Europe Travel Diary – Part I – Rome and the Vatican City
Way back in August I went to Europe with my mother, sister, aunt and uncle. I am only now getting around to typing up my travel diary. I’ll be posting it in pieces over the next little while. Today we have Part I.
I left Seattle early in the morning on Wednesday August 23. I knew that I had a 9 hour time change in front of me so I refused to let myself sleep on the flight to Toronto even though I’d woken up at 4:15am and was exhausted. The Starbucks latte helped in that effort. I was supposed to have a 4 hour (or so) layover in Toronto but in the end I was there for closer to 8 hours because my flight to Rome was delayed. The delay was actually great for me because by the time we left it was late enough in Seattle-time that I was able to get 5 hours of sleep on the flight. I landed at about 2pm local time. I was a little nervous arriving in Rome because I was on my own and had to make my way from the airport to downtown on the train and then find the hotel. I only made one wrong turn on the way to the hotel and arrived to check in at about 4pm. My aunt, uncle, mother and sister weren’t arriving until the next day so I had the evening to explore a bit of Rome on my own. After a very rejuvenating shower I headed out on the town. My first stop was dinner – I picked up a delicious slice of Roman pizza near the train station. I walked for several hours and saw the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. On my way back to the hotel I had my first Italian Gelato of the trip. There would be many more of those in the coming days! When I got back to the hotel I fell into bed and slept for almost 12 hours.
The next morning I had breakfast at the hotel and then went in search of a drug store. Somewhere between Seattle and Rome I’d developed a case of Athlete’s Foot. At the drug store I tried to explain what I needed. I don’t speak Italian and the pharmacist didn’t speak much English. I tired to explain that I needed spray for my foot. I was offered foot deodorant. Then I said I needed something medicated and the pharmacist asked if I had “mushroom on my foot.” Of course! Athlete’s foot is a fungus and and fungi are mushrooms so it all made sense! Success! I then went back to the hotel and checked out of my single room. I took another walk around the area near the hotel and returned a few hours later to see if the rest of my family had arrived yet. They hadn’t but my new 3-person room was ready so I moved in there. Pretty soon after my aunt and uncle arrived. I was a little surprised since my mom and sister were supposed to get in first. They checked into their room and then the three of us went out for lunch. Eventually my mother and sister arrived – without their luggage. They’d come in from Cyprus via Frankfurt but sadly their bags hadn’t made it. The five of us walked to the Trevi fountain (I even knew the way, since I’d been there the day before) and had dinner nearby. This was our first negative experience ordering off a “tourist menu.” The food was only so-so but it was great to all be together.
The next day we visited the Vatican City. Mom had arranged for us to have a private tour guide and this worked out quite well. We met our guide while we were in the massive line to enter the Vatican Museum. The Vatican Museum was wonderful but the real highlight for me was the Sistine Chapel. I was awed. We then walked over to St Peter’s square. St. Peter’s was even bigger than I’d imagined it would be. And there were Swiss Guards! Don’t ask my why but the Swiss Guards have always fascinated me. There are four rows of columns around the square (actually more of an oval) and if you stand in a specific point the columns line up and you can only see the front row. I thought that was neat. When we got back to the hotel after lunch Allison’s bag had arrived but Mom’s had not. After an easy afternoon we went out for dinner at a lovely restaurant north of the train station. We’d gone out in search of a different restaurant but it was closed so we stumbled upon a great little spot. We had our best meal in Italy so far (Allison referred to her dinner as “the best pasta of my life”). Then it was back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep because the next morning we were on our way to Venice …
Next: Part II – Venice