Long weekend trip to Rome

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One exception to the norm of taking long weekend trips to Switzerland and the French Riviera from Stuttgart was the trip to Rome. My Mom flew to Rome from Thailand, and her psychiatrist friend Mary, who had previously traveled to France and Switzerland with us in 1978, flew into Rome from the States.

Friday after work, we took the normal transportation for a weekend trip to a distant destination, the overnight train with reservations for two couchettes. The train departed Boblingen about 6:30 pm and went directly to Rome...quite convenient. We shared the six-bed couchette compartment with two older German couples. They were on their way to Ischia off the coast of Naples. Normally one sleeps in their clothes in the couchette compartment as you are usually sharing it with strangers. However, our new German friends decided to strip down to their underwear before tucking in. This was probably mosest for them...they were probably headed for a nudist beach.

We arrived early Saturday morning at the Termini station and took a taxi to our hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps. My Mom and Mary were staying athe the Hassler, a five star hotel. We stayed next door at a slightly less expensive, but still very posh, hotel.

Soon we were on our way to see the sights of Rome. We walked down the Spanish Steps and shopped the designer stores between there and the Trevi Fountain, where we tossed the obligatory three coins, which ensured our return...many times. We caught a taxi to the Pantheon and walked from there to the Piazza Navona. For lunch, we headed to the Roman Forum, and had a picnic lunch on the Palitine Hill in the ruins of the palace. Our last stop of the day was the Colusseum, as by then, despite having used some taxis, our feet were giving out.

Sunday morning we visited St Peter's Basilica and then the Vatican Museum. Mary loves art and spends many hours at the New York Museum of Art. So she had a lot to say about the various art works. WHne she thought a picture of a house in a storm was forboding, Linda would notice the light coming from a window in the house and think it was cozy. Mary had another opportunity to update her psychological profile of Linda.

Monday we just relaxed and strolled around the Spanish Steps area before Linda and I caught the night train back to Boblingen.

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Photos

Mary studying Holbein's Henry VIII
No matter where you stood his eyes followed you.