When we have each other, we have everything.
Slept until 7 today! Bummed, however, that our rental buddies consumed the milk. Coco Puffs are a little too sweet without milk to go with it. The toast, jam, and juice though held us until lunch. We naively thought that jumping in the line for the Vatican 45 minutes early would be good enough. Apparently not. We were on a tight schedule needing to check out at 10:30. Fortunately, the "skip the line" guys saved the day again! We negotiated down to 25 euro per person and that got us a voucher for 5.50 euro at their cafe. We only ended up being out 4 euro more because they told us they would make us 18 years old and give us the discounted ticket. We did as the Italians said! Jumped to the front of the line and headed to the Sistine Chapel (the actual chapel...not the same as when we thought we were there and we weren't). I was amazed at the mass of people walking through this site. It was like herding cattle. The detailed paintings along the corridors surrounding us were a sight to see! The incredible talent was humbling. We made it to the chapel with the help of these cute, older women from the states. They were feisty and moved throughout the crowd with ease. The chapel was incredible! Worth the wait in line if we had the time. Michaelangelo deserves his fame. We saw the famous two pictures of Adam and Eve in the Garden with the serpent and of God reaching to to touch man. There was the painting of the final meal between Jesus and his disciples. Pictures and video were not allowed here as this was considered a sacred place. Most were respectful of that fact. We stood there taking in the exquisitely detailed paintings for quite some time, but my eyes and brain still could not comprehend all the detail I was seeing! Truly speechless! We booked it back hotel. We were 10 minutes late and surprisingly, the cleaning lady was there when we arrived. We thought for sure we would have time because Italians tend to be more casual on time. Not the case here. Whoops. Grabbed our bags, turned in our keys, and headed to the metro. Quick stop at the farmacia first though ... I had an allergic reaction to something. Pretty sure the sunscreen...will be making an appointment with an allergist when I return. Hopped the metro to Spagna, where we saw the Scalinata Trinita Dei Monti ( The Spanish Steps). Cool street vendors and I actually wish we spent more time here because it was reminiscent of what I thought Italian streets would look like. Jumped back on the metro and stopped at Barberini. We walked a few short blocks to the Fontana Di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). Unfortunately, they are doing repairs, so the water had been drained and scaffolding was up. It was still a sight to see though. I can only imagine how beautiful it is with water. We passed Fontana Del Tritone on the way back and took more selfies :). A couple even asked me if they could take my picture, but I said "No grazi, gotta take those selfies, ya know?" Oh boy! Last stop on the metro was back to the Termini station. Once at the Termini station, we found the trains just fine. It was once we got there that we had a bit of confusion figuring out the platform and where to find tickets. We ended up not needing tickets because we had e-tickets, but then the platform situation was funny. People here try to make a living however they can. One woman in a shirt that said "Roma" (written in pen) asked if we needed help. Before we could get two words out, she lead us to a board and asked for 5 euro. I told her "no" and she was pretty insistent. I kept saying "no" and she finally got the hint that I wasn't going to pay her. Then, when we were headed for the train, a man that was standing right next to the door asked to see our ticket and started guiding us to the correct train car. When we arrived, he hopped on the train to show us our seats, but then an actual train employee yelled at him. That is when we knew that he also was going to want money. We skirted him and took our seats. He kept popping into the train and tapping his hand for money so we just ignored him. They are so sneaky! We arrived in Florence after a beautiful train ride through the countryside. We both took power naps and felt rested upon arrival. Upon first glance, Florence was different than what we had imagined. We pictured it to be more quaint and surrounded by hills. The buildings felt taller and the alleys were very narrow. We checked into Hotel Arriana with no problems. The couple that runs the hotel is very sweet and attentive to details! Out little room with yellow walls, a tiny sink, and two twins pushed together was perfect for our needs. We cleaned up and decided to head out on the town. We grabbed our map and began walking toward the Galleria Deli' Academia. We ran into an English speaking woman that helped us understand where we were and what we should do for fun. She suggested some short cuts and tips for places to avoid. We arrived at the galleria thinking it was closed, but we arrived just in time with 50 minutes to spare. There was some amazingly detailed artwork, but the piece that everyone wants to see here is Michaelangelo's David sculpture. Seeing it in pictures is cool, but seeing it in person gives you a whole different appreciation for what he accomplished. He took a slab of marble and sculpted a smooth form of a human. He even detailed the veins running through his arms. It was beautiful. Again, another lucky happenstance to have been able to avoid long lines and go right through! We were quite hungry so we headed to dinner La Cappana. We enjoyed pizza and relaxation. We are trying really hard to speak the language as best as we can, but we have some interesting moments. When asking for the check, I said "il conto, please." A mix of English and Italian will have to do I suppose! Picked up 3 bottles of wine for 10 euro and will enjoy those over the next few days. Our last stop was gelato at Gelato Caffe. Cute little place! A few older gentleman were watching the World Cup and were pretty chatty. We were able to enjoy the gelato in a little garden area behind the restaurant. Other than having to grab my scoop of gelato to keep it from falling off the cone, we relaxed and appreciated the little patio with a woman running her clothes line from an apartment above us. Headed back to the hotel and after a little Face Time session with the family, it was off to bed!
