Monday in Rome

We had a fantastic day in Rome! The plane arrived at the airport 1/2 hour early! However, we lost that extra time when the train to the city was cancelled, and we had to wait for the next one instead (an hour wait total). Actually, that worked out fine, because we planned our day while waiting. Danny slept quite a bit on the plane, and Timothy took a nap, so we had energy for the day.



We got settled in at the hotel, and then decided to go get supper near the Pantheon. On the way, we stopped in a church that Danny wanted to see (one he hasn't been in--Santa Maria Sopra Minerva). Timothy was amazed by the church--he said it was his biggest surprise of the day. It has a Michelangelo statue, Christ Bearing the Cross--which I had never seen. That was great.

Next, we went looking for supper. Timothy thought a sandwich place might be good--and we found one in the Rick Steve's book. But, it wasn't at the address given. So, we decided on our 2nd choice, a pizza place. On our way, we found the sandwich place, which had moved. It was fantastic. Timothy ordered a 4-cheese pizza--he thought he'd get a slice, but he got a medium size pizza. Meanwhile, I ordered proscuitti & melon, which we shared--it was so delicious. I got an eggplant sandwich (eggplant, tomato, fresh mozarella, arugula, anchovies). I couldn't get Timothy to share that, though. We definitely want to go back there for another meal, when we return to Rome at the end of the trip.

After supper, we went into the Pantheon--another great sight! Then, we went looking for the elevator to the top of the Victor Emmanuel monument, but it was closed for the day. We looked at the ruins of the Forum and got a book of overlays, which shows the ruins now, and how the buildings would have looked in Rome's glory.

From there, we went to get ice cream. It was the place near the Pantheon where Tyler and I got ice cream last year. Timothy got chocolate, and I got 2 scoops--apricot and raspberry.

The next stop was Trevi Fountain. Timothy threw in a coin, to guarantee his return to Rome.

Then, we went back to the hotel about 9 p.m. I took a shower, and by the time I got out, Timothy was asleep. I went right to sleep, too. I woke up abourt 8:15, so that was a GREAT night's sleep. I woke Timothy up at 9. We had breakfast--Timothy had a chocolate donut and I had a croissant filled with chocolate and a roll with apricot jam.

We missed the turn to the railroad station, so we walked a few extra blocks, but we ended up in front of the Baths of Diocletian, so we went in there. They are amazing--the structure has been renovated into a huge church. That was my 2nd new thing in Rome.

We had no problem getting on the train for the port, and (I hate to admit it), had a quick lunch at Subway (which has the advantage of free Wi-Fi, which I am using now). In another half hour we can board the ship.

It's been a great trip so far--now, it's on to the cruise.