22 June - Rome, at Last!

June 22, 2019

Well, today was a little bittersweet. We had to leave the Celebrity Infinity behind, and begin the next part of our journey. We had a good breakfast to get us started, then went to our cabin to collect the last of our belongings. We couldn’t believe how heavy those little bags were! As soon as we got to the other bags, we unloaded what we could into the bigger bags, then left the port via the free shuttle service to the port entrance. From there, we paid 4€ to get to the train station instead of walking. The taxis wanted to charge us 50€ to share a taxi into Roma. Ha! We only spent 9€20 to get to Rome. Anyway, we got our tickets and got on the train. We only had to wait about 30 minutes for the train to depart the station. Not bad. Our train traveled at top speed of 143 km/h (that’s more impressive in Km/h).

When we got off the train, we went to buy our tickets for the city transit system. It cost 24€ each for 1 week, so we ended up paying 96€ to use the transit system while we’re here. Which wouldn’t have been so bad except, they would only accept cash. Luckily we had that much cash with us, but we needed then to go and find a place to exchange more money so we had more cash for times like these. Anyway, we got on the tram and made our way to Trastevere and got off. We started by going NE from there, and couldn’t find the road we needed to be on, so we asked a couple of nuns. I figured, they vowed to help people. Well, bless their hearts, they tried. Unfortunately, we were inadvertently guided in the wrong direction. We did end up on the right road, but going to the South instead of North. We asked for further directions at a small bar, and they set us on the correct path.

We were able to find the address we were given for our room, but it was actually just a contact place. So we were guided to the actual apartment down the road and across a piazza. We are staying on the 2nd floor (what we think of as the third floor) of an apartment building. I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet that it’s HOT and humid here. Most of Europe is experiencing a heat wave, and appears to be centrally located right above Rome. It’s 84 deg F now,  it the humidity feels like over 100 to us, even though it says 89. Next week, we should be up to 98 for 3 days plus the humidity. Mamma Mia!

Anyway, after checking into the room, we set out for a passegiatta on Capitoline Hill. There, we visited the Giardino degli Aranci, where there are many orange trees, and a gorgeous overlook to the city. We also made our way over to the Basilica di Santa Sabina dell’Aventino for a look inside. You can definitely tell the original from the modern upgrades. From there we went to the “Keyhole,” the Bucco Della Serratura. Here, you look through the keyhole in the gate, and you can see through the sculpted bushes and look directly at the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s pretty cool.

From there, we left the hill going nearly SE to the pyramid, which is a tomb of some rich guy from the first century BC that was fascinated with Egyptian architecture. By this time, it was 15:30, and we hadn’t eaten yet. So we stopped in at a small bar and got a panino, to share, with prosciutto and cheese. It was sooooo good. We got on the metro there and made our way to Termini station to find an exchange to buy some more Euro. It took forever! There was a couple in front of me in line that we’re having all kinds of problems. But, we finally got our money, and headed out of there. We decided to go back to the apartment to cool down for a bit. When we got there, we turned the a/c way down and lay on the bed, panting. Did I mention yet that it’s HOT?

To pass the time, I turned on the TV to find an Italian show to watch. I found one of our favorite movies…”Miss Congeniality”...IN ITALIAN! Which the Italian name is “Miss Detective.” It was already most of the way through, so we watched to the end. In the meantime, we were able to make contact with the kids back home...we’ll, two of them anyway. Tanner was still asleep. He did message us a little later, though. Sherry Ann was even able to let AJ know we had made it to Rome, and he replied, too.

After the movie, we went out again. This time, to find the church and time how long it would take us to get there, so we’d not have any problems in the morning. So...we took the tram to Piazza Venezia, then walked to the Colosseum, hopped on the metro and rode to Termini station, where we switched to the other metro line and rode it out to the end of the line...Battestini. From there we walked another 15 minutes to the church. It was really awesome to look down the street and see the same old building from 25 years ago! Time wise, it took us 75 minutes to get there. There were some members chatting outside, so we asked them for details about church and where to get something to eat. They said that church begins at 10:30 with sacrament meeting first. They suggested a small pizzeria across the street, then a child said that we could also try the McDonalds down the street. We laughed and I said that I don’t even eat there in the United States!

At that time, it was 21:00, so we went to the pizzeria. By the way...the pizza was great. Sherry Ann had hers with sliced potatoes, and I had mine with sausage. After eating, we made our way back to the metro for the return trip, looking for a grocery store along the way. We decided to buy some small snacks to carry around with us so we wouldn’t starve as we walked around. We got some cookies, fruit crackers, and to enjoy a little, I saw a candy bar that I hadn’t seen in ages! Tronky! It’s basically a wafer cookie filled with chocolate hazelnut cream. Amaaaaaazing!

Once we got back to the apartment, we were both beat. We each had over 32,000 steps today. So...buona notte da Roma! Ciao!