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…I saw so much! I only had two full days here, and they were packed full of site seeing and adventure! I arrived on Friday afternoon and grabbed a taxi to my hotel, checked in and then wandered to find my “bearings” and figure out where I was in relation to the train station so I could hop on a tour bus tomorrow. The days I’ve traveled tend to make me really tired, so I haven’t done much once I’ve gotten to a new city. So once I went back to my hotel I quickly made reservations at the Vatican to see the museum and the Sistine Chapel then went to the restaurant just outside my hotel called Mama Angela’s trattoria for dinner. I had traditional bruschetta, gnocchi, and white wine for dinner. Then chocolate mouse and a cappuccino for dessert…and limoncello, on the house, as an after dinner drink. Between the wine and the limoncello, I was done for the day! If you’ve ever had limoncello, you know what I’m talking about.
The next day I woke up around 7am and eventually went down to breakfast, which is actually held at the “Yellow Bar” across the street from my hotel.
I believe it’s owned by the same people that own my hotel. It was a typical breakfast of croissant (not chocolate!) bread, butter, jam, yogurt, and a café latte. I then walked to the bus stop and bought a two day pass for the hop on, hop off bus tour. I went through the entire loop before I decided where to go first…the Fontana Di Trevi. It is amazing. Full of tourist, but what site in Europe isn’t? I wandered through some of the shops around the fountain and eventually hopped back on the bus to go to Vatican City. During the tour I also saw the sites of the Basilica di Santa Maria Marggiore, The Roman Forum, the Coliseum, Piazza Navona, Piazza Barberini, among many, many more!
Once I arrived in Vatican City I walked along the walls of the city to get to the museum entrance and wandered through until I reached the Sistine Chapel. How impressive…I don’t have words to describe how amazing it is. You can’t take pictures, although some people do but I didn’t, so if you’ve never seen it come to Rome! It’s just as worth the wait, if you have one, as David
is in Florence. I wish I could have told everyone else to leave so I could enjoy the Chapel in complete silence, and just admire the beauty of it all. It was packed with people so I didn’t stay long. I continued to wander through the museum, which is huge and impressive in itself. I didn’t visit the Basilica di San Pietro because the queue was so long! I didn’t see on the website that I could book reservations to that, without taking a guided tour, so I opted to just see the outside and enjoy Piazza San Pietro instead.
I then hopped back on the bus and continued through the tour, then back to my hotel. It was hot today, so my energy was drained. I took a nap then got up in time for a late dinner around the corner from my hotel at a place called Ristorante I Leoni d’Abruzzo. I was seated next to two couples and eventually we started to chat. They were from Nova Scotia and Vancouver and were amazing! I love talking with them and hearing about their travels. They asked what brought me to Rome, so I briefly told them my story…I
think one of the women got a little teary-eyed when I told them why I was there. We chatted all through dinner and shared a carafe of wine after dinner. It was a great way to spend my night, and I’m so glad I decided to get up for dinner, instead of just sleeping!
This morning I got up a little bit later than I expected…I think I drank too much wine last night! I had breakfast across the street again then made it to the bus stop to take the other loop of the tour. My only goal was to go to the Pantheon today. So I got off at that stop and wandered a bit. Apparently I walked right past it and didn’t even know what it was. I was looking at the back of it, which I’d never seen pictures of, so I didn’t know it was the Pantheon. I spent about 45 minutes admiring it and taking photos, and this is where I realized that I had a piece of fuzz on my camera sensor! I thought it was just on the filter, and noticed it on some of my photos from yesterday, so I cleaned
everything and changed the filter. It was still there, so I looked at the sensor, and there it was. I tried to blow it off, and I think I got it, or at least moved it so it’s out of the way a bit. But it created a “light bubble” in a lot of my photos from yesterday, and some from today. So needless to say I’m a little disappointed. If I don’t take a photo in direct sunlight I’m ok…my Greece photos might have some issues though!
After the Pantheon stopped in a store and bought some limoncello and other liquor to bring back home. I don’t know how I’m going to pack everything in my checked bag! I made it back on the bus and then just back to my hotel. It was another hot day, so I freshened up a bit and head out for a late lunch. I ate at a place a few blocks from my hotel called Florian’s Café and had tortellini with ham, peas, and a cream sauce and a pina colada…delicious and refreshing! I went shopping a bit, but didn’t find anything I HAD to have so I went back for a
nap. By the time I woke up it was almost time for dinner so I wandered around the corner to a place called La Tavernetta Trattoria. I had red wine, brushcetta, lasagna, and ice cream for dessert. They gave me a second glass of wine and limoncello, on the house, which was nice, but not necessary! I quickly finished the cappuccino I ordered after dessert and made my way back to my hotel.
Now, I just need to pack and wait for my alarm to go off bright at early tomorrow morning so I can catch the train to the airport and the my flight to Athens! I’ll be in Athens for less than 24 hours, then I’m off to Santorini for 4 days of pure relaxation. As much fun as I’ve had exploring all of these amazing cities, I’m ready to lay on a beach with a cocktail and not do a thing!
I know I’ll have wifi tomorrow in Athens, but I’m not sure about Santorini…but I’ll find it somewhere! If I don’t I’ll continue to write, and just post once I get home on Saturday. I can hardly believe 2 weeks have gone by already, and my
trip will be coming to an end in a short 6 days. Although I am looking forward to seeing all of my friends and family again!
Before I forget…the names of my hotel in Vence, France was Hotel Diana, Venice was Hotel La Forcola, and Florence was Hotel Lido. All were amazing and I’d definitely recommend them. I hope everyone has a good Monday! See you all soon!
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Katie
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Rome was the last day of my trip when I did study abroad and it was both exciting and overwhelming. There is so much to see you just have to target the things you want. Sounds like you crammed a lot in! Enjoy your relaxation in Greece! So glad we got to "chat"today! Safe journey!