International travel is as much of an adventure as sailing the sea, just different. We left New York from John F. Kennedy International at 8pm on Monday night. No matter how we try - we never get any rest. We even took a sleep aide. All it served to do was make Sharon's stomach queasy. The flight to Rome was eight hours long with the tail wind that comes from the jet stream. We arrived safely before noon, retrieved our bags and headed out in the the warm sunshine. Quickly nabbing a cab, we buzzed into downtown Rome. Of course, we got taken on the fare because we forgot to ask "how much?", but it sharpened our spending skills for the rest of the trip.
Hotel Locarno was lovely. We dropped our bags and set off to find a bite to eat, our first of many pizzas! We trucked back to the hotel as soon as we figured our room would be ready, unpacked and laid down for a well-deserved nap! Ahhhhh. Later that evening, just across the street we found delightful
Osteria St Ana. Our first try at eating all courses - probably the last one too. So much food! All wonderful and unique.
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| Leaving NY |
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| Piazza del Popolo, just down the block from our hotel |
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| Check out the little crocheted hat |
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| Spanish Steps |
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Hotel Locarno |
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| Sharon's dinner of prawns |
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| Sharon at Osteria St Ana |
The next day we hoofed it two miles down to the Coliseum where we were booked for a Viator Tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. We met our guide at the Metro stop and waited in line to get our sticker and radio. They have it figured out. We each got a radio and headphones where we could adjust our own volume, the tour guide didn't have to shout and it was all in English. Our tour guide - Inga - was originally from Estonia and she was Russian. Greg is always very good at asking questions and learning a good deal about a person, a bit of their background and their opinions on things. It was interesting to hear her say that she is always surprised at how many Italian people think Putin is doing a great job and taking care of his people. She said anyone who says or thinks that never lived in Russia. Hmmm.
This was the only time throughout our visit to the city that we felt "bothered" by hawkers. They swarmed the area trying to sell cold water bottles, selfie sticks and other souvenirs. We definitely felt the need to keep our hands on our wallets, and kept shaking our heads NO! We had heard from friends that the main tourist attractions were always very crowded. Whew!
Inga did an amazing job at bringing things to life. She was quite knowledgable in Roman history and told the story of how life once may have been. There is a lot to see and learn in that area. The tour was three hours long and full of information, lots of walking and dodging people. Rome is a crowded city. You learn quickly to keep one eye on your tour group and the guide's flag on a pole. It's kind of like going to New York. Lots to see and do, lots of tourists, lots of locals, lots of cars. Rome added lots of scooters to the mix and even though you might feel like you were walking down a back alley, it was a well-trafficked street, and you had to be careful not to get hit. And everywhere you go, there are ruins or historic buildings.
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| La Guardia were in many public locations |
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| Museo del Vittoriano |
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| A special ceremony was going on this day |
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| The Coliseum to the left and the Arch of Constantine behind the trees |
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| Our very knowledgeable tour guide, Inga |
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| Along our way to the Coliseum |
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| The old and the slightly newer |
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| Inside the Coliseum, you can see the staging used in some of the restoration work |
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| Outside the Coliseum |
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| Part of the Roman Forum - the heart of the city in ancient Rome |
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| See the crane with workers at the top doing repairs? |
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| A long view of the Roman Forum ruins |
After another good lunch, we hoofed our way back to the hotel, by way of the Trevi Fountain and other sweet sights. Everywhere you roam, there are unique sights along the way.
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| Trevi Fountain |
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| A pretty scene along the street |
The next day, we wandered the city, explored the Borghese Garden, ducked into the small Leonardo da Vinci museum and enjoyed a light lunch. We were scheduled for another tour in the afternoon to include the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. This historic site is very, very busy, noisy and a tad overwhelming. Our guide was Italian and had a very heavy accent, making it especially difficult to understand her against the ambient noise. We saw lots and lots of artwork, statuary, frescoes and tapestries. They move people through quickly, but we still saw so much. Photos were not allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but we had about 20 minutes to view the ceiling, so we looked our fill. What was striking to Sharon was that much of the art in the museum had come from ancient Rome. Both tour guides talked often about how the church saved Rome. It's a common story - whomever is strongest at a given time, steals from the weak to grow their collections and their power. Hmmmm...... Greg felt that ceiling art was odd. Very nice, yes, but, hey, you can only enjoy it when looking straight up, and the ceiling was at least 50 feet high. Better on a wall he thinks.
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| Santa Maria di Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli on the Piazza del Popolo |
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| These next four are in the Borghese Gardens |
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| Looking down at the roadway from above the wall |
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| These next three are tapestries from the Vatican Museum - amazing work! |
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| Beautiful maps from the Vatican Museum. One whole room was dedicated to these. |
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| The front of St Peter's Basilica |
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| The dome of St Peter's Basilica |
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| Looking up from the ground |
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| Where the Pope stands for services in the square |
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| Inside St Peter's |
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| The Pietà, which Greg remembers seeing in NYC in 1964 |
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| The place is immense! |
Dinner Thursday night was at
Hotel Splendide's Mirabelle restaurant. We sat on the outside balcony overlooking the city. It was bellissimo, the food was delizioso and the evening was assolutamente romantico!
Friday was another beautiful day and since we were leaving that day, we took a short walk along the river and down the city streets before jumping into a car to take us back to Fiumicino Airport where we would board a flight for Split Croatia.
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| Beautiful refreshment stand at the gardens |
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There were nealry 100 busts along the walkway in the Borghese Garden.
Wonder who this was? |
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| Parking Rome style |
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| A bicycle rental place - see how they are stacked on their rear wheel |
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| A unique Carousel |
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| The mounted polizia |
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| A fuel station right on the sidewalk of a busy city street! |
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| The patio at Hotel Locarno |
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| The Tiber River |
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| Chiesa del Sacro Cuore del Suffragio - a Catholic place of worship |
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| The Tiber with the Supreme Court to the right |
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| Our hotel had a great rooftop bar! |
Off we headed to Split, Croatia, where we would gather with friends and board a 50 foot catamaran for a week of sailing the Croatian islands.
'Til next time -
