Rome

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Overview | Sorrento | Rome | Florence | Venice | Milan
Day 3 (Tuesday, September 2, 2003) - We got an early start and headed for the station to catch a train back to Rome. At the station in Naples we were offered help by two men whom I thought were station employees. It turned out that they were beggars and after helping me with my luggage they refused to leave until they got virtually all of the change in my pockets. It was the first and last time we would fall for such a ploy. Anyway, after that unpleasant start to our day, we arrived in Rome and checked in to our hotel. After unloading our luggage we headed for the Piazza Spagna. First we checked out the cathedral at the top of the Spanish Stairway and then did some shopping at the many boutiques that are located on Condoti Street near the Piazza Spagna. Next we walked to the Piazza Novana, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. We continued on to a restaurant called Caruso where we had dinner. After dinner we walked back to Piazza Barberini and from that went to the Piazza San Bernardo before walking back to the hotel.
Day 4 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003) - Today we got up and headed straight for the Vatican. After a bit of wandering around we found the entrance to the Vatican Museum. The paintings, particularly the frescoes on the walls, were beautiful. The highlight, of course, was Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling of the Cistine Chapel. After the museum we headed to St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Cathedral. St. Peter's Cathedral was certainly the largest cathedral we saw while in Italy but not the most beautiful. After St. Peter's we headed for St. Angelo's Castle and made it inside just as a thunderstorm swept in. We camped out in the castle for several hours taking a nap on a bench inside the castle and snapping some pictures and then headed back to the hotel once the rain let up. After changing clothes we headed back out to search for a restaurant near the Piazza Trilussi that was recommended by a friend of Ikuko's. Along the way we came across an old watchmaker's shop where the proprietor still crafted handmade hourglasses, compasses and sundials. The restaurant we were searching for was closed for some reason so we picked another small restaurant in the neighborhood for dinner. After dinner we walked along the Tiber river back toward the St. Angelo Castle and snapped a few more pictures before heading back to the hotel.
Day 5 (Thursday, September 4, 2003) - Today was ancient Rome day. We began making the 30 minute or so walk from our hotel to the Coliseum where we joined a fascinating guided tour. From there we headed over to the Roman Forum and the Palatino to see the many ruins of old temples and buildings from the glory days of the Roman Empire. After that we continued on to the famous Bocca della Veritas or "Mouth of Truth" (anyone who has seen the movie Roman Holiday will recognize this famous icon. Next we decided to catch a bus back to the hotel to change and take a rest before dinner but we couldn't find bus tickets anywhere (buses and subways in Italy generally require that you have prepaid tickets and if you happen to be in a spot where there are no kiosks or other establishments selling them, you are basically out of luck.) We ended up walking all the way back to Piazza Venezia where we finally found a store selling tickets. After catching a breather back at the hotel we headed back out by walking to Via Nazionale, a major thoroughfare that had a lot of shops and boutiques. We ended up continuing our walk back to Piazza Venezia where we caught a bus to Pyramide Station. Near the Pyramide Station there was another restaurant that was recommended to Ikuko so we stopped there for dinner. The food was so and so and the service was terrible so it wasn't one of our better experiences. After dinner we caught the subway back to the hotel to turn in for the night.
Day 6 (Friday, September 5, 2003) - We headed out to wrap up our final day in Rome but didn't get 2 blocks from our hotel when Ikuko ran into a small flea market with, of all things, shoes on sale. After picking up a few pair we ran back to the hotel to drop them off (so we wouldn't have to lug them around all day) and made a second attempt at heading out. We first headed to Piazza Repubblica and visited the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli and then continued on to the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria. After that we caught the subway to Piazza Spagna where Ikuko wanted to have our portrait drawn. The guy did a pretty good job of drawing Ikuko but we both agreed that he did a pretty poor job of drawing me. Anyway, we next headed to a Japanese restaurant for lunch called Hamasei (we had to try Japanese food in Italy at least once.) After that we headed off for an area of town where a lot of old antique and furniture restoration shops. By the time we got there the shops were all closed for lunch so we snapped several pictures of each other in some of the back streets of Rome while we waited. After pictures we visited the Chiesa Nuova and snapped some pictures of the cathedral and of some kids playing soccer out on the plaza. After the shops reopened we checked out a few but nothing really caught our eye so we headed back to Piazza Spagna to pick up a coat I purchased ealier. We finished the evening with dinner at a Chinese restaurant near Piazza Spagna and then headed home to great ready for the next leg of our trip to Florence.
Overview | Sorrento | Rome | Florence | Venice | Milan