Roma with all four
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2008
1
9
11
Trip End
Aug 17, 2008
Where I stayed
Alton Apartments
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Saturday, August 2, 2008
So our entry to Roma was fairly interesting, of course. We found our hotel rather easily, but once there the excitement always begins. A man with a police officer races infront of us and asks where we are going, "Alton Rooms?" We reply yes, and they proceed to take the elevator up to our hotel (we found out later that the man was the reception man). They tell us to wait before going up and we are confused and wondering what is going on with the police man there. After they came down, we went up and found no reception person, no notes, no nothing. We snooped a bit in two rooms that had keys in the door, but still confused. After a few moments, the original man, minus the policeofficer, returns and checks us into a room on the fourth floor (one of the rooms we looked in), after trying to get us to stay in another much smaller room. Once nested, we were able to begin exploring Roma. We thought of visiting the Vatican city because it is free the last Sunday of every month, but once we saw the lines to get in we declined. It was about a mile long, literally, and in the hot sun the entire way to the entry. We went to St. Peter's Basilica instead. The piazza di San Pietro, in front of basilica, was grand and gorgeous. We found a fountain, readjusted our plan and got in line for the basilica. Amazing!!!!
We were able to see the Pieta, a statue carved from one piece of marble by Michaelangelo when he was 23 years old. Very solemn and beautiful at the same time.
I am not sure of the order, but we visited the colosseum, pantheon, Spanish steps, many piazzas and fountains. The day before Jenni and Hannah left, we took the metro, train, and then bus to the Roman beaches, turned out to be a nudist gay beach. It was peaceful and wonderful having the salty water to get into when necessary. The men were not paying us much attention, as they were interested in each other, not women. Kind of a relief from other beaches we have visited. While on this beach we met a man named Francesco, who later took us out to a fabulous dinner (paid in full by him) and then a party at a palace. Upscale party goers, 22.50 beers, music and fun. We felt like movie stars, or at least very very famous. We got back to our hotel with an hour before we sent Hannah and Jenni on their way home. So sad to separate, somewhat envious of getting to go home, but also excited to lengthen beach time in Southern Italy.
Halle and I moved to a different Hotel the next day and are staying in Roma for 3 more days. Our hotel is a half block from the train station, which is magical because we leave on a train Sunday morning for the Amalfi coast. We will be in a hotel right on the beach front for 5 nights. Our plan is to take a fairy to Sardinia and stay there until our departure home. We will have to get back to roma on the 16th to make our flight. Since the girls have left, Halle and I have been waking up late and taking long showers, shopping, and eating. No historical explorations yet. Once we get to Naples, we are going to go to Pompei to see the remnants of this once fabulous place before checking into our beachfront room.
I hope all is well at home and I miss everyone. I love you all and will see you soon. Love and luck,
Courtney
