We decided to take the Hop-On Hop-Off bus and take in the sights. The bus allowed us to get off and explore the sights at our leisure. It would have been nice if we rode in an open bus... As opposed to a covered bus... The bus had a guide who was humorous as well as versed in Roman history. We saw...
- Basillica de Santa Maria Maggiore
- Teatro del'Opera
- Piazza Venezia
- Monumento a Vittorio Emmanuelle II
- Colosseo
- Palatino
- Circo Massimo
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- Basillica de Santo Peitro
- Fontana del Tritone
- Piazza della Republica
The next day, we finally go to see the Colosseum. We were one of the first ones in line! At last, Rome in Rome... Gladiators fought to the death here. The engineering is incredible. Each stone slab carved and chiseled by hand and hoisted up to create the arches and columns. By 11AM, we returned to our hotel to check out. It would have been nice to stay in our current hotel, but they hiked up the price for the last two days of the year. Something about a New Years special. What a rip...
Day 6,7,8 - The Final Days
Our next hotel is a modest hotel somewhere in Roman suburbia, along Via del Pineta Sachetti. From what I've read, the hotel should be less than 3 miles from Cornelia, the nearest subway station. Since my wife and I had been walking a lot in LA, Sometimes 8 miles/day... I thought 3 miles would be nothing. Well, it would have been nothing if there was a sidewalk to walk on! Via del Pineta Sachetti had a sidewalk that is barely 2 feet wide! The cars were speeding like crazy and we were dragging our suitcases. We feared for our lives. Again... And 3 miles felt like an eternity.
We were so happy when we finally reached the hotel. The hotel was not modern. The floor was completely tiled, and the bathroom had an 80's look. But they did offer free breakfast And it was really, really good. The breakfast was the hotel's only redeeming value... We were supposed to visit the Vatican the next day, but we slept in. Until 4PM! To be fair, we were both up talking at 3:30AM. By midmorning, we felt so exhausted that went back to sleep... I guess we'll try the Vatican tomorrow. I've read that the lines for the Vatican gets long really fast.
In the evening, we took the shuttle to Piazza Cavour. This would be our last night out, so I wanted us to enjoy it. We walked around the area but not a lot of tourist-friendly places. We went to a restaurant that had affordable prices. We ate outside on their sidewalk cafe and ordered Tiramisu for dessert. That was the best. Two wishes fulfilled: my wife got to eat at a sidewalk cafe; I got to eat Tiramisu...
The next day, we payed a visit to the Vatican, and it was nice. It's like everything that I had seen on TV or in books. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go inside the St. Peter's Basillica or the Sistine Chapel. And we did not see the Papa... BTW, the lines do become long really fast. When we got there, the tour buses barely began to arrive. But within half an hour, scores of buses were dropping off tourists by the hundreds!
On our last full day, we went to another hotel near the airport. We had a morning flight, and we did not want to miss it. Knowing that Italians love to cripple their economy to make a political statement, we were not taking any chances... We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Fiumicino, an American-style hotel. It was the most affordable, modern hotel we've seen in Rome! Oh, how we love modern hotels and soft beds. Soft beds make me feel warm and fuzzy inside... We even ordered room service for the first time! Hamburger and tuna sandwich, and it was really good... This hotel made up for all the shortcomings of the other hotels. It's hard for me to admit, but I really do like the American-style. Looking back, I wished we had stayed at the Garden Inn instead of that hotel in the suburbs. It's not like we were missing anything anyway...
No comments:
Post a Comment