Hey everyone!
I'm BAAACCKKKK!! This is Andy. After a slow start this morning (still feeling a little green) I started feeling back to my old self this afternoon.
Today, we started to search Firenze (Florence). First, we went to the Duomo and tried to go into the church, but the line was very long. We found out that there was a mass going on and no one could enter the church for almost an hour. So we then decided to come back to the church later and instead headed off to see David (Michelangelo).
After another short walk, we got into a long line to enter the Academia (where the sculpture is housed). There were actually two lines - one with reservations and one without (unfortunately, we were in the one without). So we were able to do a little 'shopping' from the street vendors (Jacob bought a VERY interesting postcard of David - and if his parents are reading this, his Uncle Andy and Aunt Amy did NOT give him permission to buy it). Anyway - the wait was definitely worth it. What an awesome piece of art. I didn't expect it to be as large has he was. I also didn't realize that he was commissioned to be the 'mascot' of the city of Florence.
From there, we found ourselves walking again. Ed pointed out the Innocenti. It was a place where children could be dropped off if they were not wanted. The nuns would raise the children. Ed explained that there was this wheel where a mother could place their child. The mother would then spin the wheel around and this is how the mother would stay unknown. This is why some italian families have the last name of Innocenti.
By now, I was feeling almost 100% better. We stopped for lunch at a place that was right across the street from the Duomo. I ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce and everyone else got a pizza. I don't think i've ever tasted spaghetti like this before. It was almost as good as Amy's. It felt good to get some food. Twenty-four hours is a long time to go without something to eat. At least for me.
After lunch, we were able to get into the Duomo. What a massive building. I really wish I could go into each of these large churches one after another. Can't remember the name, but the one in London, St. Peters in Rome and now the Duomo, its hard to gauge the size when you don't really have anything to compare it to. We also made our way into the Baptistry. It's a separate building from the Duomo. Long time ago, you wouldn't be allowed into the church unless you were baptized.
Lastly, we finally made our way over the Ponte Vecchio towards our final destination, dinner. This is the place to shop for jewelry if you've got the euros. Borgo Antico was the name of the place. We figured that it means no americans welcome in italian. To make a long story short, it took forever to order. Our appetizers came out with our main courses. Two of the main courses came after everyone finished eating. And finally, my mixed fried fish were actually whole fried fish (with heads and all). They were only about 4-5 inches long. Luckily, the appetizers were enough to fill me up.
More tomorrow...
SPQR
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Day 5 - Rome to Florence
I feel like crap. Something I ate last night isn't sitting well with me. No more beefa-steaka for me-a.
We are currently on a train going from Rome to Florence. The cab ride from the hotel was pretty uneventful, except that I had luggage in my lap. Two garment bags plus my laptop bag (or as amy calls it, my manbag). The limo service sent over a car for 5 people. It just didn't have enough room for 5 people and their luggage.
Amy is now taking over the blog - I am feeling even worse now.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So - since I am taking over, I will tell you what I experienced on day 5. After the 1 and 1/2 hour train ride, we arrived in the beautiful city of Florence. Much different than Rome - smaller, less fast paced and definitely less traffic!! Our hotel is located right by the Ponte Vecchio (the bridge with all of the shops - especially jewelry!). The hotel is not bad except for the stairs - you have to go up 25 to get to the elevator which can only hold one or two people at a time. So if you get inpatient waiting for the lift (like me) then you end up walking up the rest of the stairs (which is a lot). Our room is BIG (unlike Roma) and pretty nice.
My day was spent trying to do laundry. My mom and I went in search of a self-service laundromat with all of the dirty clothes (I was pulling a medium sized suitcase with all of ours.....). The hotel gave us a map and we decided to walk (didn't look too bad on the map). Boy was that the wrong idea!! Imagine if you can me with the big suitcase pulling it down the narrow stone streets (or even narrower stone walkways) dodging cars and people. Behind me is my 66 year old mother (don't tell her I told you that!) with her bad hip carrying her bag of dirty laundry. And what looked to be close took us at least 25 minutes to get there. Relieved, sweaty but proud of ourselves for finding the laundromat, we put all of our clothes in washers and tried to buy tokens for the washing machines. None of the token machines worked....... and there was no attendant there and no other customers. So - we had to pack up everything and go back to the hotel. Needless to say, I insisted that we get a taxi!!!! (I SO felt like cussing at that point!).
