Hmm, Where did I leave off. . .oh yeah Venice! More recently we took a trip to Rome and it was Amazing! Short but Amazing! We went with the Army's Outdoor Recreation department (ODR) & it was Jonathan's birthday gift to me too. The time we spent in Rome was only 24 hours long but it was enough to get a good idea of the history and importance of this most beautiful city.
We got on the Bus in Vicenza at 6:30am and after a few stops for pee and snacks at the Autogrills (rest stops) along the Autostrada (interstate), we made it into Rome at about 2:30pm. We checked into our hotel just outside of Rome and then boarded the bus again to enjoy a guided tour through Rome.
There were other tour buses EVERYWHERE and traffic was pretty crazy. As we rounded the corner and approached the heart of Rome we were able to see the top dome of St. Peter's Church!
The guide told us that in Rome, there are no buildings allowed to be built taller than St. Peter’s Church out of respect for its importance and Beauty.
Just down the street from St. Peter's Church was Castel Sant' Angelo (Saint Angelo Castle). When I saw the castle just from the bus I was like "WOW!" It was something you would never see in the USA. It is surrounded by thick walls of concrete and kind of looks like it would have a moat around it or maybe did at one time.
After we finished the little bus tour we had free time and headed with another couple to The Hard Rock Cafe. Apparently you need reservations like 2 days in advance and they didn't have an availability when we called but we took a buzzer when we arrived with an expected 30 minute wait. Jonathan ran in the gift shop and bought a shirt, I think it was 30 euro. The sizes are different too. Jonathan bought an XL which is larger than he usually wears but the shirt was shorter than his L American shirts and tighter on the arms. The wait estimate was about right because we only waited maybe 35 minutes for a seat. The staff new English pretty well, enough to order our food anyways. Jonathan and I both ordered burgers and I got Amber a side dish of Mac and Cheese and gave her part of my burger and fries. The mac and cheese side was cheaper than the kids meal and we had brought water with us to drink so we saved money by not having to order her a drink. The guy brought her a Hard Rock kids cup anyways though. The food was great and worth the wait and price which is no worse than USA Hard Rock Cafes.
It was getting dark by the time we left Hard Rock and it seemed that Rome had transformed just in those few hours that we were eating! Each popular building, fountain, and statue was lit up and the night life was much calmer than the busy daytime. Everything looked different and even more beautiful in the night time than at daytime. We walked around and took pictures for about 2 more hours then had to take a taxi to the hotel because the metro shuts down at 8pm.
Let me explain the taxi procedure... When you see a group of taxis there is a certain code of taxi honor that must be upheld and the drivers take it VERY seriously. Each taxi driver has his turn and in a certain order. They line up on a street and you must go to the taxi in the front of the line because it is his turn. We asked about 3 drivers before we finally realized what they were explaining to us. The line is LONG too! I bet we walked 3 blocks before we found the front of the taxi line.
Finally when we got a taxi, we asked the estimate price to get to our hotel and he said 15 euro. We accepted the price and loaded up. As we started moving we realized that the taxi driver was CRAZY!! He was driving like a maniac and swerving and laughing and talking to us and looking back at us while he was driving! It was scary but we got there safe and quick and it only cost 13 euro so I can't complain.
The next day we had complimentary breakfast at the hotel and headed back on the bus to downtown Rome. We didn’t know this at the time but there is a market held on the weekends in front of the Castle so we walked through it and walked right up beside the Castle!
The Market was like all the other ones; clothes, jewelry, sunglasses, souvenirs, paintings, human statues and the occasional African man trying to sell you a knock off Frada, Lewie or Coochie bag/glasses out of a sheet laying on the street. (Prada, Louise Vuitton, Gucci) Obviously this is illegal so when the Po-po come rollin’ through the guys grab up their illegal items and run off into the crowd. I was approached by a guy selling some fake LV and Prada bags. I found a few that I liked but they were obviously fake (visible dried hot glue and all scratched up on the bottom from being set on the street). The guy said 25 Euro for the Prada bag I liked (the one that was not completely fake looking). He said “LOOK! It’s a da Prada!” with his strange African accent while pointing at the Prada emblem on the side of the purse. I laughed and said “Ok well all know it’s not REALLY Prada!” so he laughed and pointed again at it saying, “LOOK, It says a da Prada!” Lol. Yes it did say prada. I heckled with him for a while and finally got the bag for 13 Euro. I looked the bag up at home and the Prada store is selling the same one (last season) for over $500 so besides it being FAKE I’m ok with ppl thinking I have a Prada bag, lol.
