Eurotrek07 - Here's a-more!
Wednesday 3/7 -
9:30 p.m. We have just taken ourselves on a small tour of Rome - walked along the river, almost got a VERY small car wedged up my rear (I swear, they come out of nowhere!), and now we've made it to Ivo. They say this is, arguably, the best pizza in Rome. Well, they are right! And, I'd have to hear quite a case for another pizza to even consider an argument. Our pizza is called Buffalo Bill (very authentic Italian, right?) and is topped with buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. We're seriously in pizza heaven. Oh, and our waiter's name is Stefano. He is a total rockstar waiter. We agree we'd definitely hire him if we were running a restaurant.
Thursday 3/8 -
8:00 a.m. There's a knock at the door. Mmm...it's breakfast! We enjoy room service in the morning and consider hiring a butler.
10:00 a.m. We've just arrived at the Vatican City, appropriately dressed with our legs and shoulders covered. Today, we are going to take Rome by storm because we are running out of time!
10:30 a.m. Our guided tour of the Vatican Museum is beginning. The tour guide is nice to have onhand - letting us know what we're staring at, pointing out countless remnants of sculptures salvaged from the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum, and preparing us for our viewing of the Sistine Chapel.
12:15 p.m. We are entering the Sistine Chapel. I am really looking forward to the art and the peace as we enter a room where photography is "forbidden" and silence is "strictly observed." The room is packed and everybody is talking. Cameras are flashing wildly about the room. The guard is continuously shooshing people and shouting "No photos!" Flashes continue one after the next until I am so disappointed by the human race that I have to leave just to cool down. Lame-o's!!! On a much brighter note, it was quite a sight to see. Michelangelo has continued to wow us from Florence to Rome. He was overwhelmingly talented and, it seems, quite a character!
12:45 p.m. Enter St. Peter's Basilica, created in the 1500's of the marble stripped from the Colosseum and filled with priceless Florentine works of Michelangelo and Botticelli, among others. The Basilica is huge. It's dome is beautiful and was designed by Michelangelo. It was his final design at age 90! He never saw it completed.
1:30 p.m. Hanging out in the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square) in the Vatican City planning our next move.
2:50 p.m. Just sat down on the patio at the Maccheroni for lunch. Turns out, Roman lunch time is from 1-3:00 p.m. and Maccheroni is about to close. Oops! We quickly order too much pasta, gobble up our meal as they are closing around us and continue on our way.
3:40 p.m. "Hey! Is that the Pantheon?" Sure enough, it is. It is funny what you'll stumble across while passing a McDonald's in Rome! The Pantheon was built in 27 A.D. and has walls 25 feet thick!
4:10 p.m. We continue from the Pantheon to Piazza Nuova, which is home to three fountains lined up within an elliptical walkway. Deep below the current Piazza Nuova in Old Rome, there was once an elliptical track used for chariot races. Super cool! Well, sort of. We have come to find out the winning horse's head was lopped off and the chariot racer would parade around the arena carring his "trophy." Gross!!!
5:00 p.m. We have reservations to tour the Borghese Gallery. Again, loads of lovely art. We are especially impressed by Bernini's beautiful marble sculptures and are excited because we are starting to recognize artists and art styles from all the art we've seen (yes, Brian too!).
6:30 p.m. Spanish Steps - pretty much just a bunch of steps amongst expensive boutiques and hotels. Nice area, though.
7:00 p.m. And, we're on to the Trevi Fountain. It is a really, really big fountain (seems like everything is really, really big here - except the cars). It was made famous by the movie "Three Coins in a Fountain", which we haven't seen. The story goes: throw 3 coins over your shoulder into the fountain to guarantee your eventual return to Rome. We took a few pictures and saved our coins for gelato instead.
8:45 p.m. We have walked clear across town today and our dogs are barkin'. Brian's not feeling great so he's taking a load off. I am sitting in the hotel living room writing. They brought me wine and cheese to enjoy while I write. Tomorrow is loose-ends day. We'll head out at the Forum for awhile and see what else we've missed. Then, we're going to pack our things! Our stay in Italy is almost over.