Once back at the hotel, we found another laundromat through the front desk and went in search of it (this time with a taxi). We finally ended up at a cleaners that also had self-service...... but this place only had four machines (which were all full) and two dryers. My mom and I were determined to wash our clothes - it was now not only a necessity, but it was also an adventure. So - we sat there for about three hours in the heat of the dryers waiting for our d#@^ laundry to finish. I felt like I had won a gold medal at the olympics when we had finally finished. But the cool thing was that we met several interesting Americans at the cleaners. And my mom and I both agree that it is one experience on this trip we will never forget. It does make you appreciate what you have at home - I think I'll kiss my washer and dryer when I get back!
As for Andy - he was sick the whole day. I felt so sorry for him. He slept, drank sprite, or jumped out of bed to run to the restroom. He is definitely enjoying the bidet!! (hope that doesn't gross too may of you out!). Hopefully he will be better tomorrow.
My parents and I and Jacob went out for dinner. We have found a local place that is AWESOME!! But we had to tell Andy that it was really bad since we didn't want him to feel like he missed something really great. We had bruschetta (I think I am spelling that right?), antipasti, chicken, pork, garlic veggies, tuscan beans, panna cotta with chocolate sauce (an 'oh my god' dessert), tiramisu and of course - limoncello!! All in all, a great meal that made up for the crappy day that my mom and I experienced! Hope all is well. We miss you all - we are getting a little homesick!!
We are currently on a train going from Rome to Florence. The cab ride from the hotel was pretty uneventful, except that I had luggage in my lap. Two garment bags plus my laptop bag (or as amy calls it, my manbag). The limo service sent over a car for 5 people. It just didn't have enough room for 5 people and their luggage.
Amy is now taking over the blog - I am feeling even worse now.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So - since I am taking over, I will tell you what I experienced on day 5. After the 1 and 1/2 hour train ride, we arrived in the beautiful city of Florence. Much different than Rome - smaller, less fast paced and definitely less traffic!! Our hotel is located right by the Ponte Vecchio (the bridge with all of the shops - especially jewelry!). The hotel is not bad except for the stairs - you have to go up 25 to get to the elevator which can only hold one or two people at a time. So if you get inpatient waiting for the lift (like me) then you end up walking up the rest of the stairs (which is a lot). Our room is BIG (unlike Roma) and pretty nice.
My day was spent trying to do laundry. My mom and I went in search of a self-service laundromat with all of the dirty clothes (I was pulling a medium sized suitcase with all of ours.....). The hotel gave us a map and we decided to walk (didn't look too bad on the map). Boy was that the wrong idea!! Imagine if you can me with the big suitcase pulling it down the narrow stone streets (or even narrower stone walkways) dodging cars and people. Behind me is my 66 year old mother (don't tell her I told you that!) with her bad hip carrying her bag of dirty laundry. And what looked to be close took us at least 25 minutes to get there. Relieved, sweaty but proud of ourselves for finding the laundromat, we put all of our clothes in washers and tried to buy tokens for the washing machines. None of the token machines worked....... and there was no attendant there and no other customers. So - we had to pack up everything and go back to the hotel. Needless to say, I insisted that we get a taxi!!!! (I SO felt like cussing at that point!).
Once back at the hotel, we found another laundromat through the front desk and went in search of it (this time with a taxi). We finally ended up at a cleaners that also had self-service...... but this place only had four machines (which were all full) and two dryers. My mom and I were determined to wash our clothes - it was now not only a necessity, but it was also an adventure. So - we sat there for about three hours in the heat of the dryers waiting for our d#@^ laundry to finish. I felt like I had won a gold medal at the olympics when we had finally finished. But the cool thing was that we met several interesting Americans at the cleaners. And my mom and I both agree that it is one experience on this trip we will never forget. It does make you appreciate what you have at home - I think I'll kiss my washer and dryer when I get back!
As for Andy - he was sick the whole day. I felt so sorry for him. He slept, drank sprite, or jumped out of bed to run to the restroom. He is definitely enjoying the bidet!! (hope that doesn't gross too may of you out!). Hopefully he will be better tomorrow.
My parents and I and Jacob went out for dinner. We have found a local place that is AWESOME!! But we had to tell Andy that it was really bad since we didn't want him to feel like he missed something really great. We had bruschetta (I think I am spelling that right?), antipasti, chicken, pork, garlic veggies, tuscan beans, panna cotta with chocolate sauce (an 'oh my god' dessert), tiramisu and of course - limoncello!! All in all, a great meal that made up for the crappy day that my mom and I experienced! Hope all is well. We miss you all - we are getting a little homesick!!
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Day 4 - Rome
Places visited:
Vatican Museum
Sistine Chapel
Mouth of Truth
Gelato store
The Rooster Resturant (2nd time)
What can I say about today. Crowds I guess would be the word.
Today was the start of a 4 day holiday. June 2nd is Italy's 4th of July. Something about the founding of the republic. Most shops were closed and hardly any mopeds.
