Rome is where we started this trip and Rome is where we ended this trip. First, let me tell you about landing in Rome. Young people won’t remember this but back in the 70’s & 80’s there were a lot of airplane hijackings. After that most all airports built their international terminals out away from the domestic section of the airport. Rome’s FCO airport is a very long walk. So whatever you do have your passport handy because it will be scanned several times before you get to your train, bus or taxi to take you to your final destination. We use the Leonardo Express it’s around $20-25 one way it takes 30 minutes to get you to Roma Termini Station, which is the main train hub in Rome. There you can travel anywhere it Italy. These were the steps it took to get through the airport.
Rome, the eternal city, is huge. It’s divided into districts. Each district has its own unique history and sights to see. I heard someone say that being in Rome is like living in a museum, there is SO much history. We stayed in the district called Monti. Kay had researched and it was safe and had lots of restaurants. We finally arrive at our Air BnB and haul our luggage up 47 steps and 5 doors that each had it’s own skeleton key! Now Kay makes sure that we have just a few steps or a lift. Which we travel much lighter now. We put our luggage down and headed to the grocery store. We accidentally discovered on the way to the supermarket there was this plaque. Which we immediately sent to one of my best friends who is a physicist.
Within sight of this place was the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. The church is said to hold a relic of the manger in which Jesus was laid, the remains of Saint Matthew and Saint Jerome. Now even though we were right there and walked by it every day it wasn’t until we were heading home that we realized what was inside. So no we didn’t tour it. I had a crippled wife, an Air BnB that had 5 doors with Skelton keys and 47 steps to get to our apartment. We were lucky just to make it out of the building!
Our stay in Rome had it’s struggles but at the same time, we had no tours booked, we could choose what we wanted to do that day and we also got a taste of Italian living. One funny thing we saw which absolutely amazed us was that this little Nonna/Grandma stopped three lanes of traffic with one finger, including the bus we were on. The traffic stopped and didn’t start moving until she was safely across. No crosswalk the power of the pointer finger. Kay says it wasn’t just the finger it was the gray hair too. She calls it the power of the hair.
It was the first time on our trip we were free to do nothing or something. We could walk across the street and go to a restaurant. If we went around the corner there was a market we could get fresh vegetables and fruit. Grocery store just down the street. Gelato on the corner at the other end of the street. Literally everything we needed we could walk and get. Clothing stores within walking distance. Pretty much anything you could need within walking distance.
After grocery shopping and getting settled in we decided to check out a few sights so we headed for the bus stop. We had a guy approach us and we were hesitant at first until we saw one pull up, the hop-on-hop-off buses. We picked a several day package and got our tickets and it was a life saver. Not only did it take us to or close to historic sites we could hop on and hop off if we wanted to see anything. On our Facebook page Kay posted right side of the bus pictures and left side of the bus pictures. We didn’t over do it we did one thing a day like the coliseum , Trevi fountain or the Vatican. We didn’t see the inside of the Vatican or the Coliseum but someday.
Other than venturing out to see sights we ate at the restaurants in our area and shopped also. As the vacation was coming to an end Kay had got everyone except her Dad a souvenir. She wanted it to be memorable not a t-shirt. She was looking online and found this beautiful handmade Italian knife store it was perfect. We were eating at one of the restaurants on our street and Kay sees a guy working on a chair. He had a knife like she had seen online. After using Google translate she thought she had an idea of where to go. A running joke with us is “it’s just 10 minutes”. If you asked anyone for directions they always said that and pointed in a direction. Well, long story short we got lost. Kay finally went into a restaurant and talked to a waitress who helped us figure out which bus to get on. However, we called a taxi from the knife store to get back to our apartment.
Walking around the sites are a humbling experience. Especially when you remember that the Apostle Paul was from Rome and you are walking on streets that he also walked. When you look at Circus Maximus and remember that thousands of Christians were murdered there.
Italy and Europe in general has such a long history. In America things are torn down with no thought to the historical significance. We took almost 2000 pictures on this trip. I’m sharing a few just because. Hopefully, you will get the travel bug, be brave and get out and go see the world!
