Rome May 28, 2014
Ambitious day of sight seeing. After breakfast in our room we set off to tour the Coliseum. Our hotel receptionist said there would be no lines for tickets since on Wednesday the Pope would be giving his blessings at the Vatican. He either was out of the country or ill. We had big lines but still got in after about a half hour. Lots of restoration has been done and a very large temporary exhibition of archaeological articles is on display. Weather is perfect in the seventies with some broken clouds. Rick Steve's Podcast audio tour guide is a real aid, like having our own personal guide. Next stop was to the Roman Forum. Again the podcast was great for guiding us through what used to be the heart of Rome's golden era when the Empire ruled most of the civilized world. Our lunch break was taken at an outdoor pizza restaurant. Moving along we went to the Pantheon with its magnificent circular dome, used as the model for much later constructed projects including St. Peter's Cathedral and capital buildings throughout the world. A stop for gelato rejuvenated us enough to find our way to the Trevi Fountain with masses of tourists shuffling to get their group photos and selfies Winding our
way through many curved streets we decided to take the metro back to our hotel. Rushing to catch a departing train Wayne jumped in last only to have a pick pocket snatch his wallet out of his front pocket and dash out just as the train door closed. Needless the say it was not a highlight of our otherwise fabulous day. Returning to our hotel we made calls to our bank to cancel cards and transfer funds to Miriam's accounts in order to cover our travel expenses. A late dinner with a little wine helped to settle our nerves and prepare for the next day.
Ambitious day of sight seeing. After breakfast in our room we set off to tour the Coliseum. Our hotel receptionist said there would be no lines for tickets since on Wednesday the Pope would be giving his blessings at the Vatican. He either was out of the country or ill. We had big lines but still got in after about a half hour. Lots of restoration has been done and a very large temporary exhibition of archaeological articles is on display. Weather is perfect in the seventies with some broken clouds. Rick Steve's Podcast audio tour guide is a real aid, like having our own personal guide. Next stop was to the Roman Forum. Again the podcast was great for guiding us through what used to be the heart of Rome's golden era when the Empire ruled most of the civilized world. Our lunch break was taken at an outdoor pizza restaurant. Moving along we went to the Pantheon with its magnificent circular dome, used as the model for much later constructed projects including St. Peter's Cathedral and capital buildings throughout the world. A stop for gelato rejuvenated us enough to find our way to the Trevi Fountain with masses of tourists shuffling to get their group photos and selfies Winding our
way through many curved streets we decided to take the metro back to our hotel. Rushing to catch a departing train Wayne jumped in last only to have a pick pocket snatch his wallet out of his front pocket and dash out just as the train door closed. Needless the say it was not a highlight of our otherwise fabulous day. Returning to our hotel we made calls to our bank to cancel cards and transfer funds to Miriam's accounts in order to cover our travel expenses. A late dinner with a little wine helped to settle our nerves and prepare for the next day.way through many curved streets we decided to take the metro back to our hotel. Rushing to catch a departing train Wayne jumped in last only to have a pick pocket snatch his wallet out of his front pocket and dash out just as the train door closed. Needless the say it was not a highlight of our otherwise fabulous day. Returning to our hotel we made calls to our bank to cancel cards and transfer funds to Miriam's accounts in order to cover our travel expenses. A late dinner with a little wine helped to settle our nerves and prepare for the next day.
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