Back to the USA

I woke up around 6:00 a.m.  We finished cleaning the apartment and took out the trash.  We were a little nervous about leaving our keys in the apartment without our driver being there yet, but we did anyway.  The pre-hired driver from Rome Shuttle Limousine (highly recommended) arrived promptly at 7:00.  Our flight was scheduled to leave Rome at 9:50 and planned to be at the airport by 8:00.  Judging by the amount of time it took our driver to get us to the apartment, this was perfect.  However...our driver FLEW!  He was going 130 km/hr in the 80 km/hr speed zone...YIKES!  I was a little scared for my life, but happy that we were going to be early, not late!

Our arrival drive from the airport to the apartment took about 50 minutes.  This day, however, we made it to the airport in 20 minutes!!!!  It was amazing and frightening all at the same time.  We were checked in and eating breakfast in the terminal by 7:45 and boarded the plane at 9:20.  Right on time...well, maybe not.

Our plane got inspected by the Italian version of the FAA.  We sat on the plane for 2 hours!!  We were very lucky that our layover was pretty long in New York City, or else we would've missed our connection as several of our fellow passengers did.  Nonetheless, we were in the air and got lunch around 2:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. NYC time).  I had yummy cheese tortellini and Brett chose the Beef Stroganoff.  Around 2:00 p.m. NYC time, we had a snack of pizza (like we hadn't had ENOUGH already) and landed around 3:00 p.m.

We went through US Customs pretty quickly.  I was really distracted, however, by all of the refugee-looking people in the "Quarantine" area...yikes!  However, after passing through the Passport check, we were stopped by some American Airlines staff who asked if we needed to check our bags onto our domestic flight.  To which we replied, "No, we've been carrying these on."  So, we went on our merry way, only to be told by the AA staff at JFK airport that mine had to be checked because it was too big...blasphemy.  I pleaded with them, telling them that I had carried this suitcase onto an AA flight that morning, but they weren't having it.  So, I reluctantly got into line and checked the bag.  Then, we had to go through security again.  JFK airport security was by FAR the worst and least efficient that we encountered on our entire journey!!! 

Oh well, we finally made it through and waited another hour and a half before our plane took us back to good old DFW.  This flight was on time...but we taxied on the runway for about 2 hours.  I'm pretty sure we have the worst luck at picking flights!  Christine and David had parked our car in the garage earlier that day, so it was only a few dollars to get it out and head to their apartment for the night.  By this time, we had been awake for about 24 hours, which was perfect, because even though it was early morning in Italy, we were really tired and ready for a good night's rest.  It felt really good to be back in the US.  I love the English language!  lol...we had a marvelous vacation of a lifetime and loved every minute of it.  We were so blessed with safe flights, car rides, train rides, etc.  Hopefully, I can blog again in the near future...I think I caught the travel bug!!!  Arrivederci...until next time  ~Adrian~

Rome - Day 10

Our last full day in Rome...not a good feeling!  But, we wanted to make the most of it.  We had reservations for the Borghese Gallery at 11:00 and knew that it would be difficult to find (per Rick Steves and Mindi), so we slept in a little and headed out of the apartment around 10:00.  We stopped at the Spagna subway station and walked FAST through a huge, but beautiful, park to find the gallery.  We walked for almost 30 minutes as quickly as possible before finally finding our destination.  We were about 3 minutes late, but had read that they will sell your tickets to someone else if you no show, so we 

were very nervous about this.  However, we made it early enough and wandered through this impressive gallery.  No pictures were allowed inside, so we only have one shot of the outside of the building, but I have links here for a view at our favorites such as Apollo e Daphne, Il Ratto Di Proserpina , and Danae.  The Borghese Gallery was once the home to a very wealthy family, so it has a very "aristocratic" feel to it.  Marble floors, elaborate moldings and door frames as well as a beautiful garden and courtyard.  The building itself is almost as interesting as some of the work inside.

