We truly conquered the train this time. Business was in "coda" and by this time we had figured out that "coda" meant the tail as it was leaving the station and not the other way around. So we did not get it wrong when we climbed on the carriage closest to us.
We arrived in Rome at 1 pm and the train station was just a ten minute taxi drive from our hotel, the Westin Excelsior Rome. Even though check-in was not until 3, our room was ready. We dropped off the luggage, unpacked, and headed out to walk through the streets of la Dolce Roma.
Our first stop was for lunch and I must confess that we did what I always criticize. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Why do I criticize it? Because, really? To come to Italy and eat in an American restaurant is simply not acceptable. But after two weeks of pasta, paninis and cheese, we were dying for some Cuban food. Since that wasn't available, we picked the next best thing: hamburgers. Well, that's what my hubby had. I went for the chicken tenders instead. We ended up eating at the bar because it was that crowded... by Americans. We met the nicest waiter and waitress and had a wonderful conversation. She was from Madrid, born in Brazil and half Italian. He was 100% Italian. Super nice, like all Italians should be because they have a great reputation, but in my experience, not all of them are nice. I didn't get into a fight with any Italians this time around but nine years ago... Well, that's a story for another day.
After lunch we walked down to Piazza Barberini, up via Tritone and took a detour towards the Pantheon, which is always impressive. At this time my hubby, who became the official photographer on this trip, realized that he had left his good camera with all three lenses back at the hotel. But we were not about to go back, so thank God for IPhone cameras.
Before getting to the Pantheon, we saw a long line of people at a Gelateria. We figured, such a line means it must be really good gelato, so we stopped to buy one. And I had to agree with the crowd, it was really good.
We continued through Largo Argentina which has some abandoned ruins. In Italy, any building must take years to lift off the ground because it seems that every time they excavate, they find an underground treasure. From there we tried to find Campo de Fiori and got lost, even with a map. After going around a maze of streets, we finally found it, even though at first I thought I was in the wrong place. For some reason, in my mind, Campo de Fiori was a "flower garden" or at the very least a park. It turned out to be another piazza with a statue and some good history behind it.
We then headed to Piazza Navona, took pictures at its famous fountain and entered the pretty church.
We then headed to Piazza Colonna. In Italy, you go from piazza to piazza and church to church. But on this journey, I also ran into this guy from back home:
Then we made our way to Fontana di Trevi which as usual, was packed with tourists trying to throw in a coin over their shoulder to guarantee a return to Rome. Another thing I missed doing nine years ago and yet, I'm back.
We then headed to another piazza and its impressive Spanish Steps, which unfortunately were closed for restoration.
At Piazza di Spagna we didn't stay long because we were exhausted. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we just decided to call it a day and ordered room service for dinner.
We have three full days ahead of us in Rome. No need to conquer Rome in one day.
Buona notte!!!
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