Italy Travel Diary - May 8 – Venice & Assisi

6:00 am – WAKE UP CALL


How do you say SNOOZE in Italian? Our luggage has to be outside our doors by 6:45 am so the luggage service can collect it and take it to a boat to our bus.



7:45 am – BOARD THE BOARD

After our nice breakfast at the hotel, it is time to walk the couple hundred yards to the pier to board the boat. We are transported to the bus to hit the road to Assisi.



I am going to miss the city of Venice a lot. I wanted to see Venice more than any city on this tour when we started and so far it has been my favorite city. I just enjoyed the uniqueness of the city being on water, no vehicles in town, the food and of course the beautiful views.



9:00 am – UNIQUE REST STOP

Traffic on the highway is slow moving today so we decide to take an early pit stop to let the traffic clear.



Now, I have told you about the toilet tax and paying as much as 1.50 Euro ($3 usd) to use the toilet. I have to explain that in most public restrooms (not hotels though) there are no toilet seats for hygiene reasons. Well this rest stop had a new twist we have not seen before…..NO toilet at all! This had just a rectangle ceramic piece in the floor with a hole in the center. (Keep in mind that this was not the men's urinal as those were regular urinals). And I thought not having a toilet seat was an adjustment from our normal life!



I just love the foot grips on the sides!

12:15 pm – LUNCH TIME

We stop for lunch at an auto plaza for lunch as we still have a couple hours to get to Assisi. One side of the restaurant has pre-made Panini sandwiches and the other side is cafeteria style. I select a ham, mozzarella, salami, lettuce and tomato Panini for my lunch and it was very good.



1:45 pm – ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We just relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery with mountains and lakes everywhere along the route to Assisi.



3:00 pm – We arrive to the plain at the base of the hill where the town of Assisi rests.

In this little town at the bottom of the hill is a church called the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Saint Mary of the Angels). The basilica encloses a very small 9th century church called the Porziuncola. St. Francis was given this church by the Benedictine monks and it then became the most sacred place of the Franciscans. Basically it is a church within a church.

4:15 pm – UP THE HILL TO ASSISI

We park the bus and walk past our hotel up the steep hills of Assisi to the basilica. Assisi is the town where St. Francis was born and died. The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor—commonly known as the Franciscan Order. The basilica is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

The view is outstanding! To me, the view just screams Italy! Picturesque landscape, mountains, little villages and beauty all around.

5:30 pm – HOTEL WINDSOR SAVOIA

We finish up our tour of the basilica and return to the hotel to check-in and freshen up for dinner. This is one of the finer hotels in Assisi with a nice lobby and a breakfast room just down the hall. Marble steps lead to wood floored hallways and rooms. Everything has been updated within the last several years so the hotel is very nice and looks in top shape!  The rooms are small, but standard European sized rooms, with thick drapes and bedding. The bathroom is small too and even though most rooms now have regular standing showers, mine has a regular tub with a curtain and a hand-held shower wand. Even though the room is a little small and I am afraid that I will fall out of the little bed, my room does have a nice balcony overlooking the beautiful valley. What an absolute treat!

View from my balcony!

7:00 pm – DINNER TIME!

Our restaurant is up another steep hill, a few minutes walk away from our hotel. Down some steps and then up some more steps. Nice place with a view of the valley.

Our included dinner menu consists of:

Tortelli with herbs (think ravioli), veal bites with mushrooms, roasted potatoes and mixed salad and dessert.



Everything has been going very well on this trip. However, tonight on the way to dinner, one of our travelers slipped and fell hard on her shoulder. She was able to get back on her feet and up the last few steps to the restaurant. We have 3 nurses in our group and they do a fine job of taking care of her with pain meds, ice and a homemade sling. She tries to make it through dinner but she just really needs medical attention. She is transported to the local hospital for x-rays and meds. It turns out that she broke her collarbone! OUCH! We provide options for her as far as extra medical care and travel plans yet she opts to continue on the tour. What a trooper!



