Day two

Another great day in Italy. Not easy to have a bad day on vacation. Busy day that started early. We were up before the local cathedral was ringing the bells.

Of course we miss Mirnyi. Everyone said we would see a ton of cats. None as of yet. But we see a lot of people traveling with Dogs. Good thing we know she is in good company and loving Montana.

Odd enough, we have found that the gentleman at the front desk likes to pull the american trick of yelling louder when we do not understand Italian. I have not been yelled at so much since CYC in Helena. We seem to make it out with some idea of what to do............................

It would seem the Italians like to start their morning with a leisurely coffee they do not understand we are in a hurry or To Go. Getting a Java to go proved difficult. We grabbed a fabulous baked good, anything with procuitto and cotto can not be all bad. We found our way on the local bus system to Vatican City. Even a non catholic like Haas was impressed. The line was quite long, but it pays to be there early. We were only in line for 20 minutes. I found a local Cafe that would serve Americano to go - she might have been trying to prove a point when she looked down her nose and said Americano = of course. I could not be bothered. I was a hero.

Chris called it catholomania, (sorry Birdie) = the art was amazing. If you have painted the Sistine Chapel wall before Michelangelo erases it are you looked upon similar to the 5th Beatle. Sorry Buddy, an artist has entered the house. Who are you? Wow we are still amazed at the art, not only at the Vatican Museum, but throughout.

What are the two things you should not leave home without when traveling out of the USA? We would say the camera charger and Koozies. How do we know this you ask? Last night we realized the camera situation. Nothing worst than buying a disposable camera with no flash. I am sure the photos from the Vatican will be stellar.

Koozie you say? When we left the Vatican, and ordered a beer on the street it was very clear. We asked, can we go with this? Free to walk the streets? It is like H2O he says. I have never wanted a Koozie so badly. Warm and 75 degrees, even a Perona gets warm qickly. Damn make a note, Koozie in our luggage someone alert Carol and Rob before they head over.

The much cooler desk clerk at the hotel spent some time on the internet and the phone. When asked where he would buy a camera or a battery his response far far away. HMMM what does that mean? Switzerland? France? The USA? Not to worry, with a swipe of the American Express we were back in business. Samsung or Nikon who can decide = go with the least Euro!!!!! Nikon it is. Batteries, memory card and a camera all can be yours conveniently at the train station for just over 200 Euros.

Lunch down the street at a cafe with beer, wine and panini. I love Italy. Surrounded by people leisurely enjoying coffee and red wine with a cigarette. No where to be, everything they say sounds fabulous.

We have bought into the afternoon siesta. Every afternoon we spend 30 minutes snoozing. Window open and the sound of the city are soothing. We wake up refreshed and ready for more more walking, sites, wine and beer. Maybe some pasta.

Early evening and we are back at it. We take a stroll through what is known as a neighborhood of the best shopping. How do we know this is not true. Wall to wall tourists. Not to be understated. The stoll ends at the Spanish Steps. Very impressive and worth the hike to the top. We watched the sun set over Rome while enjoying Capaccio, parmessan and greens while enjoying a cocktail for Chris and of course the house red for Trish.

Dinner followed at the most authentic Italian Restaurant yet. The Gnocci with wild mushroom was to die for. Reminds me of why I miss Pomodoro in Salt Lake City from the late 90s.

The walk home consisted of chatting, cheering our good fate, and searching high and low for a Cigar for Chris. No luck, it would seem in Rome they do not know the difference between cigarettes and cigars. Chris had to settle for a Twix that cost him two euro. You do the math.

We gave up, grabbed a couple of beers and headed to the patio before bed. We have a 7 am wake up call. St Peters and some biking are calling our name before we head to Bologna.

Hope all is well with everyone. Tomorrow we head somewhere more casual for more drinks and relaxing. Rome is tiring us out. We need a vacation from our vacation.


Ciao.

While in Rome......

I doubt this place needs much of an introduction. Pretty much everyone knows it's a place with 2,700 years of history and the place where modern civilization was founded. Although we only have 3 days wish us luck. We are guessing you could spend weeks getting under the skin of the city.

Rome is a big city , but even if you're lost in the city, you can turn the corner and see something that's two thousand years old right in your face. It's truly amazing how much history this city has and how much is still preserved.
I'm not sure what we expected. Modern skyscrapers adorned with Trevi fountains? We had some idea that didn't materialize. What we found instead were wide boulevards lined with trees--an abundance of greenery and speeding traffic in a city sprawl.

We first visited the Coliseum. The Coliseum defines the glory days of Roman Empire.

After the Colosseum, we spent some time walking around the Roman Forum (a densely packed area of the city littered with Roman ruins older than, a lot older than, most countries) .

Next stop the Pantheon. We had been told the that the Pantheon was perfect. After seeing it, we must agree. We were overwhelmed with its simple beauty. It is supposedly Rome's best preserved monument of antiquity, probably because it was transformed from a temple that honored all the Roman Gods of Mythology into a Christian church, honoring one God.

Even if you usually dislike tourist places, the Pantheon is really a must see.
For nearly two thousand years this building has stood in this spot, while around it battles have been fought.

We went to dinner at the Piazza Navona. It is a large pretty oval Piazza, lined by with beautiful buildings including a church and lots of cafes, perfect for people watching.


A day spent at the Colosseum, Pantheon, the Forum, is like taking European history 101.
I know I'm not giving the best description of Rome here and I won't even try because I think it's one of those places you just have to see it for yourself.

The Eagle has landed

With the exception of being surrounded by a team of italian teenagers, the flight was relatively uneventful.

Traffic was horrific to our hotel. Luckily we are on vacation and could care less. The cab driver on the other hand was a little annoyed. Fixed rate to center of Rome, he is not making any money this a.m.

We are off to explore and hopefully meet up with Allison and Kevin for dinner and drinks.

Ciao.

36 hours but who is counting...............

We are finishing up our final to-do's. Chris is marking off the list and it looks like we might actually be prepared to leave on Thursday morning. We don't use the term ready because we are definitely ready.

Thanks for all of the advise from our friends who have been to Italy before. We look forward to keeping you all updated with our blog and hopefully photos.

Wish us luck, we love to travel, even though I always burden myself (Chris) with far too much luggage!