May 21st, 2009 - Roma!

So... we made it to Rome. We are spending the majority of our land trip here and it's a good thing. There is just so much to see and do in Rome. With the right planning, Rome is just an incredible city! We had been here previously also... twice... but only as day trips from a Mediterranean cruise. This was one city I was very much looking forward to spending some time in. There are just too many things to do in Rome. I negotiated a rate with THEE nicest hotel. This is a photo of our hotel in Rome... and it sits RIGHT next to the Pantheon. It doesn't get better than this location, or this hotel as far as I'm concerned. http://www.albergodelsenato.it/ On the roof is a rooftop bar and we spent every night there having happy hour before heading out to dinner. Some nights we spent our time up there after dinner as well. :D We had another trip room here with a palatial bathroom in it. The beds were small and hard (which we are fans of) but the bathroom was gigantic! There was breakfast included every morning (a standard for Italian hotels...and the same for us in Venice and Florence) and this place had the best cappuccinos! It was so great to be in the center of everything. I can't imagine staying anywhere else now that I have stayed at this hotel.

We arrived Rome on the train from Florence and were picked up by my VERY best touring company, RomeinLimo http://www.romeinlimo.com/ The driver actually met us AT the platform of our train. I am so glad too... Termini in Rome is huge! It was crowded and chaotic and I am so glad that we had someone meet us and it was straight out the door, into a new Mercedes mini van and off we were to the hotel. While we were driving through the crazy streets of Rome, the owner of RomeinLimo called me and said that he wanted to take my entire family to dinner while we were there. We sat a time and I couldn't wait to meet Duman. I had talked to him and his assistant Jany for months and months arranging all our transfers and all our tours we were lined up to do. Private transfers in Rome are SO worth it and end up being just as affordable as taxis when you are traveling with more than 2 people.

Our first stop after we checked in was the Pantheon. Before we left for Italy, I had put together my own walking and subway tour of Angels and Demons. Everyone is a fan of the book (we hadn't yet seen the movie... we left the day it was released) and I wanted to show everyone all the places in the book. The book starts out in the Pantheon.

The oculus in the Pantheon. It is a big hole that is open to the weather. My mom was so surprised by this :) If it rains... it rains inside the Pantheon. The Pantheon is one of my favorite buildings in Rome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome It is truly amazing. The tomb of Raphael is inside as well as others. It was so cool to be staying right next door, where we could wander in early in the morning when no one else was there. The next stop was the church Santa Maria della Vittoria.

The Ecstacy of Saint Teresa by Bernini (another favorite of mine)

On our way back from the Angels and Demons walking tour we just happen to be passing the Trevi Fountain... we had to stop! This is my favorite fountain in all of Rome, and there are some good ones!

Alex and Dan standing by the fountain. She was really a trooper here. I could tell she didn't feel very well but she still didn't want to miss anything on this tour. We walked and made use of the subway, what little we could. Just so you know... the subway in Rome doesn't do you much good in the city center. It's either walk... bus... or taxi (which we used more than any other trip so far).