After breakfast and a quick run back to the hotel room for a restroom break, we started walking towards the country of Vatican City where the Vatican Museum is located. Finding the entrance was not that hard. We only needed to find the line that started about 1/2 mile away. The line outside the Vatican Museum lasted a good 30-40 minutes. This is with it moving forward 1-2 feet every minute. Once we got in, it was time for another bathroom break for Amy (sort of like going to the movies, Christine knows about this too).
The only real thing we wanted to see was the Sistine Chapel. But getting there was awful. Lots of tour groups, blocking our path. The wait was well worth it though. Slowly, we made our way into the chapel and found a seat on one side. Seeing Michelangelo's work was awe inspiring. And seeing it restored was that much better. We probably spent about 35 minutes just looking at his work.
From there we made our way to an exit that only Rick Steve knows about. There is a tour group only exit that takes you back out to St. Peters Basilica, removing the 15 minute walk from the main exit. This is a short cut that Rick Steve mentions in his Italy 2005 book.
Our next stop was the Mouth of Truth. Its a 1.2 ton face of a god carved out of marble. The story goes that if you tell lies, you will lose your hand if you place it in its mouth. Its located in, you guessed it, a church. The walk to the Mouth was shady and was along the Tiber river. We saw several men fishing and a couple actually catching some. I don't think you would want to eat them though. There was a park nearby that had newlyweds getting pictures taken and couples just milling about. We hung out at the park just to take a break and to decide what else we wanted to do.
By now, it was late afternoon. The walk back to the hotel was not so bad because there was a cool wind blowing and the tall buildings kept the sun off our heads. A couple of nights before, Amy and Ed bought a bottle of red wine and we thought that the roof top terrace was probably the best place to relax and to drink our bottle of wine.
We had dinner just around the corner at a place called The Rooster. This was our second time visiting the place so far. The food was just as good and we made reservations for our last night in Rome just before leaving for home.
Because of the holiday, there was much going on in the square Campo di Fiori near our hotel. There was live music and lots of people just hanging out.
Tomorrow will involve a train ride to Florence. Not sure what is planned for the day, but I do know that we will be visiting a laundry...
SPQR
Vatican Museum
Sistine Chapel
Mouth of Truth
Gelato store
The Rooster Resturant (2nd time)
What can I say about today. Crowds I guess would be the word.
Today was the start of a 4 day holiday. June 2nd is Italy's 4th of July. Something about the founding of the republic. Most shops were closed and hardly any mopeds.
After breakfast and a quick run back to the hotel room for a restroom break, we started walking towards the country of Vatican City where the Vatican Museum is located. Finding the entrance was not that hard. We only needed to find the line that started about 1/2 mile away. The line outside the Vatican Museum lasted a good 30-40 minutes. This is with it moving forward 1-2 feet every minute. Once we got in, it was time for another bathroom break for Amy (sort of like going to the movies, Christine knows about this too).
The only real thing we wanted to see was the Sistine Chapel. But getting there was awful. Lots of tour groups, blocking our path. The wait was well worth it though. Slowly, we made our way into the chapel and found a seat on one side. Seeing Michelangelo's work was awe inspiring. And seeing it restored was that much better. We probably spent about 35 minutes just looking at his work.
From there we made our way to an exit that only Rick Steve knows about. There is a tour group only exit that takes you back out to St. Peters Basilica, removing the 15 minute walk from the main exit. This is a short cut that Rick Steve mentions in his Italy 2005 book.
Our next stop was the Mouth of Truth. Its a 1.2 ton face of a god carved out of marble. The story goes that if you tell lies, you will lose your hand if you place it in its mouth. Its located in, you guessed it, a church. The walk to the Mouth was shady and was along the Tiber river. We saw several men fishing and a couple actually catching some. I don't think you would want to eat them though. There was a park nearby that had newlyweds getting pictures taken and couples just milling about. We hung out at the park just to take a break and to decide what else we wanted to do.
By now, it was late afternoon. The walk back to the hotel was not so bad because there was a cool wind blowing and the tall buildings kept the sun off our heads. A couple of nights before, Amy and Ed bought a bottle of red wine and we thought that the roof top terrace was probably the best place to relax and to drink our bottle of wine.
We had dinner just around the corner at a place called The Rooster. This was our second time visiting the place so far. The food was just as good and we made reservations for our last night in Rome just before leaving for home.
Because of the holiday, there was much going on in the square Campo di Fiori near our hotel. There was live music and lots of people just hanging out.
Tomorrow will involve a train ride to Florence. Not sure what is planned for the day, but I do know that we will be visiting a laundry...
