Italia! ...Rome

Our last full day and they really packed it in. In the morning we went to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We had a local guide who was pretty informative. We only had about 25 minutes free time inside the Colosseum, which is not nearly enough. We saw the cremation site of Julius Caesar at the Forum.

We ate lunch sitting on a wall by the Colosseum. Pizza slices & coke. Then we were off to Vatican City. It was insanely crowded there. We had the same guide and he rushed us through as best he could to the Sistine Chapel. How I wanted to sneak a photo in there but didn't, but could have. No photography is allowed but Harmony managed to get a beautiful shot of the Creation of Adam. It took a long time to get there and it was hard to fight with the crowd to stay together. It was quite beautiful and dark. A part of the ceiling had fallen so it was patched, but they didn't dare try to paint the missing part.

We walked through St. Peter's Basilica. It was large and crowded. I don't know how many tour groups were there, but it seemed like every single one in town was here at the same time. I was relieved to be outside again at the end of the tour.

Did you know they had VHS TV'S there? That's so awesome. Lol...

We traveled back to our hotel. We didn't pay for the farewell dinner, so we snuck off down the street for our own meal. A delicious meal - pasta w/ broccoli (pureed), coffee, Prosecco, smoked buffalo mozzarella cheese w/ pears and walnuts drizzled in honey, and profiteroles for dessert. So delicious!

We took a walk back to the Trevi Fountain to look for souvenirs. We drank some Bacardi Breezers out of the bottle on a porch stoop. What a great vacation.

We settled into the hotel, packed our bags and fell asleep.

Italia! Roma

Today we traveled from Venice to Rome. Another super long bus ride. We arrived in the afternoon and our tour guide, Vinny, took us on a walking tour. We saw The Spanish Steps, The Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Piazza Navona. I saw the tomb of Raphael inside the Pantheon. When we were at the Pantheon, I started taking pictures of the fountain & the next thing I knew, my group had left without me! I had to race up the street to catch up with them. Luckily I knew the next stop!

When we arrived in Piazza Navona, I took pictures of the Fountain of the Four Rivers, which is the center fountain & from what our tour guide Vinny said, was the favorite of the three fountains in the plaza. I didn't go see the other fountains. I regret that now. I didn't really love the Fountain of the Four Rivers. As we were leaving we passed Neptune's Fountain, which has Neptune fighting off an octopus. That is awesome! But I couldn't stop to take photos at that point. I also regret that I didn't take any pictures of the hundreds of artists that had their work set up in the plaza. The whole scene was very picturesque.

We walked the streets of Rome to our last included dinner. They served Penne Arriabiata and it was so very bland. That's the second time this has happened and I'm wondering if they think it is spicy or if I've just been unlucky. I also ate a plate of vegetables. I haven't seen very many on this trip so I was happy to have them. Dessert was some kind of cake with espresso powder. Really good. Another rushed meal. After dinner we checked back into Hotel Lux - such a downgrade this time - on floor 1, even tinier space. Almost no room for my suitcase. I watched an Italian movie & rested up for our last full day of vacation.