9:30 p.m. We have just taken ourselves on a small tour of Rome - walked along the river, almost got a VERY small car wedged up my rear (I swear, they come out of nowhere!), and now we've made it to Ivo. They say this is, arguably, the best pizza in Rome. Well, they are right! And, I'd have to hear quite a case for another pizza to even consider an argument. Our pizza is called Buffalo Bill (very authentic Italian, right?) and is topped with buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. We're seriously in pizza heaven. Oh, and our waiter's name is Stefano. He is a total rockstar waiter. We agree we'd definitely hire him if we were running a restaurant.
Thursday 3/8 -
8:00 a.m. There's a knock at the door. Mmm...it's breakfast! We enjoy room service in the morning and consider hiring a butler.
10:00 a.m. We've just arrived at the Vatican City, appropriately dressed with our legs and shoulders covered. Today, we are going to take Rome by storm because we are running out of time!
10:30 a.m. Our guided tour of the Vatican Museum is beginning. The tour guide is nice to have onhand - letting us know what we're staring at, pointing out countless remnants of sculptures salvaged from the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum, and preparing us for our viewing of the Sistine Chapel.
12:15 p.m. We are entering the Sistine Chapel. I am really looking forward to the art and the peace as we enter a room where photography is "forbidden" and silence is "strictly observed." The room is packed and everybody is talking. Cameras are flashing wildly about the room. The guard is continuously shooshing people and shouting "No photos!" Flashes continue one after the next until I am so disappointed by the human race that I have to leave just to cool down. Lame-o's!!! On a much brighter note, it was quite a sight to see. Michelangelo has continued to wow us from Florence to Rome. He was overwhelmingly talented and, it seems, quite a character!
12:45 p.m. Enter St. Peter's Basilica, created in the 1500's of the marble stripped from the Colosseum and filled with priceless Florentine works of Michelangelo and Botticelli, among others. The Basilica is huge. It's dome is beautiful and was designed by Michelangelo. It was his final design at age 90! He never saw it completed.
1:30 p.m. Hanging out in the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square) in the Vatican City planning our next move.
2:50 p.m. Just sat down on the patio at the Maccheroni for lunch. Turns out, Roman lunch time is from 1-3:00 p.m. and Maccheroni is about to close. Oops! We quickly order too much pasta, gobble up our meal as they are closing around us and continue on our way.
3:40 p.m. "Hey! Is that the Pantheon?" Sure enough, it is. It is funny what you'll stumble across while passing a McDonald's in Rome! The Pantheon was built in 27 A.D. and has walls 25 feet thick!
4:10 p.m. We continue from the Pantheon to Piazza Nuova, which is home to three fountains lined up within an elliptical walkway. Deep below the current Piazza Nuova in Old Rome, there was once an elliptical track used for chariot races. Super cool! Well, sort of. We have come to find out the winning horse's head was lopped off and the chariot racer would parade around the arena carring his "trophy." Gross!!!
5:00 p.m. We have reservations to tour the Borghese Gallery. Again, loads of lovely art. We are especially impressed by Bernini's beautiful marble sculptures and are excited because we are starting to recognize artists and art styles from all the art we've seen (yes, Brian too!).
6:30 p.m. Spanish Steps - pretty much just a bunch of steps amongst expensive boutiques and hotels. Nice area, though.
7:00 p.m. And, we're on to the Trevi Fountain. It is a really, really big fountain (seems like everything is really, really big here - except the cars). It was made famous by the movie "Three Coins in a Fountain", which we haven't seen. The story goes: throw 3 coins over your shoulder into the fountain to guarantee your eventual return to Rome. We took a few pictures and saved our coins for gelato instead.
8:45 p.m. We have walked clear across town today and our dogs are barkin'. Brian's not feeling great so he's taking a load off. I am sitting in the hotel living room writing. They brought me wine and cheese to enjoy while I write. Tomorrow is loose-ends day. We'll head out at the Forum for awhile and see what else we've missed. Then, we're going to pack our things! Our stay in Italy is almost over.
posted by TanSwan at 2:22 PM
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