SPQR
Day 3 - Rome cont.
After renting the boat for 20 minutes, we made our way back to the bike rental place to return the Thing.
Now we wanted to make our way back to the Spanish Steps. This required a walk across the massive park. Just before the Spanish Steps, and right outside the park, we stopped at a small restaurant that sat on the side of the hill looking down onto Rome. It was very nice and quiet. In the center of the seating area, they had a 10 by 2 ft pool that was filled with water, rocks and turtles. Jacob thought it was really neat and it took all he had to keep from keeping his fingers out of it. We ordered a bottle of red wine and an appetizer plate. There were shrimp, grilled peppers, mushrooms, sliced oranges, tomatoes, and a variety of other vegetables. It was probably the best snack we have had so far. There was a couple two tables away that just couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Too bad it was behind me. Ed and Amy had the best view and they kept saying, "Ohh, look at that, hot stuff". Ed though that it might be someone having an affair, because it was an older man and a younger woman.
After about an hour or so of relaxing, Jacob and Ed both made phone calls back to the US, and we then made our way back to the Spanish Steps. From there, we walked down the most fashionable street in Rome, the Via del Corso. There were lots of people window shopping and just walking about. Ed bought a bow tie at one of the most fashionable tie shops.
One thing I noticed about about Rome on this day was that there were a lot of Clement's written on many of the buildings and monuments. We guessed that they must of been built during the time when a Pope was a Clement. Half way up the Spanish Steps, there is a very large plaque with Clemente written on it (as well as some other italian words that I didn't know). My last name is practically written all over the city. Even in the Borgese gallery there was a bust of a Pope Clement. Pretty cool eh?
Anyway, back to day 3....
I just remembered about this. On our way to the park and the Borgese Gallery, someone waved us down, mainly Ed. The guy apparently wanted directions. An italian couple was passing by exactly as this was happening and laughed, asking if we were american. They thought it was funny that anyone would be would be asking an american for directions. The guy waved Ed almost into the car. We were not exactly sure what was going on. The guy was apparently french, and also asked for some money as well as directions. Ed pointed the guy in the direction of the French Embassy and said that they would be able to help him. The frenchman then motioned for Anne to come over to the car. He also waved her almost into the automobile. It looked as though the guy was going to give Ed and Anne something for helping him, but he started selling some 900 euro jacket for 40-50 euro. Right when that started Ed and Anne backed away from the car and the guy sped off. Thinking about it later, some tourist keep their money and passports hanging around their neck. I believe that the frenchman expected one of these two americans to have their money hanging around the neck and was wanting to take off with it. Scary if you think about it.
We then walked thru the Pantheon area and checked out a few more tie shops.... And then we walked some more, big surprise huh? We ended up in the Piazza Navoa for dinner. There was quite a showing going on in the square. Armani was putting on a fashion show and had half the square closed off with a stage and several hundred chairs. There were security guards everywhere. We couldn't really see the stage from where we were, but we could see all of the behind the scenes work going on. We could easily point out who had tickets for the show. Every so often, a couple would walk by dressed in their finest. At first we thought that they might be the models, but after dinner, we saw that most every one we saw was sitting in the audience. Amy almost got into a fist fight with the waiter because he said that service was not included. After checking with the cashier, we found out that he was lying. It was kind of reminiscent of our movie experience (Christine knows what we are talking about, except with no police!).
Oh yeah, we got Gelato... Jacob gets at least 3 cones a day..
After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel for a deserved nights sleep.
SPQR
Now we wanted to make our way back to the Spanish Steps. This required a walk across the massive park. Just before the Spanish Steps, and right outside the park, we stopped at a small restaurant that sat on the side of the hill looking down onto Rome. It was very nice and quiet. In the center of the seating area, they had a 10 by 2 ft pool that was filled with water, rocks and turtles. Jacob thought it was really neat and it took all he had to keep from keeping his fingers out of it. We ordered a bottle of red wine and an appetizer plate. There were shrimp, grilled peppers, mushrooms, sliced oranges, tomatoes, and a variety of other vegetables. It was probably the best snack we have had so far. There was a couple two tables away that just couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Too bad it was behind me. Ed and Amy had the best view and they kept saying, "Ohh, look at that, hot stuff". Ed though that it might be someone having an affair, because it was an older man and a younger woman.
After about an hour or so of relaxing, Jacob and Ed both made phone calls back to the US, and we then made our way back to the Spanish Steps. From there, we walked down the most fashionable street in Rome, the Via del Corso. There were lots of people window shopping and just walking about. Ed bought a bow tie at one of the most fashionable tie shops.
