Rome is a busy, bustling, traffic-filled city with small cobblestone streets and graffiti everywhere. In spite of this, we all liked it very much. The juxtaposition of ancient ruins and (relatively speaking) more modern structures was fascinating. I don’t know why I expected the Colosseum to be placed outside the city – maybe because all the pictures I’ve ever seen do not look like it sits in the middle of the city. We took our time having breakfast on Monday, June 16th and arrived at the train station at 10:05 a.m. for what we thought was a 10:25 departure time to travel from Florence to Rome. However, when we looked at our tickets, we learned they were actually for 10:04 — we had missed our train!! Michael had to purchase new tickets for all 7 of us; but at least there was another train leaving at 10:38.
Overall, the weather has been beautiful — mostly blue skies and white clouds. We have encountered occasional rain, thunder, and lightening; but it seems to go as quickly as it comes, leaving the air much cooler. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Rome a little after noon on Monday, June 16th, it was pouring rain as hard as I’ve ever seen. We had planned to walk from the train station to the Hotel, which was only about 4 blocks away. I cannot explain why, when we stepped out of the station, it did not occur to me that we should take a taxi, but it did not. Instead, the 7 of us headed into the rain, dragging our luggage and carry-on bags along with us. Everyone but me stopped to pull a sweatshirt out of their luggage, but when I attempted to do so, I realized mine was somewhere at the bottom and it wasn’t practical to take everything out right there in the station. Consequently, when I headed down the street, I had on a T-shirt, capris, and open toed shoes. I had so much stuff in my arms (carry on, purse, and camera) that I could not take the umbrella that Henry kept offering. So, I just sucked it up and walked on. By the time we arrived at the Hotel, the Des Artistes, we all looked like drowned rats. The Hotel was a lovely place with a few English TV channels – the first since we arrived in Europe. The clothes inside our luggage were wet and the books in our carry-ons were, as well. To top it off, we registered and then learned we had to walk a few doors further down to access our rooms. The upside of a country that preserves all of its original structures is that you have beautiful ancient architecture to appreciate; the down side is that buildings are very small and not particularly well-laid out. We all dried off, changed clothes, hung our stuff up to dry and then headed out for something to eat. The rain had cleared, the sun was out and it had become a beautiful day. The Hotel clerk suggested Mama Angela’s just around the corner. We had a great lunch (my god, the food in Italy is fabulous!!!!), then walked back to the train station to buy Hop On/Hop Off tickets for the afternoon and next day. We rode the bus around to see where we wanted to “hop off” the next day. We stopped for dessert at one point and 4 of the 7 of us (I won’t name names, but it wasn’t me) had 2 desserts each. Afterward, as we were riding around looking at Roman ruins, commenting on how much history Italy has, especially compared to the U.S., we also noted that the people in the restaurant where we had dessert didn’t seem to like us much, maybe they thought we ate too much dessert. At this point, in an Italian accent, Amanda said “Their lack of history makes them a hardy people!” We all started cracking up and agreed that was the quote of the day!
Because there was so much to see in Rome, we decided that afternoon to get off at the Trevi Fountain to see it and then walk to the Spanish Steps, not far past the Fountain. We were all so disappointed to find the Trevi Fountain completely dry and fenced off for repairs, but the girls tossed in their coins anyway. We had to do it several times to get it right (apparently there is a “correct” way to toss and Hailey didn’t realize the first time that she was supposed to make a wish). We made our way to the Spanish Steps, famous because the staircase, which goes from the Piazza de Espaigna to the Church, is the widest one in Europe. The Fountain there was also dry and fenced off (what is up with the lack of water in Europe?). Because another rain storm was just beginning, we grabbed cabs back to the hotel, before going out a little later for dessert (lemon tarts and chocolate cake), when we found it dry once again.
The most fascinating thing about the Hotel was the elevator. It was on a pulley system and held a maximum of 2 people with 2 bags and you had to shut the doors after getting out or it would not go back down to pick up the next passengers! The breakfast here was not great, but the American Coffee (basically, not Espresso) was pretty good.
The next day, our only full day in Rome, we started at the Vatican, but decided not to actually go in because our choices were to wait in a 3 hour line or skip the line and pay for a 2 1/2 hour tour. Neither of those options seemed workable given our schedule. So, we ended up going through St. Peter’s Basilica, which itself was a sight to see. We then split our group up; as Michael, Amanda and Henry were interested in seeing things that the girls were not. The girls and I hopped back on the bus and went to the Colosseum. I was surprised at how amazing it was. What an incredible structure, especially given the fact that there were no tools or motor-driven cranes at the time is was built. After spending quite a bit of time there, we were very hungry and hopped back on the bus to find a restaurant. It started pouring rain again, so we ducked into the first place we found as we got off the bus. It ended up being a great find. We wanted pizza but did not see it on the menu. When we asked, the waiter said they had “mixed pizza for four”. Although we weren’t sure what that was, we said okay. He brought us a large tray piled with 5 different kinds of pizza – cheese, meat, veggie – eight big slices in all. We could not eat it all, so we had some boxed and got some Gelato for dessert (we did, of course, have room for that). By the time we were done, the rain had stopped. What a smart way to wait out the rain. We then found our way to the Pantheon and came upon a church nearby that was really beautiful inside. So many beautiful churches in Italy! We all met back up at the hotel and went up to the roof to talk and rest. A group of college students came up there a few minutes later. They were drinking wine and talking, when we overheard one of the young men telling his friends about the kidney stone he passed that was as big as one of their heads. We couldn’t help but laugh and Amanda and Henry ended up having a pretty lengthy conversation with them. We all really had a great time, up on the roof in the dark, everyone laughing and enjoying the evening. We were off to bed a little late for a 5 a.m. alarm that would get us up in time for the 5:30 taxi to the airport for our flight to Barcelona.
The Colosseum
Hailey, Lexi, and Brittney at the Colosseum.
St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Brittney throws a coin into the dry Trevi Fountain.
Hailey steps into the elevator at the hotel.
Safari So Good 
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