9:30 pm – REST AND RELAX!

We have had lots of “excitement” tonight and we have an early wake-up call (5:30 am) for Wednesday so I don’t want to stay out too late tonight. Plus I am charging the cell phone waiting for any news from the hospital on our injured person. I return to the room and make phone calls to all the necessary people regarding our incident tonight. Then I get out my tablet and sit on the balcony to relax and read.



11:00 pm – BUONA NOTTE!

Good night Assisi!

Italy Travel Diary - May 7 - Venice

7:30 am – BREAKFAST TIME


This has been the smallest spread of food yet, but still a good variety and a good start to the day. There are plenty of fresh fruits, pastries, cereal, breads, meats and cheese.



8:15 am – MARCH 2,3,4

We have a nice leisurely, long walk to San Marco Square for our tour today. Our hotel is located across the Grand Canal from the touristy San Marco Square to this allow us plenty of opportunity to cross several of the 400+ bridges in town.

9:00 am – SAN MARCO SQUARE & THE DOGE’S PALACE

We meet our guide, Franca, who will be with us for the next 2 hours for our tour of San Marco Square and the Doge’s Palace.



San Marco Square (St. Mark’s Square) is the main square of Venice and is dominated by the Church of St Mark on the eastern end. The square is very busy with lots of shops, restaurants and other goodies in this area. There were restaurants on either side of the square that had string quartets playing while you dined outside and enjoyed the scenery. Pretty neat.

The Doge was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice for over 1,000 years. The Doge was the senior most elected official and was usually the shrewdest elder in the city. The office of the Doge was first introduced back in 700 AD and the Doge held office for life and was regarded as the ecclesiastical, the civil and military leader. The palace, dating back to the early 1400’s, was the political center and also the residence of the Doge.

The tour was neat and for a true history buff would be a wonderful thing to see. Truthfully the tour was a bit long for my liking and one palace room looked the same as the next one to me. I did enjoy the various paintings on the ceilings and walls but again they looked the same after a while.



11:15 am – HOT AIR

Our tour ends at the Murano Glass store just off the San Marco Square. The products are mostly made on an island called Murano just up the canal from Venice and sold here. We are treated to a glass blowing demonstration and then have a chance to break, I mean, shop for items. I don’t trust myself or the airlines to care for large, fragile glass items so I settle for a fine pair of glass cobalt blue earrings for my wife, Jackie.



12:00 noon – LUNCH TIME!

I stroll around the walkways of Venice and find a restaurant for myself and a couple members of our group. I love fettuccine alfredo and I finally get my first taste of it in Italy. Perfecto! It was definitely worth the wait! (So far, the food in Venice has been my favorite meals!)



1:30 pm – GONDOLA

A gondola ride was not part of our package tour but enough people in our group (ok, our entire group of 24 people) showed interest that Maria Laura was able to reserve a ride for us. We loaded up 4 boats with 6 people each at set off down the canals.

When I have thought of gondola rides in Venice before, I thought of romantic rides down an empty canal….WRONG! Think rush hour traffic in Manhattan! Ok, maybe not that bad but certainly more crowded than I had imagined. The gondoliers certainly are very skilled as they have to navigate under all of the bridges and around all of the other gondolas. Still we all had a great experience and our gondolier gave us some pretty neat info on the canals and buildings.

2:30 pm – FREE TIME

We turn the group loose so they can all explore the city. I am in search of the popular Rialto Bridge that crosses the canal and is filled with shops on either side of the bridge. The bridge is one of four bridges spanning the Grand Canal and is the oldest bridge across the canal. The architectural icon dates back to 1591.

I got lost 3 times trying to navigate the rat maze of walkways but then again that is part of the charm with Venice. It was actually pretty fun trying to figure out where things are and how to get around.