One thing I noticed about about Rome on this day was that there were a lot of Clement's written on many of the buildings and monuments. We guessed that they must of been built during the time when a Pope was a Clement. Half way up the Spanish Steps, there is a very large plaque with Clemente written on it (as well as some other italian words that I didn't know). My last name is practically written all over the city. Even in the Borgese gallery there was a bust of a Pope Clement. Pretty cool eh?
Anyway, back to day 3....
I just remembered about this. On our way to the park and the Borgese Gallery, someone waved us down, mainly Ed. The guy apparently wanted directions. An italian couple was passing by exactly as this was happening and laughed, asking if we were american. They thought it was funny that anyone would be would be asking an american for directions. The guy waved Ed almost into the car. We were not exactly sure what was going on. The guy was apparently french, and also asked for some money as well as directions. Ed pointed the guy in the direction of the French Embassy and said that they would be able to help him. The frenchman then motioned for Anne to come over to the car. He also waved her almost into the automobile. It looked as though the guy was going to give Ed and Anne something for helping him, but he started selling some 900 euro jacket for 40-50 euro. Right when that started Ed and Anne backed away from the car and the guy sped off. Thinking about it later, some tourist keep their money and passports hanging around their neck. I believe that the frenchman expected one of these two americans to have their money hanging around the neck and was wanting to take off with it. Scary if you think about it.
We then walked thru the Pantheon area and checked out a few more tie shops.... And then we walked some more, big surprise huh? We ended up in the Piazza Navoa for dinner. There was quite a showing going on in the square. Armani was putting on a fashion show and had half the square closed off with a stage and several hundred chairs. There were security guards everywhere. We couldn't really see the stage from where we were, but we could see all of the behind the scenes work going on. We could easily point out who had tickets for the show. Every so often, a couple would walk by dressed in their finest. At first we thought that they might be the models, but after dinner, we saw that most every one we saw was sitting in the audience. Amy almost got into a fist fight with the waiter because he said that service was not included. After checking with the cashier, we found out that he was lying. It was kind of reminiscent of our movie experience (Christine knows what we are talking about, except with no police!).
Oh yeah, we got Gelato... Jacob gets at least 3 cones a day..
After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel for a deserved nights sleep.
SPQR
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Day 3 - Rome
Places Visited:
Spanish Steps
Villa Borghese
Borghese Gallery
Via del Corso
Today started off much like the rest. Breakfast at 9 and then off to the sights.
I wish I thought to bring one of those pedometers. Today, we must of walked 10 miles.
The places we visited today were probably the furthest distance from our hotel. At times, we thought we may have been lost, because of the constant turns and tiny alley ways we had to navigate. But Ed kept us on course and we made it to our first stop, the Spanish Steps. It was before noon and wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. From there, we made our way to a park called Villa Borghese.
Inside the park was our second stop of the day, the Borghese Gallery. Its a reservation only gallery and you must make your reservation at least 2 days in advance. We didn't have any problem getting in because Amy's mom made the reservations before we even left the US. They only give you 2 hours to browse and after that, they clear the place out for the next group. It was ok, I guess. As nice as any museum can get. I was amazed at how difficult it must of been carving out of marble the many different sculptures that were on display. My favorite was Bernini's Apollo Chasing Daphne. The place was originally a villa built by a Cardinal Borghese, a great art collector. The second floor of the gallery are mostly paintings, something that Jacob, Amy and myself made a quick run thru.
On our way into the park, we saw a place where you can rent bikes. This is where we stopped after visiting the gallery. We ended up renting a thing with four wheels, four sets of pedals, two steering wheels (one didn't work), and two batteries. The Thing allowed us to explore the park with ease. It was like the movie, Driving Ms. Amy, Ms. Anne, Mr. Ed and Mr. Jacob, and I played Morgan Freeman. It wasn't all that hard to pedal. Once you got going, the batteries would kick in and it was like coasting on a bike. It actually got going at a pretty good clip when going downhill. All I heard was, "You need to slow down Andy". The break was located next and underneath the steering wheel. Sort of like where the stick on a 70's automatic american car. When you pulled down on it to stop, it made a really loud screech. It defiantly let someone know that you wanted to pass.
After about 20 minutes into our hour long rental, we found a pond in what looked like Monet painting. There were geese, ducks and very large goldfish. There were also boats that you could rent. Jacob was all over that and another movie was made, Rowing Mr. Jacob. For 3 euros each you could rent a small row boat for 20 minutes. Jacob and I were off while Amy, Anne and Ed stayed on shore. It took about 5 minutes to get the boat going in the right direction and probably another 5 to get use to turning. Jacob and I posed for a couple of pictures and I then let Jacob row for the rest of our time...