After our tour, we were hungry and headed toward the Spagna station (near the Spanish Steps).  But, before we could get there...another torrential downpour erupted and, although we had our rain jackets and trust umbrella, we still had to seek shelter under the roof of a carousel in the park.  Luckily, we were only stuck there about 5 minutes and headed for some more pizza.  This time, I had what American's call "pepperoni pizza" (in Italy, if you order pepperoni, you get banana peppers) and Brett had sausage & mushroom (fungi).  We then casually walked through the street and searched for some souvenirs.  We both picked out a shirt and the rain started picking up again, so we headed back to the apartment for a break.

Brett realized that his shirt was too big, so we headed back to the Spagna station for a trade out.  Surprisingly, this went pretty smoothly considering the workers did not speak English!  We found a woman on the street selling her original watercolors with different city scenes.  We purchased a painting that looks down on St. Peter's Square and the city from the top of the dome, so that was neat.  We were nervous about getting our painting wet, so we went back to the apartment to drop it off and headed back to St. Peter's Basilica for one last look.  The first time we toured, we did not get to listen to our Rick Steve's audio-guide.  We were just too tired to walk around anymore, so we decided to do this on our final day in Rome.

Around 5:00, they were having mass inside St. Peter's, so much of the church was blocked off, but we listened to the audio-guide and watched some of the procession of the mass, which was pretty interesting.  Then, a security guide made us take our earphones out, so we decided to leave a little early.  We didn't intend on being disrespectful, but security was much more tight on this day.

So, what to do on our last evening in Rome???  Get gelato, of course :)  Before dinner, of course :)  So, Brett chose a mousse called Cream Panna Cotta and I chose Mousse Caffe.  I'm not really

sure what Brett's was supposed to taste like, but it tasted like HEAVEN to me!  I was a little jealous...my coffee flavored gelato really let me down.  I guess I'll stick to Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate at Braum's instead.  We headed back to the apartment and Brett started wrapping our picture in some cardboard for the long trip and I did some laundry and started packing.

After a couple of hours, we headed out for dinner.  What did we eat on our last night in Rome? CHINESE FOOD!!!  lol, we really wanted to stick around the neighborhood of the apartment and we were honestly a little tired of pizzas and calzones, so we found a great Chinese restaurant.  I found it funny that the waitress spoke only Chinese and Italian - it makes sense, but it was strange for us.  Luckily, the menu was in English as well, so we did a lot of pointing.  We had some yummy fried rice with chicken and shrimp and Brett ordered a sizzling plate of prawns that were delicious (after

we cut the heads off of them).  I enjoyed a cappuccino before we headed back to the apartment for our final night.  We were bummed, but excited to get back to the US and start sharing our stories with everyone. 

Rome - Day 9

Rain, rain, go away!!!  We planned on using Tuesday to tour Pompeii.  However, all that was in the forecast was rain, rain and more rain.  Monday night I frantically posted on tripadvisor.com in desperation asking fellow travelers if they thought the rain would ruin our day.  I was thinking about the outdoor excavation site, mud, cobblestone, no shelter from the rain, etc.  The majority of them though I was crazy for considering ditching Pompeii, but one person and Rick Steves suggested an alternative - Ostia Antica.  As I started researching the site, I realized that it would be very similar to Pompeii without the EXPENSIVE train ticket (over $150 US per person).  Ostia Antica is connected to Rome's subway system, so it was only 2 euros each for us to reach it!  Pompeii was destroyed by a volcano, but Ostia Antica was one of the very first ports cities in Italy.  It was basically just abandoned thousands of years ago and no one has lived there since.  It is one of the best perspectives of what Roman life might have been like around 150 A.D.

