Got to LAX around 8– traffic lighter than expected. Karl dropped us off at the Delta terminal. Headed out to sea on take- off, then banked around for the flight to Atlanta. Good flight, approx. 3 and a bit hours, arriving at Atlanta at 5:25pm. Pretty full flight. Atlanta airport full of soldiers in uniform on their way somewhere. Had a short stopover and changed some money (1 Euro $1.50) before boarding for the 10 hour flight to Rome.
Flight to Rome was good – although the entertainment system did not work, to the horror of many. Food was good, with complimentary wine, and we bought an extra bottle to celebrate. We had the sweetest family of three little boys in front of us – they reminded me of K & K at that age.. I was a bit ill later when it was time to sleep, but N. slept well. Arrived in Rome around noon. Found the man holding a sign with our name…another life- long dream fulfilled. He drove us to the Visconti Palace Hotel in Rome –
in a great area, very centrally located to all the sights.
Rome is not that big of a city really. The hotel had modern rooms, and was
great…so modern we could not work out how to flush the loo, open the hotel
door…There was a note waiting for us to meet our tour leader, Cecilia, in the
hotel lobby in the evening. Weather overcast, lots of trees in the area, lots of
graffiti. N and I walked all afternoon.
From the castle Angelo to the Spanish Steps,
and all points between. The city is lovely, crowded, coloured in russets, and oranges, and yellows, and greens. Much more beautiful then I remembered. We took tons of pictures.
Walked along the Tiber River,
took in the great views from the crowded Spanish Steps,
looked at the ritzy shopping area on the approach to the Steps, and visited
Goethe House (he stayed here over 2 years in around 1786sih.
We bought a lovely
print of how the area looked when he stayed here. Poor N’s feet and knee were
getting sore so we decided to head back to the hotel. En route we stopped at a
local pizzeria for our supper of pizza and beer –
we sat on the pavement at a
tiny little table that allowed us to enjoy the view and the cool air. We are
both so tired…having been up for hours.
At the hotel we met up with Cecilia, and the rest of the group who started in Venice. Currently it is a large group, but as we join so some are leaving…so we should be about 30 in total
We have a free day. We got up at 9, not too bad considering how tired we were last night. This hotel serves WONDERFUL breakfasts, rolls, dark breads, pastries, cereals, fruits & yoghurts, hams and cheeses, juices and coffees…
We walked down to the Tiber,
over the Angel’s Bridge and bought tickets for a hop on/off bus tour of the city. Always a good idea to get the lay of the land. First we got off at the Trevi Fountain- - rather near the Trevi Fountain,
and then followed a group who seemed to know where the fountain
was. Quite a way away actually, but fun, as we walked down some delightful old
streets filled with interesting shops and views to photograph.
There does not
seem to be a straight street in Rome, too pretty for words. Sadly the Trevi
Fountain was very crowded, but we muscled our way to the front for pictures and
to throw our coins in to ensure our return one day. Then we found our way back
to the bus stop, stopping off at an Internet café to send a e-mail home. We next
intended to get off at the Coliseum, but the omitted to mention that on Sundays
the bus does not stop nearby the Coliseum as usual (for reasons still unknown to
us) – so before we knew it we were back at the beginning and had to start again.
This time, hungry and desirous of a pee, we got off at the Termini (designed by
Mussolini) and tried for a loo, but one had to have exact change to get in.
Rats! Also, it is so hot one has to keep drinking water…trouble on trouble!
Eventually we got off a the Circus Maximus -a huge, sunken grassy area, looking
like an abandoned running track. This was the famed track of the chariot races –
there were also smaller ones in the city. Someone was using it as a jogging
track – awesome! We shared a sandwich from a roadside vendor overlooking this
arena, which they rebuilt up for the filming of Ben Hur,
then walked down toward
the Palentine and the Roman Forum. The Coliseum is also here, but we did not go
there as we are touring the place with our group tomorrow. We went into the
Forum, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. N. got an audio track that
guided us around the main sights. We also, at last, found a loo! The scale of
the sights is amazing. Took lots of pics of statues of gods, and temples. We
suddenly saw it was getting late, and we had to get back for a shower before our
first group dinner. So we rushed back to the busstop, got off in front of St.
Peter’s Basilica and walked back with some help from the GPS loaded on N’s cell
phone.
Our group went to an expensive restaurant in the Trevestere
? area of Rome.We sat with Peter and Felicitia from New York (as most of the
group are), and they were our dinner companions for most of the trip. Most
people seem to be Italian Americans visiting the “old country”. Peter was in
construction, and thanks to a good “Union pension” seems to travel every year.
Nice! Dinner was traditional, tomatoes are in season, so we had a lot of those
on the trip. Mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, salami and rice balls, beans for
appetizers, then a pasta of spinach and egg ravioli and a bacon spaghetti, then
meat – lamb and veal with salad. Then, oh joy! Our favourite – tiramisu for
dessert. Wine of course, served with water at table. Italians,
I read, do not
get tipsy at the table. Everything was delicious. The others say all the dinners
have been wonderful. In bed by 11:30 and we must be up at 6:30
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