Gotta end this now, its getting late. I'll finish this in the morning...
SPQR
Spanish Steps
Villa Borghese
Borghese Gallery
Via del Corso
Today started off much like the rest. Breakfast at 9 and then off to the sights.
I wish I thought to bring one of those pedometers. Today, we must of walked 10 miles.
The places we visited today were probably the furthest distance from our hotel. At times, we thought we may have been lost, because of the constant turns and tiny alley ways we had to navigate. But Ed kept us on course and we made it to our first stop, the Spanish Steps. It was before noon and wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. From there, we made our way to a park called Villa Borghese.
Inside the park was our second stop of the day, the Borghese Gallery. Its a reservation only gallery and you must make your reservation at least 2 days in advance. We didn't have any problem getting in because Amy's mom made the reservations before we even left the US. They only give you 2 hours to browse and after that, they clear the place out for the next group. It was ok, I guess. As nice as any museum can get. I was amazed at how difficult it must of been carving out of marble the many different sculptures that were on display. My favorite was Bernini's Apollo Chasing Daphne. The place was originally a villa built by a Cardinal Borghese, a great art collector. The second floor of the gallery are mostly paintings, something that Jacob, Amy and myself made a quick run thru.
On our way into the park, we saw a place where you can rent bikes. This is where we stopped after visiting the gallery. We ended up renting a thing with four wheels, four sets of pedals, two steering wheels (one didn't work), and two batteries. The Thing allowed us to explore the park with ease. It was like the movie, Driving Ms. Amy, Ms. Anne, Mr. Ed and Mr. Jacob, and I played Morgan Freeman. It wasn't all that hard to pedal. Once you got going, the batteries would kick in and it was like coasting on a bike. It actually got going at a pretty good clip when going downhill. All I heard was, "You need to slow down Andy". The break was located next and underneath the steering wheel. Sort of like where the stick on a 70's automatic american car. When you pulled down on it to stop, it made a really loud screech. It defiantly let someone know that you wanted to pass.
After about 20 minutes into our hour long rental, we found a pond in what looked like Monet painting. There were geese, ducks and very large goldfish. There were also boats that you could rent. Jacob was all over that and another movie was made, Rowing Mr. Jacob. For 3 euros each you could rent a small row boat for 20 minutes. Jacob and I were off while Amy, Anne and Ed stayed on shore. It took about 5 minutes to get the boat going in the right direction and probably another 5 to get use to turning. Jacob and I posed for a couple of pictures and I then let Jacob row for the rest of our time...
Gotta end this now, its getting late. I'll finish this in the morning...
SPQR
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Day 2 - Rome
Today went much better than yesterday. Mainly because of the amount of sleep we got.
We started off with breakfast at the hotel. Then we made our way to the Forum. Very cool place. We saw the Temple of Julius Caesar. This is where his body was burned after his assassination. I'm glad that we had the Rick Steve's Italy book with us. It really helped out in identifying everything. It explained Vestal Virgins, Caligula's Palace, the Arch of Titus, and various other ruins in the area..
After the Forum, we made our way to the Colosseum. We paid extra for the english speaking tour guide because the line was way too long to wait in. Paying for the guide got us in right away. We stayed with the tour for about 30 minutes, got the info we wanted, and went out to explore the rest of the Colosseum by ourselves.
I was able to take quite a few pictures of the Colosseum as well as the Forum. I just wish I could show them too you. As soon as I get a faster connection (or even just free dialup), I'll post them then.
Upon leaving the Colosseum, we had lunch, then we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. There were probably more people there than at any of the other places we went. Lots of people.
We've gotten much more confident at crossing the streets of Rome. Apparently, you just start crossing. The cars and mopeds just stop if your in their way. If your not, they just keep on going. Its scary at first, but you get used to the feeling that you might get run over. By law, they have to stop. If they hit you, they loose their license. Not sure what you get if your hit though.
By now, we were getting pretty tired and decided to head back to the hotel for a break.
On our way back, we passed by the Pantheon and stopped for a few minutes to check out the inside.
In all, it was a pretty good day.
We started off with breakfast at the hotel. Then we made our way to the Forum. Very cool place. We saw the Temple of Julius Caesar. This is where his body was burned after his assassination. I'm glad that we had the Rick Steve's Italy book with us. It really helped out in identifying everything. It explained Vestal Virgins, Caligula's Palace, the Arch of Titus, and various other ruins in the area..
After the Forum, we made our way to the Colosseum. We paid extra for the english speaking tour guide because the line was way too long to wait in. Paying for the guide got us in right away. We stayed with the tour for about 30 minutes, got the info we wanted, and went out to explore the rest of the Colosseum by ourselves.
