The Cubicle is empty!!!

Where: Rome
When: Sept. 5

Just to touch back about yesterdays adventure. When we got to Rome’s airport, we did get 2 of our 5 luggage from the carousel. So we waited for about 45 min before asking if they were done unloading the bags. Our fligh number was still in the monitor and the carousel did not stop, so we assumed that they were still loading. Anyway, after 45 min or so, actually 1 hr, we asked the bag attendant at the Alitalia booth and she confirmed that the 3 bags arrived at an earlier flight from A-dam! That begs the question. If the bags could make it from A-dam with the close transfer time, could we have not made the transfer ourselves and made it to Rome about late afternoon instead or midnight? I guess that the price you pay for being nice and not being insistant. My sister Maria said I should have insisted on a KLM flight as there is a KLM flight to Rome on the hour. Oh! maybe next time.

Anyway, we got to our hotel, Hotel Alimandi, and they checked us in fairly efficiently. The rooms are standard European size ( small for this fat American), but they are clean and we have bathroom in our room not down the hallway. After settling down for a bit, Maria, Deanna and I went to look for something to eat. The concierge recommended a restaurant down the block. We said ok taking his word for it. We got to the restaurant, and there was a person cleaning up the cafe tables by the roadway. We said if they were still open and he said no. But we saw a few tables with customers inside. I thought that was odd, but they might close early on Sunday nights. We started heading down the block and he came running after us and started yelling something in Italtian, i guess that is what language they use here, j-k! he motioned about eating. So in we went to the restaurant. Had 3 individual size pizzzas, 1 bottle or rosso vino, due aqua minerale – no gas. (non-carbonated mineral water, ok) Had a great meal, returned with one of the pizzas for Don and Mary and they finished it around 1:30 in the morning. We all called it the night. What a day and we are only starting the Trip.

Monday morning, today, we all got up late even though I set the alarm for 7am, we did not got going until 9. We had breakfast brunch in the terrace with the view of the Vatican walls and trees. They had plenty of stuff for the buffett. They had American staples of cereal and coffee cakes and coffee, of course. I had eggplant in olive oil with bacon strips, potato balls with hard boiled egg. OJ to drink. Cappucino’s were included but did not partake. Not much of a coffe drinker. After one and a half hour for breakfast we got ready to go and visit the Vatican.

We got rolling around noon. Climbed the steps across the street from the hotel and there was the Vatican. We saw the entrance to the Museum stretch for at least half a mile (no exageration here!) there was plenty of people. Decided to see St. Peter’s Basilica instead. Walked about a mile and there it was the Piazza de San Pedro. What an awesome sight. The history, the ambiance was hard to comprehend and much less describe! The whole thing about the Piazza and Basilica is huge. We went to tour the Basilica, went to the top of the dome! We took an elevator to the bottom of the dome. Saw the cathedral from above. Then climded 361 steps to the top of the dome. What a view of Rome!!! We had a 360 degree view from the top of St. Peter’s cathedral and you can’t get any better than that and no building can be built higher than the catherdral. Hence, Rome doesn’t really have any skyrscrappers to speak of. I have to give Don and Mary alot of credit as they also climbed to the top of the dome. We then saw the tomb of Pope John Paul II. There were alot of people still paying their respects to him. I only saw the tomb for about a minute as they usher you along because of the crowd. From the “basement” of the basilica, you can see the urn containing the ashes of St. Peter. The urn is located under the big altar of the basilica. After the tour of the tombs, we called it the day as Don and Mary were tired from the big climb.

While they rested, Maria, Deanna and I drank some wine at the lobby. They came down after two hrs and we head out to dinner to the same restaurant as last night. Had the seafood platter with rosso vino!

Deanna and I stopped for some gellato after dinner! What’s your favorite gellato?

That’s it for tonight as it’s getting near midnight. The trip is going well despite losing my room key card on the first night.

Ciao!!!

ps – happy labor day everyone!!!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 5th, 2005 at 7:01 pm and is filed under C The Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.