LOCATION: Rome, Italy
WEATHER: Beautiful. High about 70
Today's mission was to see the remaining Rome sites listed in my book "Thousand Places To Go Before You Die". First we walked to the main train station as a dry run so we will know how to get there tomorrow for our 6:00 AM train. (Good thing, as we got lost several times).
We caught the subway at the main train station. I have never ever seen so many people trying to get on a subway car. We couldn't fit in the first two trains. For the 3rd, we just had to push along with about a million other passengers. There was no need to hold on to anything as we were stuffed in like sardines. George felt his pocket being picked. Thankfully the pocket just held his handkerchief.
We got off at St. Peter's Square, and were bombarded with hustlers selling tickets to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Their spiel is that you can avoid the 4-hour line by buying one of their "jump the line" tickets. We had decided just to see St. Peter's Square, since I've seen the Vatican and George didn't want to fight the crowds.
The Pope was giving a special speech in St. Peter's Square, so we were lucky to be there then. He was on a stage in the distance, but we could watch and listen to him on huge TV screens. We pretended that he was wishing George a Happy Birthday.
This guy was in charge of crowd control.
From there, we walked to a castle that our hotel receptionist had recommended due to the views from the top. We stopped for a coffee at a bar on the 3rd floor. You can see the Vatican in the background.
Then, lots of steps up to the 5th floor terrace where we had a lovely panorama view of the city.
We strolled along the Tiber River which flows through Rome, on our way to a famous plaza and palace. The Leonardo Di Vinci Museum is here.
We found a cozy cafe for lunch. George got a stuffed veal cutlet. I ordered peperoni which turned out to be red bell peppers, and not the meat I was expecting. It was really good, though.
We peeked into a church on the plaza. It had this strange skeleton head hung in the entrance. I think it is a special art installation. Weird.
Next on our list was the Spanish Steps. It is just like the pictures.
We climbed the steps (ugh) to the top where we pampered ourselves at the Hassler Hotel bar. This historic hotel is supposed to be one of the nicest in the world, and is a "must do" in my guidebook. George celebrated his birthday with a martini.
I had forgotten how hilly Rome is. Even though we were high up, after climbing the Spanish Steps, we had to walk up a lot of hills as we headed back to our hotel. Good exercise!
George is fascinated with these water fountains that are all over the city, with potable water.
We rested our feet at the hotel, then found a restaurant nearby for dinner. George had a pasta dish with wild boar and I had spaghetti carbonara. He splurged with a tiramisu for a birthday dessert.
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