I was able to take quite a few pictures of the Colosseum as well as the Forum. I just wish I could show them too you. As soon as I get a faster connection (or even just free dialup), I'll post them then.
Upon leaving the Colosseum, we had lunch, then we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. There were probably more people there than at any of the other places we went. Lots of people.
We've gotten much more confident at crossing the streets of Rome. Apparently, you just start crossing. The cars and mopeds just stop if your in their way. If your not, they just keep on going. Its scary at first, but you get used to the feeling that you might get run over. By law, they have to stop. If they hit you, they loose their license. Not sure what you get if your hit though.
By now, we were getting pretty tired and decided to head back to the hotel for a break.
On our way back, we passed by the Pantheon and stopped for a few minutes to check out the inside.
In all, it was a pretty good day.
More from day 1.
It seems like everyone in Rome smokes. Even Jacob noticed this...
It sucks not having broadband internet...
Our hotel room is great, except for the shower. Amy just made a comment on why roman women have hairy legs. The shower is really small. (this still doesn't explain the underarms) You can't even bend over to wash below your knees. There is a bidet (a butt washer). I say remove that and make the shower bigger.
We visited St. Peter's Basilica, not St. Peter's.
We visited John Paul the II's tomb..
There was a great view of Rome from the top of Michelangelo's last work, the dome. Didn't know this, but, no building is allowed taller than the dome in Rome.
I figured out how to spell Andretti, (I think)....
We had the best dinner last night. It was at some place called the Rooster. Will probably visit again before we leave.
I never really liked red wine, but, I can't get enough of it here..
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Today, we are going to visit the Colosseum and the Forum. I'll take lots of pictures, but without high speed internet, I won't be able to upload any just yet.
It sucks not having broadband internet...
Our hotel room is great, except for the shower. Amy just made a comment on why roman women have hairy legs. The shower is really small. (this still doesn't explain the underarms) You can't even bend over to wash below your knees. There is a bidet (a butt washer). I say remove that and make the shower bigger.
We visited St. Peter's Basilica, not St. Peter's.
We visited John Paul the II's tomb..
There was a great view of Rome from the top of Michelangelo's last work, the dome. Didn't know this, but, no building is allowed taller than the dome in Rome.
I figured out how to spell Andretti, (I think)....
We had the best dinner last night. It was at some place called the Rooster. Will probably visit again before we leave.
I never really liked red wine, but, I can't get enough of it here..
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Today, we are going to visit the Colosseum and the Forum. I'll take lots of pictures, but without high speed internet, I won't be able to upload any just yet.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Day 1 in Rome
Wow what a day and where should I start.
Today actually started off yesterday with our flight to Rome delayed for about 1 hour 20 minutes in Boston due to weather. We left Boston at 8pm.
After no sleep for me on the plane (Amy got about 3 hours), we landed in Rome at about 10 am local time.
Coming thru passport control took another 30 minutes. There were about 40 school kids and each one had to get their password stamped.
Then we were bombarded by "You need a Taxi?" We read and were told that it should be 45-50 euros. Everyone, when we asked, said that it would be between 75-80 euros. We knew to beware of the scammers but its hard to tell who is the honest taxi drivers and who were not. We eventually found a desk where we could get on a shuttle for 32 euros and only had to wait about 30 minutes or so.
The shuttle ride was a completely different story. The driver must of been related to Mario Andreddi (I know its misspelled). These drivers in Rome are crazy. I thought I was an aggressive driver. After going about 95 miles an hour on the highway (I know this because of my gps), the side roads were worse. Apparently, if you drive a moped or motorcycle, you can ignore all rules of the road. They would just weave in and out of traffic. And the driver of our shuttle acted like he didn't even see 'em.
We finally made it to our hotel. Amy took a shower and I decided to wait. We met up with her parents and Jacob at 1:30.
Our first stop was for lunch. We then took off for Vatican City and St. Peters. We climbed all the way up (320 steps) to the top of the dome and stayed up there admiring the view and taking pictures for about 30 minutes. We toured the inside of St. Peters (found Pope Clement). By then it was evening and was time for dinner and then to bed.
I'll try to write more tommorrow. Its late and I haven't had any sleep since Saturday night...
I should have some pictures posted soon. The internet is only dialup and will take a while to upload. Besides its .15 euro per minute to use the phone..
Today actually started off yesterday with our flight to Rome delayed for about 1 hour 20 minutes in Boston due to weather. We left Boston at 8pm.
After no sleep for me on the plane (Amy got about 3 hours), we landed in Rome at about 10 am local time.
Coming thru passport control took another 30 minutes. There were about 40 school kids and each one had to get their password stamped.