Sounded good.  And we knew that if the rain started to pour, we were just a short walk from the subway and could be back to the apartment in a matter of minutes.  So, we left our place around 10:00 and boarded a 10:45 train to the site.  We paid 6.50 euros per person to enter.  This was the only "tourist" attraction we visited where we could be completely on our own, roaming through fallen buildings and rummaging wherever our hearts desired.  We saw the city's Necropolis (cemetery), Warehouses, Baths, the town square, and the Theater.  Although most of the buildings were crumbling, you can see in the pictures that the foundations remain intact and you can really get a good feel for the layout of this once thriving city.  We really enjoyed roaming around town on our own.  We stopped in the cafe for some lunch and a break from the light sprinkle.  We purchased some items from the gift shop before heading back to Rome.  Here are our favorite shots from the day in Ostia Antica:

Brett takes pride in finding statues with "sweet beards."  This is one such statue:

Statue still standing at Ostia Antica, headless as usual:

The is the Necropolis or cemetery - the arches are where they kept urns of ashes

Weaving through the old walls of homes that once stood here:

The theater:

Another view of the theater:

This is what remains of what we would consider an apartment complex:

This is the mosaic floor of a public bath:

Here we are in the cemetery...aww:

Around 2:00, we were back in Rome and decided to stop at the Colosseo train station in order to visit St. Peter-In-Chains Church (which opened at 3:00).  We stopped in a nice little shop for gelato.  Brett got "After Eight" which is basically mint chocolate chip (his favorite US ice cream flavor) and I tried out the chocolate.  Once again, it was really good!  We were not disappointed.  While we ate the ice cream we sat down for a perfect view of the Colosseum.  I read about St. Peter-In-Chains Church in my Rick Steves' guidebook (of course) and thought it would be intresting to see the Peter's chains from which an angel of he Lord set him free as told in Acts, chapter 12.  Here are some pics of the church and chains:

The church was small, but impressive.  The chains were a highlight, but we spent most of our time looking at the Tomb of Pope Julius II.  It was a monstrous sculpture started, but never completed, by Michaelangelo (he was called off the job by another Pope to pursue a little project called the Sistine Chapel). In the middle of the tomb is an intense sculpture of Moses, seen below:

After this, we headed back toward the apartment, but Brett wanted to find an Italian bike jersey from a local bike store.  I had researched the internet for what he thought was a bike shop.  However, after 30-45 minutes of roaming around Rome, we found a bike rental store...and it was closed.  Of course, we weren't happy and our dogs were really barking, but we prevailed and continued on to the apartment.  We took a nap and then decided to venture out to find some dinner (in the rain).

We just roamed around the neighborhood and found a restaurant called Ristorante Jolly.  They had a buffet that looked really nice, but we didn't recognize any of the food, so we decided to order off the menu.  We were kind of intimidated since we hadn't sat down in an actual restaurant.  Our waiter could tell that we are American, but didn't know much English.  We did a lot of pointing to the menu :)  although, I did get to use SOME of the Italian words I worked so hard on memorizing!  We got a bottle of the house white wine for 7 euros, I had the house Ravioli stuffed with cheese and Brett had a calzone (little did he know there was going to be eggs inside...lol).  Our meal went pretty smoothly and the waitstaff was very friendly.  I did get the chance to say "Il conto, per favore."  Meaning, "the check, please."  The waiter understood me!  I felt great!!!!  After dinner, we walked back to the apartment and watched some TV before going to bed.  Tomorrow is our last full day in Rome and we want to make the best of it!

Rome - Day 8

Monday...we slept in a little bit and woke to a bright, sunny day.  So, we headed back to the Spagna station for another try at the night walk without all of the rain.  The Spanish Steps were less crowded and we headed to the Trevi fountain first.  It was much nicer than Sunday, and we took several pictures and even took a little video of ourselves in front of the Trevi fountain for Tyanne - Brett's step-sister - since it was her 30th birthday.

After this, we headed on the the Pantheon.  There is a big square just in front of the Pantheon.  Brett DID actually eat at McDonald's this time because Rick Steves suggested that it was the best seat in the square - directly across from the Pantheon.  We ventured into the Pantheon and took the Rick Steves' audioguide tour.  We saw the tomb of Queen Margherita and I thanked her for creating one of my favorite pizzas :-)  We then found a really cute little jewelry store and I found some garnet earrings to go with a ring that Brett got me for our 2nd anniversary.  They were perfect.  I had been looking for some all over the place without success.  Little did I know that all I had to do was go to Rome to find them!

