The "Pisa Girls"
This morning we said good-bye to the area of Tuscany and headed toward Rome. While we rode the bus, sunshine gave way to overcast skies, and finally back to sunshine by the time we arrived in Rome. Fran, Margaret, Brittany C. and I showed up at breakfast wearing our Pisa tee shirts, and enjoyed sharing our adventure with the others. While we were on the bus, Ferrell referred to us as the “girls” who went to Pisa. Three of us were honored by his description. Brittany, of course, is accustomed to being referred to as a “girl”.
Beautiful countryside between Florence and Rome
While we were riding we passed beautiful farmland on rolling hillsides with higher mountains in the background. Some of the mountains had small villages on the lower slopes. We crossed the Tiber River, and in several places were interested to watch sheep grazing on the hillsides. As we got closer to Rome we noticed palm trees, a particular variety of “fan” pine trees, and other vegetation indicating a warmer climate in this area. I think the drive from Florence to Rome was 187 miles, if you are still believing the information from “Mapcrow”.
Rome is a different city from the others we had visited. It is an interesting combination of different civilizations all jumbled together in the same area. Roman times are just around the corner from the Renaissance, which is down the street from the twenty-first century. Traffic in Rome is interesting, to say the least. I would not dare drive in the city because the lanes drawn on the pavement seem to be only a suggestion and might-makes-right seems to be the way the drivers maneuver to get in a line of traffic. Many people ride motorcycles, and most of the individual cars are tiny…almost the size of a closed-in golf cart. No vans or larger vehicles at all. The small cars enable drivers to park in impossible places…even on the sidewalk! We saw several of them just park head-in to a tiny parking area that was not wide enough for parallel parking, and still they were out of the traffic lanes.
We checked in the hotel when we arrived, rested a few (15?) minutes, and Margaret and I left on foot to see three sights we were particularly interested in. We were wearing our “Pisa” tee shirts, carrying our cameras in one hand and a map of Rome in the other. No one could have guessed we were tourists! As usual, the walk was longer than it looked like it would be when we studied the map back in the hotel. Undaunted, we managed to visit the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps). Luckily, we arrived at the top of the steps, so our route took us down the steps rather than up them, since they consist of 12 flights. To make them even more difficult to climb, they vary in width, but provide an excellent aerobic workout. This is one of the most popular sites in Rome and it was a body-to-body experience. Snap photo quickly and move on to the next place.
Spanish Steps...and loads of tourists just like us!
On to our second destination…the Trevi Fountain, Rome’s largest and most famous fountain. Legend has it that if you toss a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain you are guaranteed to return to Rome. Of course Margaret and I both tossed in a coin! I would definitely like to return! This was also the fountain where Anita Ekburg waded in while acting in the famous scene of the movie, “La Dolce Vieta” in 1960. Prior to that, the Trevi Fountain made another movie debut in “Three Coins in a Fountain”. As you might expect, we were not the only tourists at this spot, either. Snap photo and move on to the site #3 on our “must see” list for the afternoon.
Trevi Fountain..."Three Coins in a Fountain"
Our third goal was to see the Panthenon, said to be Rome’s best preserved building, whatever that means. The dome is the largest ever built before the introduction of reinforced concrete in the 20th century.
We looked at our watches and realized it was time to return to the hotel, so we located a taxi and were able to communicate the location of our hotel to the driver, who spoke not one work of English. We arrived back at the hotel in time to wash our hands and show up for dinner. Busy afternoon!
Harriet and Steve relaxed by one of the many fountains as they enjoyed the night tour of Rome.
After dinner most of the group went on a nighttime tour of Rome on the bus. It was interesting to see some of the popular sites lit up for viewing. We arrived back at the hotel exhausted, but so glad to be here seeing these wonderful things. Rome is the last stop on our tour. We have looked forward to this trip for so long, and it is passing much too quickly. This reminds us that life itself passes very quickly and we should make the most out of every minute. Let that thought sink in as I call it a day. I hope your day was as full of excitement as ours was.
P.S. At this point on the trip my computer decided to “freeze up”. I asked several people on the tour who were computer-savy, and apparently the best guess was that I had some sort of computer virus (can computers get the swine flu?) or the entire operating system needed to be reinstalled. I did not like either of those guesses, so I stopped writing the blog and decided to simply enjoy the trip until I got home. Therefore, the remainder of this was written after I returned home.
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