Thursday was an early start. Up and out the door at 12:25 am, at the airport by 2. Didn't know that Heathrow (one of the world's largest airports) would ever actually close, but it does. Thank God the front doors were still open so we could come in from the cold. One coffee bar was open, so we ordered some food and then passed out in a relatively comfy coffee-shop chair.
We arrived in Rome at about 9:30, went quickly through customs and found the coach to central Rome. We walked from the main train station to our hotel, and after about 30 extra minutes of wandering through the tiny, nameless streets of Rome, we finally found it! We dropped our bags, freshened up, then met Jessica's friend, Chris, for lunch. We walked across the Tiber to a little neighbourhood full of adorable little shops and restaurants where we stumbled upon a chocolate festival. We had authentic Roman pizza (so delicious). After filling up on pizza and chocolate, we headed back towards our hotel to relax a bit and get ready to meet Chris's friend for dinner. We took the metro to the train station, then switched to an overground tram to a neighbourhood full of trendy little bars and tiny, authentic Italian restaurants. After hanging out in a bar for a little while, we finally went to dinner. A 3 course meal of "firsts" "seconds" and dessert filled my belly to the point of explosion. I'm pretty sure I wobbled home where we fell asleep straight away.
Friday morning came too soon. Cramming 2 nights worth of sleep into one 7 hour night just doesn't cut it. Spurred by the need to get the most out of Rome, we headed out into the city to find some "old stuff". We started by trying to find an old Maltese sanctuary, where you can see the dome of St. Peter's through the key hole of the massive sanctuary door. It took forever to find it, but we triumphed, and in the process we stumbled upon a quaint little piazza that afforded great views of the city. We had booked a tour of the Vatican earlier that day, so we headed back to the hotel and jumped on a bus. When we arrived at the Vatican we were lead inside of the Vatican walls and given a tour of the galleries and courtyards. After exploring the long halls full of masterpieces, tapestries, maps, statues, etc., we were set free in the Sistine Chapel for 30 minutes. It was musty and dim inside, but that didn't detract from the beauty. There is no talking and no photo taking inside the chapel, but as all rules in Rome, this one isn't very strictly enforced. I managed to sneakily snap a photo of the famous ceiling with the good ol' iPhone. The tour ended after this, but Jess and I decided to stay and explore St. Peter's basilica and square. It was dark already, but I think that it was even more beautiful all lit up at night. There was practically no one there, which made it even better. We went through a brief security scan and then into the basilica. St. Peter's was almost as impressive as the Sistine Chapel. Here there are several sculptures from greats like Michelangelo, paintings from floor to ceiling, giant alters, and intricate marble inlays in the floor. It was absolutely breath taking.
From St. Peter's, we went back to central Rome to try to find Trevi Fountain, which was rumoured to be better by night than in the day. Along the way to Trevi, we met a Canadian named Doug who was also looking for the fountain. We showed him the way (having a map has it's advantages), tossed some coins in for good luck, then invited Doug to dinner with Chris and his pals. We took the metro back to the neighbourhood we had been in the night before to a tiny pizza place called Formula 1. We stuffed our faces with fried Roman appetisers (delicious) and individual thin-crust pizzas. Yum. Back to the room to sleep it off.
Saturday started early again. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to see the Colosseum and other touristy sights. The Colosseum was amazing, inside and out. It's everything I had hoped it would have been. After lunch and shopping, we went to the Piazza Navona. It was all decked out in Christmasy shops, but the beauty of the Piazza still shined through. We had some gelato, walked to the Pantheon, and took a cab home to stay out of the rain. Dinner again with Chris and his pals at an over priced, but quite authentically delicious Italian place. More gelato, then off to bed again.
Sunday we slept in a bit before we gathered our things and checked out of the hotel. We briefly explored the Forum, but because of the rain we didn't stay long. We then headed north to the Spanish Steps, but these were covered in spectators gathered for a free concert in the piazza. Discouraged and wet, we wandered back to familiar territory, met Chris and Philip for a lunch of friend Roman rice balls, visited the chocolate festival one last time, then headed to the airport. The security process at the airport was long and stressful. Even though we arrived 2 hours early, we barely made it to our flight in time. We missed the last tube into London by about 2 minutes, so we were forced to find alternate routes. Two extra busses, but we made it. I then proceeded to drop dead in my bed, comatose but happy.
As usual, check the Facebook for more photos.
As usual, check the Facebook for more photos.