4:30 pm – HARD ROCK CAFÉ

Like I said, it was pretty neat getting lost because as I was coming back from the Rialto Bridge, I just wandered the walkways and came across the HRC. It is actually located really close to San Marco Square, just off the northwest corner. HRC Venizia is my 10th HRC so it was definitely worth the visit. It was a very, very small HRC with the shop located downstairs and the dining facilities are located upstairs in a small square room. I did get to snap a photo of a Bon Jovi item so a very successful visit!

5:30 pm – BACK TO THE HOTEL

We meet everyone in front of St Mark’s Basilica so we can escort them back to the hotel just to make sure no one gets lost. Everyone is on their own for dinner tonight so they all set off in different directions to try various places.



8:00 pm – PIZZA FOR ME

I make my way just a block or so down the walkway to the Grand Canal and stop at a little restaurant with great views. I have not had pizza from Venice yet so since this is our last night, it is a requirement for the restaurant to have pizza. I order a pizza called Picolo that comes with sausage, spicy salami (pepperoni), peppers, tomatoes and a fried egg. Yep, that’s right, a fried egg. They crack open an egg on your pizza and baked the pizza which cooks the egg as part of the pizza ingredients. It was different but very tasty and something I might have to try at home! Food in Venice can be pretty expensive and this is no different. My order consists of the pizza, 1 beer, side of fries, service charge (tip) and cover charge and the bill comes to Euro 26.50 or about $42 US dollars! That’s a small 8” pizza for 1 person, not a whole large family pizza like we are used to at home.



10:30 pm – EMAIL TIME

Well, I am full from my pizza and it has been a long day so I head back to the hotel. Even though I have to get up early for our moving day tomorrow, I first want to use the hotels free wi-fi to send a couple quick emails.



11:00 pm – BUONA NOTTE!

Good Night!

Italy Travel Diary - May 6 – Florence, Pisa & Venice

7:30 am – PACK & GO


Today is the day we move from Florence to Venice with a stop in Pisa. We need to have our luggage outside our doo by 7:45 am and then down to breakfast before loading the bus. Our hotel, NH Firenze, has put on a nice spread for breakfast again and everyone enjoys the delicious food.



8:30 am – LOAD THE BUS AND HEAD FOR THE LEANING TOWER

We are now treated to a scenic drive through the Apennine Mountains as we make our way to Pisa. Even though the views are extremely gorgeous, today is our first nasty weather day as it is raining today.



10:30 am – LEANING TOWER OF PISA

As we pull up to the parking lot, we warn the group about the peddlers or people selling their “authentic Gucci and Rolex” items. When the bus stops, the peddlers just swarm the bus and we have to push our way to the tram that will take us to town. The same thing happens as we get off the tram for the short walk to the town gate and we are surrounded by peddlers. We finally make it through them and to the town gate.



As travel agents we know that peddlers are everywhere pushing their wares however until you experience it for yourself, you can’t fully grasp the true nature of it. When I say they swarmed the bus, I literally mean they swarmed and surrounded the bus. They had to be at least 30 peddlers trying to get us to buy. I don’t even make eye contact with them however as some had to use the restroom, I waited outside to make sure the got to the tram without problem. So as I am waiting, they take the opportunity to try to sell me their stuff. It was actually pretty fun trying to see if I could get an umbrella, watch or purse for the “only money I have” --- 1 Euro coin. It was like an assembly line watching them come to me and ask if I want their item and me offer them the coin and then they walk away only to see the next one come up to me. Eventually I figured they would wise up and realize that I was not going to buy but they kept coming.  Finally everyone finished in the restroom and I got bored messing with the peddlers so we left.



Anyways, we walk through the archway into the city and for the first time we see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person. The tower is pretty impressive even in the rain. I have to take lots of pictures because my kids want to see the “leaning tower of pizza”. Trust me, I would love to eat a leaning tower of pizza!!!



Most of us partake in the touristy trend of photos with our arms extended with the tower far in the background so it looks as if we are holding up the tower. A shout out to our group member, Paula Benson, for taking the great picture of me with the tower, great job Paula! The camera person has the hardest part of this goofy photo work as they have to line up the person and the object.

