Roma! Post No. 2

Today was Vatican day. We were up early for a lovely breakfast on the upper floor of our hotel, overlooking the then quiet Trevi fountain. (They had yogurt that came in oddly shaped little glass jars, so I, of course, wrapped my empty jar in a napkin to take with me . . . I really do have a sickness.) We got information on which bus to take, walked a couple of blocks down the latte/gelato alley, and hopped on bus no. 492. It was only a ten-minute ride to St. Peter's Square, where we picked up our tickets (thanks, Joni - we were sure glad we had made arrangements in advance for our tickets given the lines we saw). We spent the entire morning at the Vatican Museum, ending with a visit to the Sistine Chapel. Howard managed to snap a couple of photos before one of the museum guys reminded him that no photos were allowed (Howard thought it was just no flash was allowed . . . ).

We knew we weren't going to see everything (four miles of museum), so after seeing what we felt was enough, we walked the short distance to St. Peter's Basilica. Wow! I'll spare you the travelogue, but it was impressive. Here are a few photos:

Oh, that's me touching St. Peter's toe, what Rick Steves refers to as St. Peter's kissable toe, although no one was kissing it and a guard was close by supervising even the touching. Kissing doesn't seem very sanitary and all . . .

By the time we had finished touring St. P's, our dogs were hot and our tummies empty. We found a streetside trattoria, which we would NOT RECOMMEND. After eating and beginning our return walk, we consulted our Rick Steves guidebook and he cautioned against eating at restaurants 1) near the Vatican, and 2) that have hawkers outside luring you to sit down. Okay, so we lived and learned. We had a 1) medicore meal, 2) paid way too much. We figure we'll eat pizza (or McDonald's) to make up for what we paid for our lunch. Oh, the restaurant to avoid: Trattoria Al Cuppolone Pizzeria on Borgo Pio.


Fortified with food, mediocre food, we decided to walk our way back to the Hotel Fontana. We crossed the Tiber River, walked through the Piazza Navona, and once again passed the Pantheon. We've really got get inside of that place.







So, while Howard naps, I will continue writing in my travel journal . . .

. . . and who knows, maybe we'll get to the Pantheon before they turn out the lights tonight!