Viva la Roma!!
Well we're safely back from Rome (as of Monday afternoon). The trip was pretty awesome. The long flights weren't as bad as I thought they would be, nor was the airline food. No real complaints except that there was like 8 hours between meals on the flight home. I was starving!! Then they gave us a slice of turkey with some weird spread. That was somewhat disappointing. But, I won't hold it against Rome.
This was a pretty quick trip. I came down with a cold during the flight, so we got to our hotel at 3pm Rome time, which was about 8am back home. You're supposed to stay up, but I took a benedryl instead and passed out for roughly 19 hours. Mags couldn't sleep that long, so she did a lot of reading. We woke up the next day ready to go. I was still pretty tired, but Rome is a very, very compact city. We walked everywhere and took in all the big sights: the Pantheon, the Colusseum, the Forum, all the fountains, lots of churches, the Holy Steps, etc. It was a pretty long day, but tons of fun to get out and get acclimated to Roman life.
On day two we decided that we wanted to see the Mediterranean Sea, so we took a train out of the city and walked to the coast. Unlike in the States, there apparently is no requirement for public easements to the beach. Every square inch was a private club as far as the eye could see. We got to within about fifty yards or so, but that was as close as we could get. Still, it was cool to see the sea. We then took the train back and spent our evening strolling about the streets of Rome. We visited the Trevi Fountain, Tritone Fountain, and Spanish Steps again in the moonlight. Very nice.
On our last full day in Rome, we went to Vatican City. St. Peter's is pretty darn awesome...but very hot. Lots of black cobblestone. The basilica is pretty hard to describe. I wouldn't call it pretty, but I would call it absolutely overwhelming in its grandeur. It's just something that you have to see. We also visited the crypts and saw the tombs of St. Peter and John Paul II, among others. Very cool.
We then had to choose between seeing the Vatican museum (Sistine Chapel, Raphael Rooms, etc.) and seeing the Pope. It was a tough decision, but the Pope won. He appeared at his library window, gave a blessing in Italian, and then greeted everyone in their native language (he hit at least seven languages, maybe more). It was pretty cool, but the full awesomeness of it didn't hit me until I got back home. Mags and I then spent our afternoon wandering around Rome again, which is always fun. We hit the usual fun spots, had a really good Italian pizza, and headed back to the hotel to pack.
The next morning, our cab driver hit 130mph on the way to the airport. There are no real traffic cops in Italy. They just don't care. It was kinda fun.
So, on the whole, the trip was pretty awesome. I think Mags and I agreed that the coolest thing about Rome is that there are fountains all over the city that you can drink from. So, we just refilled our water bottles out of the fountain spouts all weekend. It's fresh spring water from the hills. It's cold, clear, and great tasting. I miss it already. Definitely a place you all should visit!
On a side note, we also got to have a few conversations in Italian with non-English-speaking people. That was cool too. Buono sera!
We have pics online, but I would need to send you an invite. So, if you want to see pics, let me know and give me your email address if I don't already have it.
This was a pretty quick trip. I came down with a cold during the flight, so we got to our hotel at 3pm Rome time, which was about 8am back home. You're supposed to stay up, but I took a benedryl instead and passed out for roughly 19 hours. Mags couldn't sleep that long, so she did a lot of reading. We woke up the next day ready to go. I was still pretty tired, but Rome is a very, very compact city. We walked everywhere and took in all the big sights: the Pantheon, the Colusseum, the Forum, all the fountains, lots of churches, the Holy Steps, etc. It was a pretty long day, but tons of fun to get out and get acclimated to Roman life.
On day two we decided that we wanted to see the Mediterranean Sea, so we took a train out of the city and walked to the coast. Unlike in the States, there apparently is no requirement for public easements to the beach. Every square inch was a private club as far as the eye could see. We got to within about fifty yards or so, but that was as close as we could get. Still, it was cool to see the sea. We then took the train back and spent our evening strolling about the streets of Rome. We visited the Trevi Fountain, Tritone Fountain, and Spanish Steps again in the moonlight. Very nice.
On our last full day in Rome, we went to Vatican City. St. Peter's is pretty darn awesome...but very hot. Lots of black cobblestone. The basilica is pretty hard to describe. I wouldn't call it pretty, but I would call it absolutely overwhelming in its grandeur. It's just something that you have to see. We also visited the crypts and saw the tombs of St. Peter and John Paul II, among others. Very cool.
We then had to choose between seeing the Vatican museum (Sistine Chapel, Raphael Rooms, etc.) and seeing the Pope. It was a tough decision, but the Pope won. He appeared at his library window, gave a blessing in Italian, and then greeted everyone in their native language (he hit at least seven languages, maybe more). It was pretty cool, but the full awesomeness of it didn't hit me until I got back home. Mags and I then spent our afternoon wandering around Rome again, which is always fun. We hit the usual fun spots, had a really good Italian pizza, and headed back to the hotel to pack.
The next morning, our cab driver hit 130mph on the way to the airport. There are no real traffic cops in Italy. They just don't care. It was kinda fun.
So, on the whole, the trip was pretty awesome. I think Mags and I agreed that the coolest thing about Rome is that there are fountains all over the city that you can drink from. So, we just refilled our water bottles out of the fountain spouts all weekend. It's fresh spring water from the hills. It's cold, clear, and great tasting. I miss it already. Definitely a place you all should visit!
On a side note, we also got to have a few conversations in Italian with non-English-speaking people. That was cool too. Buono sera!
We have pics online, but I would need to send you an invite. So, if you want to see pics, let me know and give me your email address if I don't already have it.