As the rain intensifies, most of our group heads for shelter in little shops or restaurants. It only rains real hard for about 10 or 15 minutes and then slows down for a closer look at the tower. The tower sits in a sort of recessed bowl with marble blocks about 12” high x 18” or 20” long that form the walls and floor of the bowl. The lean is at such an angle that there are 5 blocks high on one side of the bowl and only 1-1/2 blocks high on the other! Incredible that this thing is still standing on it’s own!

11:30 am – ON THE ROAD TO THE FARM

Our wonderful tour manager, Maria Laura, has arranged a lunch at a farm in the Tuscan country side that produces extra virgin olive oil along with wine. A beautiful setting but the meal is even better than the setting if that is possible!

After touring and learning all about their olive oil process we get to enjoy some of their oil and wine. We start with homemade pasta with meat sauce (yes, second helping for me please!), followed by salami, prosciutto ham, cheese, olives and plenty of bread to dip in the olive oil. Let’s not forget about the 6 different kinds of wine!! Next comes the almond biscotti to dip in the “sweet wine”…tasted like whiskey to me! What an awesome, true Italian experience! We now stumble our way back to the bus so we can sleep off all of the wine and food we just had!

2:30 pm – VENICE BOUND!

Now that everyone is loaded up on wine, the bus ride is pretty quiet except for the snorers of the group. I am not sleeping; I am just reading the book that is printed real tiny on the inside of my eyelids!


We drive through some beautiful countryside before arriving to the more industrial area just outside of Venice.


Venice has always been an interesting city to me and I was very excited when I learned I would be escorting this trip. I have always wanted to visit and I just hope the city lives up to my expectations.



7:00 pm – BOAT FOR LUGGAGE & BOAT FOR PEOPLE

Porters meet us at the pier and carry our luggage over to a conveyor belt that loads our bags onto a boat to take them to our hotel.

You have to keep in mind that no vehicles, motorcycles or even bicycles are permitted on the island so everything has to be brought in by boat. All of their goods including food and supplies are brought in on boats and delivered around town. Now that our luggage has been loaded, we walk a short distance around the corner to our boat that will take us on a quick ride down the canal to the pier closest to our hotel. Venice is so beautiful yet confusing at the same time but Maria Laura guides us to our hotel, Hotel Belle Arti, without a problem.

9:00 pm – TIME FOR SOME VENICE CUISINE!

We have all the guests settled in their rooms and on their way out for dinner. After I assist the hotel with the luggage delivery I am starving so it is time to find a local spot for dinner. I have tried pizza in every city where we have stayed so I intend to order pizza. However, the lasagna is recommended and is really calling my name instead. Mamma Mia! That was the best lasagna I have ever had, no offense to my wife and her lasagna.



11:00 pm – BUONA NOTTE VENIZIA

Good night Venice!

Italy Travel Diary - May 5 – Florence

8:30 am – Breakfast Time


There is a pretty good spread today; some cold cuts, cheese, breads, scrambled eggs, bacon, cereals, baked goods, fruit, etc. Yep, I made myself sick eating like I was not getting another meal today.



9:15 am – City Tour and Time to Say Hi to David

We board the bus to head to town to meet our guide for our tour today. The tour will begin at the Accademia Museum which is the home for the famous Statue of David by Michelangelo. The museum itself was not overly large as it had just a couple hallways but of course the centerpiece is David. The statue is huge at 17’ tall so it is very impressive. Originally the statue was to go on the roof of the cathedral so that explains the size. What is truly fascinating is to see the detail of the statue down to the veins in the arms and the fingernails. It is a pretty amazing site to behold. (Sorry, pics are forbidden in the museum).

Here is a replica of the Statue of David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria.

We then move on to our city tour of Florence, the capital city of the Tuscany Region. Florence is known for its history, culture, Renaissance art and architecture, museums and fashion. It was one of the most politically, culturally and economically important cities in Europe and the world from the 14th to the 16th centuries.