Then we were bombarded by "You need a Taxi?" We read and were told that it should be 45-50 euros. Everyone, when we asked, said that it would be between 75-80 euros. We knew to beware of the scammers but its hard to tell who is the honest taxi drivers and who were not. We eventually found a desk where we could get on a shuttle for 32 euros and only had to wait about 30 minutes or so.
The shuttle ride was a completely different story. The driver must of been related to Mario Andreddi (I know its misspelled). These drivers in Rome are crazy. I thought I was an aggressive driver. After going about 95 miles an hour on the highway (I know this because of my gps), the side roads were worse. Apparently, if you drive a moped or motorcycle, you can ignore all rules of the road. They would just weave in and out of traffic. And the driver of our shuttle acted like he didn't even see 'em.
We finally made it to our hotel. Amy took a shower and I decided to wait. We met up with her parents and Jacob at 1:30.
Our first stop was for lunch. We then took off for Vatican City and St. Peters. We climbed all the way up (320 steps) to the top of the dome and stayed up there admiring the view and taking pictures for about 30 minutes. We toured the inside of St. Peters (found Pope Clement). By then it was evening and was time for dinner and then to bed.
I'll try to write more tommorrow. Its late and I haven't had any sleep since Saturday night...
I should have some pictures posted soon. The internet is only dialup and will take a while to upload. Besides its .15 euro per minute to use the phone..
Sunday, May 29, 2005
First Italian Phrase
Vorrei una birra grande
I'd like a large beer...
Thanks goto Nicole for this tip....
I'd like a large beer...
Thanks goto Nicole for this tip....
In Boston
We made it to Boston and to the Alatalia ticket counter without too much trouble.The Boston airport is kinda confusing. We had to leave the gate area and then take a bus to the International Terminal.Once in the international terminal, we had to find the Alatalia ticket counter to get our boarding pass. After that, we had to go back thru security to get to the international gate.Below is a test picture of the terminal. I wanted to test the procedure that I needed to do to get pictures uploaded to my web server.
Test Upload Link
Here are the steps that I have to go thru.1. Connect the camera and upload into iphoto.2. Run a program called Galerie. This program creates the webpage and thumnails. It uses the photos from iphoto.3. Then Galerie uploads to my ftp server the website.4. Lastly, I create links in my blog to individual pictures and the actual website with the pictures.The offline blogger program that i'm using is called ecto. I haven't yet figured out how to insert html code and have it look correctly in the blog once its posted. I'm sure that there is a way, I just haven't used it enought to find out the correct keystrokes.
Test Upload Link
Here are the steps that I have to go thru.1. Connect the camera and upload into iphoto.2. Run a program called Galerie. This program creates the webpage and thumnails. It uses the photos from iphoto.3. Then Galerie uploads to my ftp server the website.4. Lastly, I create links in my blog to individual pictures and the actual website with the pictures.The offline blogger program that i'm using is called ecto. I haven't yet figured out how to insert html code and have it look correctly in the blog once its posted. I'm sure that there is a way, I just haven't used it enought to find out the correct keystrokes.
Our fight wasn't scheduled to leave until 2:30. But with the bad weather coming from Alabama, we thought it would be best that we try to change to an earlier flight. Our original flight only gave us about 1.5 hours to get from the delta terminal to the Al Atalia terminal in Boston. The bad weather moving into Atlanta would of surely caused us to be delayed in Atlanta and therefore late getting to our flight to Rome. As of right now, we have about 3 hours in Boston before the actual flight to Rome.
There was supposed to be a $25 charge to change flights, but the ticket agent let us change for free. We even got better seats than we had on the original flight. We are at the seats just behind first class were the emergency exits are. Lots of leg room. :)
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
I'm wanting to use this blog as a place to post what we have seen and where we have been. The sights, sounds and flavors of Italy. I'm sure that there will be some misspellings as well as some grammer issues with this blog so, "Damit Jim, I'm a systems engineer, not an english professor. "
We will be arriving in Rome on the 30th in the morning for 4 days of Rome. After that, a train ride to Florence for 4 days and finally another train ride to Venice. We will be staying in Venice for 4 days as well. Our last day in Italy will be spent back in Rome.
As of now, I really don't have any idea what I really want to see. Definately any old Roman Ruins and I guess a few churches (I'm sure we will see a lot of churches). Also I can't wait to see Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence.
Amy's dad i'm sure will have a complete list of where to go and what to see.
Here is a list of where we will be staying.
Hotel Inparione in Rome
Hotel Alessandra in Florence
Hotel Al Leon in Venice
They all look like great places to stay. I think one for sure has internet access. Not sure about the other two.
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