Yoo 643 - Meeting the Eternal City

The Saturday before last I woke up at 2 am. It was my mind's fault. Racing. I lay there mulling for two hours before giving in and getting up at 4 am. We were on our way to Rome later that day and there was just too much to do.

Pay the December bills. Book a place to stay around Naples. Complete a rough itinerary. Print travel documents. Finish those two work things that HAVE to get done before leaving. Download guide books and offline maps. Create a packing list. Pack. Double-check packing. Oh yeah, laundry. Spend time with pups.

I really super tried to not have everything come down to the last few hours but then it did. It always does. But we made it! And though Rome was more Greg's idea and I doubted my ability to tolerate museums and a city for over a week, it turned out really really great. Not the first day, but all the important ones after.

So the recap begins.

Sun setting over the clouds on our flight from Omaha to Minneapolis.

So tired. We were going to sleep on our overnight flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam...but then there were too many choices for entertainment and we spent all nine hours watching movies instead. Regretted that later. Not to mention TWO medical emergencies that stirred things up over the Atlantic. The flight after, from Amsterdam to Rome, was a semi-conscious blur with sub-par snacks.

Also, security threw away my $20 face lotion in Amsterdam because they considered it a liquid and I was bitter.

We got to Rome around 2:30 pm on Sunday, took a cheap shuttle bus to our hotel, and immediately set out to explore the city on a free walking tour. My first impressions of Rome were horrible. I was exhausted and cranky. There were too many people. The city unexpectedly charged a 4 euro per person per night room tax that had to be paid in cash and messed with my budget. We couldn't find our way around. The shower was built for someone the size of a hamster. And other such whining.

Hunger and fatigue were in control.

The tour was a good one though. Highlighted several churches, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (undergoing restorations and covered in scaffolding), Pantheon, Hadrian Temple, and more. I wish I had been in a better mood to enjoy it. But I wasn't and only took a few pictures.

Piazza di Spagna.

A church. Saint Ignatius maybe?

A tiny fraction of the ceiling.

The tour lasted 2.5 hours, and though it was informative and covered a lot, we were both glad when it was over. We grabbed some cheap pizza and found our way back to the hotel to crash.

Luckily first impressions aren't everything and Rome and I started making good with each other the next day.

Have a great day :-)