We stop by the Duomo which was the largest European church before St Peter’s was built in Rome.  This is the church that the Statue of David was to be put upon the roof.  Look to the left-middle of this picture at the smaller dome.  Just below the dome with little triangle pieces is where the statute was to go.

After the tour, everyone has a couple hours of free time to shop and explore. I am starting to get a little hungry and I have to continue my mission to eat pizza from every city we visit. Just passed the Duomo is a little pizza shop that is basically open to the street and the smell just fills the street. Good enough for me! So many pizzas to choose from but I decide on my first piece of pepperoni pizza. They sell the pizza by small, medium and large square slices and I decide on a medium slice (6” square) and a Coke Zero. Lunch costs me 9 Euro which is about $13.50 USD but was well worth it as it was very, very good pizza. A little thicker crust than the one in Rome and the sauce was not too thick. I like the taste of pepperoni but don’t enjoy a lot of spice in them and these were just perfect. They had a little kick to them but not enough that I could not enjoy the flavor of the pie! Awesome pizza and it is my favorite so far.

After my lunch, I need to work off my pizza so I enjoy the city sights just walking around. I can now begin my next quest as I search for the Hard Rock Cafe. I locate it after I snap some photos and enjoy the nice warm weather. I sit down at the bar and enjoy the music while I cool off with some beer and appetizers before I walk around to check out the memorabilia. This makes HRC #9 for me and hopefully I will see #10 (Venice) & #11 (Rome) on this trip as well. I forgot to go to the one in Rome but hope to find it on our last night in Italy.

I spend the rest of the afternoon just walking around and looking at the statues and buildings. I am basically just looking for members of our group to see if they are enjoying themselves and need directions or anything else. The city is large and I only manage to find 1 person and he was okay and just enjoyed his afternoon walk. I met up with more people from our group once I got to the meeting point and we shared stories of our afternoon adventures.



4:30 pm – Back to the Hotel

Our dinner is included tonight and we want to give everyone time at the hotel to freshen up and drop off their packages and bags. The plan was to use the original hotel that was within walking distance so they could come and go as they please all afternoon but that does not work now as the bus is required.



7:00 pm – Dinner at San Giovanni

Our included dinner tonight is back in town in the shadows of the Duomo and the restaurant is very quaint and quiet place (at least until our group arrives!)

Our menu tonight consists of:
Rigatoni short pasta with meat and mushroom sauce
Escalopes (thin sliced meat) with mushrooms
Peas
Wild berries cream pudding



9:00 pm – Hotel for Gambling!

We make our way back to the hotel and I drop my bag off in my room so I can go back down to the lobby to use the wi-fi connection. I see some of our ladies sitting around so I go to see what they are up to and see a high stakes Euchre game going on. I buy a round of drinks for everyone to buy my way in to the game. I proceed to show my Euchre skills as I get us Euchred and end up losing the game. Whoops!



10:30 pm – Email time!

I take advantage of the 30 minutes of free wi-fi to send off a couple quick emails to the family and office. It sure is nice to travel with the tablet instead of a laptop as you don’t have to take them out at the airport security and they are much lighter. Glad I had it with me as it is less expensive than phone calls home.



11:00 pm – Sleepy Time!

Today has been a long day and we have another eventful day ahead of us tomorrow as we move on to Venice!! Time to pack, shower and grab some ZZZZZ’s to be ready for that 7:00 am wake-up call. Arrivederci.

Italy Travel Diary - May 4 – Rome to Orvieto to Florence

8:30 am – Rise and Shine!


Today is moving day from Rome to Florence but we still have a little time to sleep in before we have to put the luggage outside the rooms for the porters to pick-up and load on the bus.



9:00 am – Breakfast Time

Back to the buffet to have some good eats before we head out. We will have lunch in Orvieto but I want to make sure I have enough fuel to get me through the morning.



10:15 am – Load ‘em Up and Move ‘em Out.

The luggage has been loaded and we board the bus ready to begin our next adventure. Instead of driving straight through to Florence, we make a sightseeing and lunch stop at Orvieto, a cool medieval hilltop town in the Umbria Region of Tuscany.



