseum from the inside.....


And then from the outside.




The Arch of Constantine looking out from inside the Coliseum.


Taking a sip from just one of the many fountains that supply the people of Rome with pure drinking water.


The Arch of Titus.





There were so many ruins in the forum that we could have spent much longer here. After a few hours exploring the Forum we arrived at Capitale Hill; a magnificent building that houses parliament in this, the capital of Rome.






Finally at 5:50 we stopped for dinner at Luzzi's, our neighborhood pizzeria for more food and wine.

We then headed for the Trevi Fountain to throw our coin in to ensure our return. All of Rome's fountains are aqueduct powered; their spurts are determined by the water pressure provided by the various aqueducts. After the Trevi Fountain we magically found our way to the Spanish Steps. It consists of 137 steps; over 12 different flights. It has been a romantic hangout over the years for many ordinary and illustrious people alike. It is clear that the main sight here is not the steps but the people who hang out on them.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Roma, Italy

Day 23

For those of you who have never experienced a B&B in Rome, it is a must for your bucket list. We landed in Rome at 6:30 and took the Terravision Bus to Termini (that is Italian for terminal). Feeling confident, we walked about 30 minutes down Via Merulana to find our b & b. Arriving at street number 117 was a bit of a shock. No glittering sign saying Elevenrome B&B; just a tiny nameplate on the side of a massive building. We rung the bell several times but no one answered.


This was a 1x 2 inch sign.
Eventually a young Asian boy let us in the first door off the street. There were 2 more locked doors yet to come.


Reception area at Elevenrome.
Alessandro arrived in a couple minutes and said he had waited all day for us and even phoned my home to see went we might arrive in Rome. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and would recommend this place highly for the helpfulness and friendlyness we found.

Alessandro recommended a trattoria a few blocks from the B&B to get something to eat. 1 pop, 1/2 liter of wine, a pizza and a plate of pasta for 20 bucks.....not bad for downtown Rome.








After a quick bite we strolled down to the colosseum for an evening view....spectacular!

Location:Roma, Italy