Flight to Rome and Our First Day

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Wednesday 1:

Our ride picked us up at 5:30 in the morning. Very early after a somewhat restless night (excitement about the trip we can assume ... or was it the Thai food)! We had our first opportunity to use our Global Entry identification at TSA. We signed up for it a few months ago and, after an extensive review of our travel history and security clearance (including an interview), we were passed and got these cards that will help us through US airports and entering back into the country. All did not go well as we went through TSA as we ordinarily would … slowly! Seems that United has to be informed before it is useful on the way out of the country (US Customs didn’t tell us that). Thank heaven a reservationist was willing to do a little work and make sure it was added to our UA profiles while we waited in the SFO United Club. The flight to Dulles was uneventful other than some discussion about the ravages of drought and identifying rivers as we passed over them. Our flight attendant certainly knew her geography.

We changed planes in Dulles and continued our trip to Rome. We were lucky to have been upgraded and so settled in for a nice meals and easy flight, with lots of movies. Most of the time flights today are more like city buses, but this was an easy and comfortable trip.

Thursday 2:

Upon waking on the plane we had a bit of time to “freshen up” (we got little kits as we took our seats in Dulles with booties, toothpaste, tissues and golf balls, hmmm) and have a little breakfast before arriving an hour early (pilot said he had found a short cut) at Fumicino International in Rome. We had a car from the hotel meet us at the airport and whisk us into the city (wrong word with all the traffic). Lots to see on the way in. This first part of the trip was quite civilized.

We couldn’t get into our room until the afternoon, so we left our bags and had a walk around the neighborhood. Neighborhood is a strange way to think of this area, since the piazza in front of the hotel has a beautiful statue of an elephant with an obelisk on his back (done by Bernini), the right side of the square houses Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with art by Bernini and Michaelangelo, and opposite is the Pantheon! What neighbors!

Santa Maria is a warm neighborhood church (the 5:30 PM service was packed today) and we saw our second Bernini (first was the elephant in Piazza Minerve) and a Caravaggio painting. The Michaelangelo was interesting but not overwhelming, and Saint Catherine’s bones and “stuff” are not particularly interesting as they are displayed under the main altar. It was interesting to see that the main altar and chapel, however, were sponsored by the Medici popes.

We walked by Marcus Aurelius’ column (dedicated to his German Campaign … remember the movie Gladiator) and has been impacted by the congestion and traffic. On our way to our next stop we visited the Church of St Ignazio. It is huge with a fascinating “faux” dome and beautiful ceilings. But the main event for the morning was Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, not far from our hotel. This immense palace is stunning on its own, but in addition, the family determined in the early 20^th century to keep their art collection together no matter what happened to the palace. And what a collection: hundreds and hundreds of paintings and statuaries. Bernini, Caravaggio, Lippi, Raphael, Brugel and hundreds of others. The collection – and the building – are worth the visit. But it is a little overwhelming and we needed to take a break so we went to a little restaurant on Piazza Ignazio – Cave Restorante da Sabatino a San Ignazio – where we had been once before. The food was good but not great, except for the Cascio a Pepe, which is a favorite dish in Rome.

We walked by Trajan’s Column on our way back to the hotel. Similar to Marcus Aurelius, the statue of the emperor on top had been replaced by St Peter. Too bad. After a few minutes downtime we walked to our massage appointment at Aqua Madre Hammam. It is not a real hammam but does have steam rooms. The experience was relaxing, leaving Peggy resting in our room while John went out to walk around the area some more. What a great central location, and with all the churches, palazzos and shops, perfect for walking and browsing. On the way home John picked up a gelato from a nice café in Piazza Pantheon. Then in for the night, tired and happy.

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