12:00 noon – Time for an incline!

We arrive at the bottom of the hillside and all board a funicolore or an incline to go up the mountain to the village. Once off the incline, we board a minibus to finish the trek to the town.

Orvieto sits high atop a mountain made out of volcanic tuff, offering some of the most dramatic views in Europe, dates back to the third century BC. The town’s population numbered 30,000 at the end of the 13th century and controlled the road between Rome and Florence.

The Cathedral of Orvieto dates back to November 1290 when the cornerstone was laid. Pictures do not do this beautiful place any justice as this is such a wonderful place to see up close and in full detail.

We walk around and explore before we settle for lunch about 1:30 pm. A group of 11 of us found a nice outdoor pub type place for a pizza and beer. Poor waitress had to try to understand English enough to handle all of our questions about types of beers and sizes. She managed to bring us some glasses of cold beer and hot pizza so that was good enough for us. This was my first margherita or cheese pizza but it was very, very good. They make the margherita pizza with extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil. Mmmmm.



3:00 pm – O-H-I-O; Orvieto Style!

We are scheduled to depart at 3:30 pm so I decide to make my way over to the look-out location over the valley and snap some pictures. As we walk up, I hear someone shout “O-H” and look over to see the same 3 kids from the Coliseum sitting there! Awesome! We pose for the O-H-I-O picture again with the valley as the backdrop! Priceless!! It was so cool to do that again that I almost forgot to take more pictures of the scenery!

3:30 pm – Florence, here we come!

It is now time to go back down the hill to the bus and hit the road for Florence. It is here at the base of the hill that I experience my first encounter with public restrooms that require a fee to use. A lot of European public restrooms require a small charge usually less than 1 Euro (1 Euro = $1.50 USD) to use the facilities. It is also here that I first realize that they do not include toilet seats on public toilets for hygiene reasons. Yeah, that will take time getting used to!



6:30 pm – FLORENCE!

We arrive Florence and are welcomed by some crazy rush hour traffic. Just like Rome, cars are everywhere and motor scooters are in abundance just weaving in and out of traffic. Now it is time to check-in to our hotel and get ready for dinner.



We are moved to another hotel due to a situation with another group that was already at our hotel. Our hotel was in a very central location right close to the tourist area but we had to move so now we are about a 30 minute walk from that area. We are upgraded to a very, very nice hotel for our trouble. While it is a nice hotel and we all really enjoy the place, it would have been wonderful to have the location of the first hotel as now we have to take the bus back and forth from town.

7:15 pm – May I Have Some Wild Boar, Please?

We don’t have a pre-arranged, included dinner tonight but Maria is able to secure reservations for everyone at a local restaurant within a short walk from the hotel. The space inside the hotel is rather intimate so they have a structure set up outside basically in the road for us to sit and eat. We have parked cars on both ends of the structure and cars two feet away roaming up and down the road. It is pretty neat to watch the cars as they roll on by that close.

Wild boar meat is in abundance here in Tuscany so I decide to give it a try. I order a pasta dish with wild boar meat sauce. It is basically large, wide homemade egg noodles with a sauce that has chunks of wild boar meat. The meat actually tastes like beef and I would have guessed it was beef if you did not tell me any different. I decide to wash it down with a tall, cold beer and finish dinner with a piece of Tiramisu for dessert.



10:00 pm – Time for Bed.

We stroll back to the hotel and I decide to use the free wi-fi to check attempt to send an email to the family. I am able to sign in and type the message but for some reason it will not send. I am sure it is something that I am doing as it is my first time using the tablet for email purposes. Oh well, guess I will try that later. Time for bed as we have a fun filled day ahead tomorrow!

Italy - May 3 – Rome

8:30 AM
Up and at it time! We did not schedule the first tour today until a little later in the morning so the group can have more time to sleep in since they had a long couple of days previously.



