May 29 - Rome is Magical

         Rome is magical, romantic, and is known as the Eternal City having been around in excess of 27 centuries.

              Today we toured the city on Ciao Roma.  It is an open double decker bus with no roof on the top.  There are approx. five different similar tour buses to choose from.  You can board at a variety of locations and get on or off to site see as you wish.  The tickets are good for 1 - 3 days depending on your purchase.  It takes about 2 hours to do the full route and is an amazing way to see and get photo of most of the main tourist sites.  A few you will have to get off and take a short walk to get to.  Each person is given a set of ear plugs so you can listen to the pre-recorded tour information in 13 different languages. The shops and eateries are bountiful.

          The Vatican and area was overwhelmingly popular.  Thousands of people were there in the streets.  This is an extremely busy city filled with tourists.  The Colosseum is huge.  Everything enriched with old Roman Style and architecture but stands the test of time and welcomes visitors within.  I could not stop taking pictures.  Bridges and Cathedrals were so beautiful.  I will share a few of our photo’s.  There is so much I am leaving out so I will try to only hit the highlights.  Truth is that Rome is a very green and lush country not just monuments.

          There are a lot of small cars in Rome.  We have seen many of the Smart Cars.  But best of all is how they park here.  It is basically any way you can.  I love the photo below of this. 

          Today we had handmade Gelato with intense flavors and fresh made Italian Pizza.  If you come with someone or a group it is a great experience to buy a variety and then share, so you can taste more of what Italy has to offer.  There are an abundant number of charming outdoor café’s along the streets for people to sit relax and enjoy.  For a late supper we ordered room service and had what they called potatoes salad, green beans, olives and a hardboiled egg.   Dessert was an apple tart with chocolate sauce and raspberries.  Surprisingly not overly sweet at all and the crust was so delicate it melted in your mouth. 

            Tomorrow we are off to see the Colosseum.  We signed up with a tour group to avoid the long long lines.  I can’t wait to see the grandeur of the insides up close.   We get to see the dungeons as well, where the gladiators used to be held prior to their battles. 

         On the humorous side, our room has a bidet, of which neither of us know how to use.  So we went to the old faithful u-tube site to see a tutorial, lol.  This is something you will have to figure out for yourself if you want to make use of it. 

          There is romance in the air here and it can’t be ignored so until tomorrow dear friends…Tori