Arriving in Europe and Rome

For all of my good intentions to blog throughout the trip, this is the first time I’ve had time to sit down and just write.  I had intended to write on the train, but every time we’ve been on a train, with the exception of the local train from Rome to Naples, we’ve talked with the people next to us the whole time.  

From Naples to Florence we first sat next to a couple who lived in India.  She was a doctor coming from a conference in Sorrento (which explains why I had such a hard time finding a room in Sorrento 3 months ago).  Then an Australian couple and a boy they brought with them (probably around 18 years old) sat next to us after the Indian couple got off.  And then from Florence to Venice we sat next to a couple from Delaware who were both in the banking industry.

We had an overnight train (with a bed compartment to ourselves!) from Venice to Munich and we are now on a train to Fussen (well, we’re on a train to Buchloe that we will switch at and get on a train to Fussen).  Stephen’s asleep (sorta) next to me and there’s no one else in our compartment.  So I will try to get some blogging done.

We started out in Rome.  The flight was uneventful, sleep was fitful at best, but we made it.  We flew into London Heathrow and then out of London Gatwick, so we had to transfer by bus to Gatwick.  RyanAir was as stingy as we had been warned.  They do actually weigh your bag and it has to be within the kilogram to be accepted.  And they make you put your carry on in the carry on measuring metal bins before they let you into the terminal.  If it doesn’t fit, you can’t go in.  But we were aware of all this and had made sure the luggage weighed the right amount and forced it to fit in the container.  We did have to move some stuff around to distribute the weight a little.

On the bus to Gatwick, barely awake

We got into Rome a half hour early, which would have been great except we had arranged a driver to pick us up (it was late and our hotel was reportedly difficult to find).  So we waited, but it did give us time to find an ATM and get some euros out.

We walked around a little when we got in, since our hotel, Bed and Breakfast Al Centro di Roma, was right in the middle of lots of places to walk.  (Between Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori for those who know the area).  I had a pizza/sandwich that was really good from a random shop on the corner after we couldn’t find the place I was looking for.  

Piazza Navena

Speaking of not being able to find places, Rome is very difficult to get around.  The street names are abbreviated in weird ways on the map, not to mention the same street has three different names in 3 different places.  We only rode the bus a few times because we never found a very good transit map and the stops were listed by the street they stopped at, so if you don’t know the street, you don’t know the stop.

The first day we went to the Vatican, starting with the museum.  We had 9:00 reservations so it wasn’t too busy.  Except for the tour groups that mob whatever it is their tour guide is talking about and tour guides who will literally put their group between you and the sculpture/painting/artifact, or just push you (literally) out of the way.  This hasn’t been unique to Rome either.  

The pope was doing his weekly address, so the museum wasn’t too crowded.  There were many interesting things in the museum, but the highlight was, of course, the Sistine Chapel.  Our necks were sore when we left, but it was worth it.  And we’ve had audioguides we got for free by Rick Steves which have been really helpful.  They don’t go too much in depth, but they hit the highlights, give direction on how to get through the museums and sites, and give background information.

A mummy

One of the hallways of the museum

St. Peter's dome is in the background

the exit of the Vatican Museum

We went into St. Peter’s, which is probably the most crowded place we have been in.  It’s free to get in, and luckily the line wasn’t too long for security, but it was bad enough.  

the nave

the dome

St Peter (I think), with everyone touching his feet

Michaelangelo's Pieta 

these doors are only opened every 25 years by the Pope, it's bricked up on the other side

When we came out, the line stretched around the square.  We climbed the dome, which was awful and amazing at the same time.  Awful because it’s over 300 steps, sometimes in a tight spiral or in a stairway about shoulder width that is slanted slightly (because we were actually in the dome).

It does give you a better idea of how immense the dome really is, with tiny people below you and a huge dome still above you.  This is at the first stop (after just the elevator, no stairs, yet).  The statues that line the top of St Peter’s Basilica look small from the ground, but are giants when you’re next to them.

Inside the dome

Those are people down there...

Then comes the stairs and you come out on the very top of the dome with amazing views of Rome.

After coming down the stairs, before going down the elevator

We rested in the hotel and then had dinner and did a night walk to see Rome’s sights lit up in the dark.  We had dinner near the Campo di Fiori then walked through Piazza Navona (and watched some street performers for a while).

View from our hotel room window

Campo di Fiori

We headed over to the Pantheon:

Then to the Trevi Fountain:

And finally to the Spanish Steps:

Of course we had to stop for gelato.  In this cone, the mango was my favorite (although the coconut and berry flavors were good too).

The next day we had to move hotels because our hotel didn’t have an availability for that night (I knew this going in).  It took us a while to find the hotel, although it may have just seemed long because I had blisters on my feet that were killing me.  I bought good shoes, broke them in, even bought new socks, but I still have blisters.

Afterwards we went to the Colosseum.  It was huge and really interesting.  We couldn’t believe we were actually inside the Colosseum.  Thanks to another Rick Steves audio guide, we gave ourselves a tour.

This is our "we're in the Colosseum!!" face

What was under the "stage"

Then we went to the Roman Forum, where the ancient main square has been excavated.  Their architecture was impressive even today, no wonder it amazed the people of the time.  Those with many gods would have easily worshiped the Caesar as a god.  And it makes the Christians who took a stand even more admirable.  To go from a hut to these amazing buildings with intricate detail and stonework and to still face persecution and death took a lot of strength.  The similarities between the Romans and the United States have been eery.

Arch of Constantine (between the Colosseum and the Forum)

This flower came from....

......a stone on the underside of these columns!  It looks so big up close, but so small up high

We had lunch and met this couple who were also Rick Steves fans (just randomly sat next to them and saw their book).  I planned our trip almost entirely on my own, with the help of guidebooks (particularly Rick Steves), websites, and the help of a few new friends I met on a Rick Steves forum.  His guidebooks were easy to read and so far his recommendations have been spot on.  We haven’t had a bad meal yet.

After lunch we went to the Pantheon.  I never realized that it was a dome, I always thought of it as rectangular (looking at the front of it, it looks rectangular).

Lastly we did the Dolce Vita (sweet life) walk.  Every evening some of the main streets in town get blocked off as people congregate in some of the main shopping areas of town.  There’s a lot of high end places, like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and the walk ends at the Spanish steps, which look much different during the day.  We hopped on the metro and headed home.

Spanish Steps during the day

Unfortunately we had been “upgraded” to a room with an extra single bed, which was around the corner and up a hill from the actual hotel, so we had no wifi.  We did find an interesting game show (in Italian) and were doing relatively well at it.  :-)  The next day we hoped on a train to Naples and headed for Sorrento.