Since I didn't want to eat at McDonalds, we found a little sandwich shop while we were walking back to the metro station.  I got a really good panini and ate it as we walked.  There was a scary homeless lady screaming at everyone when we walked by the Spanish Steps...weird!  So, we scurried through there and headed to the Octtivanio metro stop to try our luck again at the Vatican.  Sunday there was a 2 hour line.  But at 12:30 Monday, we walked straight into the place with only a short stop at a security checkpoint.  

The Vatican Museum is quite impressive.  It was similar to the Louvre because there were halls and halls and halls of paintings, sculptures, statues, tapestries, mummies...pretty much anything you can imagine.  Here are some of our pictures from the museum:

We then headed into the Sistine Chapel...this was BREATHTAKING!  One thing I would suggest to people who are thinking about going there...BINOCULARS!  The ceiling is VERY high and you will seriously hurt your neck looking at it.  Photos are forbidden here and you're not even supposed to talk, but it was REALLY difficult not to spot something amazing and want to point it out to Brett.  After listening to Rick Steves' description of the ceiling, we took his advice and snook out the back door of the chapel which is usually only for group tours.  We were really supposed to leave out of another door and walk to another security line, but everyone says that sneaking in with a group is the way to go.  So, we felt like rebels, but it worked!!  

We lined up to go to the cupola of St. Peter's Bascilica.  We had two options - elevator or stairs.  I had read on several websites and in the holy Rick Steve's guidebook that the stairs are intense, but we decided to take the stairs anyway.  So we climbed, and climbed, and climbed for about 10 minutes straight.  But, it was worth it!  We got to the top of the dome on the inside and the people on the ground looked like ants!!!  Truly amazing...I really can't even describe it, so I'm not going to try.  I think it's just something you have to experience.  Here are some pictures from inside the cupola looking down into the basilica:

After looking over the inside, we headed to the top of the dome on the outside for a birds-eye view of the city...lots more stairs in tiny, unlevel hallways.  You probably shouldn't do this if you're claustrophobic.   This is the highest point in all of Rome by law.  No building can be built higher than St. Peter's dome. These are pictures from the top of the dome:

We went back down and stopped in a little shop ran by some nuns.  We made a few purchases and got some water, then headed back down the stairs.  Down was much easier, but somewhat dizzing.  Here are some pictures of all of the different stairwells we had to go through:

After the trek back down the stairs, we headed to St. Peter's Square.  This is the circular atrium that you see in the pictures we took from the top of the cupola.  We did have to go through another security line and actually happened to see some of the Swiss Guard, which was very exciting!!  We then headed into the most breathtaking place of the whole trip...St. Peter's Basilica.  When we were standing at the top of the cupola taking pictures downward, I was amazing, but when we walked in the front door, my jaw literally dropped.  I was speechless for at least 5 minutes straight.  Everywhere you look, there is total beauty and on a GRAND scale!  The floors, walls, columns, statues, sculptures, stained glass, etc. were the most beautiful that you can imagine.  The altar is 7 stories high and sculpted out of pure bronze.  We roamed around the basilica as we listened to Rick Steves give a detailed description of when and how all of the beautiful things were created.  This is where the Pope leads his services.  It was truly the highlight of our trip.  I can't even begin to describe how awestruck Brett and I were while we were standing in there!  I can't wait to go back!!!

After leaving St. Peter's, we stopped in a chocolate shop and grabbed a large back to take back to the apartment.  Brett grabbed another pizza sandwich and we headed back to the apartment.  I took a nap and then we headed out for some groceries.  We ate dinner at the apartment and went to sleep...a great end to an amazing and exhausting day in Roma.