9:00 AM
It’s always good to start off with breakfast and we have included breakfast every morning for our group. Today’s breakfast will be a buffet style; bacon, sausage (look like hot dogs to me!), scrambled eggs, fresh pineapple, cheese danish and pineapple juice sound good to me.



10:15 AM
Tours of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica are on our morning schedule.

We are very glad that we had reservations as the line to purchase tickets seemed a half mile long (and I am not exaggerating!) but the reservations allow us to skip the line and go right inside. People are packed in here from wall to wall so this will be a challenge to keep the group together. We all receive headsets so we can hear the tour guide, Alexandra, without her having to yell above all of the other people. We then make our way outside to take a peek at the Vatican Gardens and the buildings that make up the Vatican Museums. Once inside there are all different sorts of items to see in the museums from large purple marble tombs, statues, tapestry and of course the painted ceilings.

We are all very happy to have Alexandra, who is a local as our tour guide, with us as we never would have learned so much just by walking through on our own. She explains using pictures about the images on the Sistine Chapel ceiling before we go inside as you are supposed to remain quiet once inside the chapel.

Finally we are able to elbow our way through the crowds to get to the Sistine Chapel. Again, wall to wall people and the guards are shushing people the entire time. While it was worth the effort to see it in person, you are basically unable to walk around to see all of the ceiling and walls as there are just too many people to navigate where you need to go.


We next make our way down the back stairs and over to St. Peter’s Basilica.

This is a really, really impressive structure and well worth the wait. While there are still lots of visitors in the building you just do not feel very crowded. The place is so huge as it will accommodate 80,000 people at once but usually only about 20,000 worship in there at one time. Unbelievable how much marble, bronze and mosaic tiles are in this building. All of the pictures on the walls/ceilings are mosaic tiles! We hope to see the Pope but he is not out waving to anyone today!

2:30 PM
It is time to take a late lunch break before our next tour. There is a little café across the street from St. Peter’s so everyone finds something to munch on. I enjoy a piece of ham and cheese pizza folded up like a hot pocket along with a coke. Oh, I also try my first order of gelato! I chose the strawberry and I am very glad that I did!!!



4:45 PM
After a short drive, we arrive at the Coliseum for our next tour. Again, the reservations come in handy as we skip the long lines. Alexandra and Maria secure all of the headsets for our tour before we make our way up to the top level. It is truly amazing how big this place is and the construction that went into building this place!

Visiting a place like Rome is like watching your high school history books come to life! While I enjoy the living history lesson, I have to share a very, very cool experience that I will always remember. I just happen to wear my Ohio State shirt and hat today and as we walk around the upper level a guy shouts “O-H”, which I am entitled to reply with an “I-O”. We wave to each other and I go on with listening to the group tour. About 10 minutes later the same guy, along with 2 young ladies, walks up and start talking to me. He then asks me for a favor, which I assume is that he wants me to take their picture. However, he wanted me to BE IN THE PICTURE! They wanted a 4th person to help them “spell O-H-I-O” with our arms/bodies in the Coliseum! How cool is that!!! GO BUCKS!!

6:15 PM
We arrive back at the hotel and dinner is on our own tonight. A small group decided that they wanted a true authentic dinner at a local establishment not a restaurant that tourists visit. Maria gives us the location and name of the restaurant but we have to walk about 20 or 25 minutes. This place was well worth the effort to get here as this was as authentic as you can get in a back alley with the tables set up in the alley while laundry hangs from some of the windows along the alley! Most of the waiters did not speak English but luckily the owner spoke enough to get us close to what we wanted. This is all part of the experience so it was really cool. The homemade pasta was unbelievable as I enjoyed fettuccini bolognaise with a beer that really hit the spot.

8:30 PM
On our walk back to the hotel, we are treated to views of Rome under the lights. Magnificent view of St. Peter’s as we look down the Tiber River. Wow!

10:00 PM
We arrive back to the hotel and after an amazing 2 days in Rome, it is time to sleep before we head off to Florence tomorrow!