It wasn’t as big as I thought it would be right up close but maybe we were on the smaller side? We didn’t have much time so we headed over to St. Peter’s by foot so we could possibly go in and catch the Catholic mass being performed by the pope. . .
Unfortunately- The Pope was in Croatia for the weekend that we were in Rome so we watched a little bit of the mass being broadcasted live on these huge TVs in St. Peter's Square. Since there was no mass the Church was open to the public so we decided to stand in this LONG line to walk through it. As we got in line we noticed what we had been warned about. . . People trying to cut the line! This Indian looking older guy was standing behind me with another Indian guy and they slowly were working there way beside me, then started moving in FRONT OF ME and bumping elbows with me almost pushing me aside in slow motion. I was pushing Amber in her umbrella stroller so as he got just a tad bit ahead of me I turned the stroller a little bit and put the front tire just in front of his foot. A couple seconds later the line started moving again and when he tried to step he tripped over my stroller!! Haha! That's what you get Biatch!! IDK if they knew English but i was pretty much cussing them out the entire time. Can you cuss in St. Peter's Square?? Oh well. . .
After about 5 minutes in a line that was barely moving, we decided this was ridiculous and left for lunch before making it even 20 feet closer to the Church than we had started. From the picture below you can't even see the beginning of the line!
We didn't know where we wanted to eat lunch at so we walked down an ally on the right side of St. Peter's Square. The restaurants were glamorous and the seating was mostly outside at tables on the street under umbrellas and guys walk by playing the accordion (but they expect a tip for if you just want to take their pic). Speaking of outside seating. Have you ever seen a sign in the USA saying you can dine 'Al Fresco'? To us in the USA this means outside seating right? Well in Italy, Al Fresco means In Prison! lol. Don't know how THAT got adopted into the United States but I thought it was pretty Funny. We finally chose this restaurant right near St. Peter's square. It was pretty expensive and I don't recommend eating neat St. Peter's square bc all the prices are inflated bc of tourists! It was pretty good food but not worth the cost. I had spaghetti for 12 euro that I shared with Amber. Jonathan had the usual- Gnocchi. My drink was a sprite in a can that cost 4 euro and Jonathan's 44oz beer was 14 Euro! . . .
After finishing lunch we went for dessert at a gelato (Ice cream) place on the left side of St. Peter's square. It was delish as usual and not too expensive! Italy really does know how to make Ice cream. We had a few minutes before the bus was coming to pick us up at the pick up point in front of St. Peter's Square so we went souvenir shopping next. Each few meters there is a shop or kiosk selling souvenirs. The prices in the shops are obviously a little more expensive and I doubt they will work with you on the price. The Kiosks are usually ran by African American men and they will usually give you a better price if you buy more. The magnets were about 2-3 Euro, Shot glasses 4-5 euro, Rosary beads in the case were about 7-15 euro depending on the style and material. They sold other things like postcards, small replicas of the basilica or dome, pope stuff, shirts, and usual souvenirs too. The bus showed up right after and tour buses can only park in these loading areas for a few minutes so we all hurried onto the bus. Unfortunately, this meant our trip to Rome was over and we were heading home. The trip home took FOREVER! I think we left Rome about 2:15-30 and didn't get back to Vicenza until about 11pm!
We will be going back to Rome in October when my family visits and we actually have tickets to see the Pope at his usual Wednesday crowd blessing (I don't know the actual name of it). I will blog about that too & hopefully we will get to see more!
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