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We did Rome in a day! Mostly! It helps when you wake up at 3:30 in the morning. We made the mistake of sleeping with the window open and we are staying next to a really busy and loud road. The noises weren't so bad when we were in a deep sleep. However, after 6 hours of sleep, our bodies were convinced it was time to arise. We stayed in bed reading until around 6 and then headed out for our big day. First stop: Basilica S. Pietro. We were wandering the square when we saw several people entering a security line. We thought it would be fun to follow and check it out. Cleared security no problem, waited all of two seconds at the gate for it to open, and headed up to the dome. It was only 5 euros if you were willing to walk all of the stairs. Heading up to the dome was an adventure. There were 551 stairs and most of the staircases were a spiral form or were slanted at odd angles. We knew we weren't drunk, but it sure felt like it...the stairs really threw off our equilibrium. When we arrived at the top, there were no words. The dome was stunningly detailed and a work of art that would be incomparable. The view of Rome was breathtaking. To look out at the domes, river, and square made us feel very small literally, but also a small piece of history. The ages of the buildings surrounding us remind us that our time is only a blip in history. My favorite part was seeing the nuns and hearing them sing. One little mixup that we had, embarrassingly enough was that we thought we saw the Sistine chapel. There was information about Michaelangelo's work and the paintings were so intricate on the ceiling of the church that we thought they were one in the same! Oh boy... We told everyone all day that we had been there and how amazing it was. More to come on how we discovered that we hadn't in fact seen the chapel. From St. Peter's Basilica, we headed to Piazza Novona. This area was neat to see because it was located near many of the government buildings. There were a lot of policia and armed guards. This area was definitely upper scale! The Pantheon was blocks away and really cool to see. Surrounding the Pantheon was a cute square that I pictured every square as in Italy. A gal was singing music, there was a fountain to wish in, and little bistros with umbrellas. The pantheon was free to enter and it was neat to stand where so many events in history took place. We stopped at a cafe for a pastry and beverage to renew our energy for the rest of the day. We had already been walking a ton, so we thought it might be nice to catch the bus to the Colosseum. However, the bus system is our Achilles heel. For the life of us, we have been unable to figure out which line goes which direction. Fortunately, a nice Italian man helped us onto a train that would get us close and then we could walk the rest of the way. He finally waved us on to the bus he was on and we rode it until he told us to hop off. We stopped at Piazza Venezia, passed the Vittoriano, and walked down Via Dei Fori Imperiali toward the Colosseo. We passed a lot of ruins along this road, reminding us of the age of this beautiful city. We attempted to get passes to the Colosseo, Palatino, and Foro Romano, but the Palatino was closed because the workers were on strike. Bummer! We jumped in line at the Colosseo, but we were of course bombarded by "Skip the Line" guys: "For only "x" euro more... we will get you to the front of the line...no wait." This was especially appealing to us today. Sun+heat+walking = tired girls! We paid $25 euro (10 euro more) to get out of the line. We waited with the tour group outside for quite some time. We were actually a little crabby because the tour guide just kept talking and showing his book, but we were eager to get inside. Our time finally came and we ditched the tour group within 5 minutes of entering the Colosseo. We realized our mood would improve ten fold if we didn't have to follow a bunch of people around. We enjoyed going at our own pace and took selfies in the Colosseo...two things that don't exactly coincide :). After enjoying that piece of history, we headed out to find lunch. We enjoyed pizza and "tap water" and rested our feet at .75 on Via de Cerchi. Boccaccio Della Verita (Mouth of Truth) was next! This location was made famous by Carey Grant and Audrey Hepburn when Grant stuck his hand in the mouth and frightened Hepburn. Free location, but we did donate money to support the church in order to take one picture. Small line here as well, but only took twenty minutes or so. When exiting after pictures, we were stopped by a priest and he asked us if we wanted to provide a donation to go down to some caves under the church. We thought the picture looked cool, so we gave the donation, but immediately regretted it when we passed a girl exiting and she shook her head vigorously at us as we were descending. Oh boy! Too late! It smelled and was a bit of a creepy, dark, little room. Probably could have lived without it! Crossed the street to visit Isola Tiberina. This little village is set on an island surrounded by Fiume Tevere. We walked the pedestrian bridge and our sixth sense took us to a gelateria. Delicious gelateria that did not disappoint. The gelato energized us for our walk back to the metro near the Colosseo. Hopped the train from the Colosseo to Termini and then transferred to head to Ottaviano. We were wiped! Upon arriving at our hotel, we of course had trouble with the keys. Our Australian friend came to the rescue yet again as he had that morning when he described how the keys had worked. He asked me if I spoke English and I said, "si." That is how tired I was! Perhaps I am just that advanced in my understanding of the Italian language! Mmm...probably not! We took naps, showered, and dressed in our "fancy" clothes for dinner. We ate at a little bistro and enjoyed wine and pasta. Yes, for those of you that know me, I drank a glass of wine. Hopefully, by the time I come home, I will be a wine connoisseur.
Walked around a little after dinner and it was time to head in. We fell asleep around nine and closed the window and turned on the air. Much better sleep than the previous night. Melanie picked me up at 11. With our backpacks and travel purses in tow...we were on our way to a trip of a lifetime! Jason dropped us off at the airport and we were eager to get off the ground. The flight to JFK was uneventful. We fueled up on snacks and drinks for the long 9-hour flight and boarded the plane around 7:30. Then...we sat there...for 4 hours. There was a mechanical issue and it took them several rounds to get it corrected. So many people on the plane were worked up, but Melanie and I were just happy that they were making sure the plane was safe to fly. We snacked and watched movies while patiently waiting for the announcement that our trip would actually take place. We eventually made it into the air and enjoyed the movies and lack of crazy, crying kiddos around us. However, neither of us got more than 3 hours of sleep. Not sure if it was the excitement or the nerves...but we were wide awake! We landed in Rome and began our journey. First up, a call to Marco to ensure that someone would be at our rental to let us in when we arrived. He informed us that it should take only an hour to get there. Awesome...except for the fact that we didn't get there in "about an hour." 1. Had trouble purchasing train tickets because my credit card didn't have a pin 2. Went to a booth instead, but needed cash 3. Found an ATM, but it charged Melanie an $85 fee to take cash out against her credit card :(. I didn't have that issue with a debit card. 4. Got cash, got train ticket to Trastevere(Google maps suggestion)...but realized that wasn't quite going to get us where we wanted to go 5. Got off train and a nice couple suggested a train to Roma Termini and gave us a map 6. Got train tickets to Roma Temini, but it didn't list the platform we needed to be on until the last minute, so there was some stress involved with asking non-English speakers where we should be 7. Got on the Roma Temini train and made it to the station with ease 8. Left the station to find the "metro" thinking it was a bus that would connect us to our desired location. Bought "bus" tickets only to find out that "Metro" is the underground subways. Headed back underground and had trouble figuring out which train to take. Finally found something that looked similar to what you see in the London Underground and took a train to where we needed to be. Fortunately our tickets worked even though we bought what we thought were bus tickets. Located our lodging 3 hours after landing and were pleasantly surprised. After entering a gate, a small Italian courtyard unfolds before you leading to yet another locked door. Riding the elevator with the adorable landlady was interesting. I got in with my massive backpack...Melanie gets in with her massive backpack...the landlady squeezes herself in against the door. Here's to hoping the elevator is reliable! The apartment was adorable: a little, blue room with two twin beds, a shared kitchenette with the two other units, and a private bath with two buttons for flushing. It was exactly what we were hoping for! After reorganizing some of the important belongings, we headed out on the town for a bit. We stopped in a little cafe and had paninos and tap water. They did not know what tap water was, so the owner told us to just say we wanted water from the sink :) ... Doesn't sound as classy, I know. Then, we were on a mission to find gelato. We stopped in a really trendy gelato shop and enjoyed using our mini cones to eat from our big cones. That was a new experience! Melanie figured it out after watching others consume...not before she took a big lick right from the cone though! Walking around, we saw amazingly old buildings, followed the massive stone walls of Vatican City, and took in the crazy, yet functional methods of driving here. We turned in early for showers and a Skype session with family, but beds beckoned our swollen feet! Unfortunately, we couldn't get the door to the apartment open!! We tried and tried to no avail. We ran back down the amazingly long flight of steps and caught up with a couple that was hopefully not on their first date; as that would have been a story to tell the grand kids! We told them that we couldn't get the door open and weren't sure if there was a problem with the key or with us. Knowing it was the latter, they agreed politely and enthusiastically to help us. Poor things...we made them walk up all those stairs as we were a little apprehensive about the elevator. The gentleman inserted the key, pulled the handle, and voila...opened a door. Genius! He waited for us to practice and we thanked them profusely! The keys here will be the bane of our existence!
For this post, I wanted to provide some suggestions based on how our trip went. I also included a video of our trip below! If you don't want to read the next 15 posts...yes, 15 posts about our trip, I totally understand! Just watch the video to get an idea of how much fun Melanie and I had. Great trip with a great friend! On A Budget? Money Savers:
Rome Suggestions:
Florence Suggestions:
Cinque Terra:
Lake Como:
Bern:
Zurich:
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AuthorsBen, Julie, and Amelia Archives
June 2022
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