Rome Trip Day 1

The airplane took off on time and all was well on the flight to Philadelphia. We arrive in Philly on time and get checked in and wait for about an hour and a half. The flight takes off on time with 9 happy travelers aboard on the way to Rome.

One hour out and the pilot comes on to inform us that there is a problem with the communication equipment and that without this equipment the plane can not fly across the Atlantic, so we must return to Philly to have the problem fixed. At Philly we are informed that we must fly around to burn fuel as we have too much fuel to land. Two and a half hours later we finally re-land in Philly. My hips and back hurt, although told we should remain in our seats, we all stand up to get the kinks out. Another hour on the ground so that the plane can change crews, reload food, snacks, etc., get rid of trash and fix problem, then we are back in the air bound for an 8 and a half hour trip to Rome. After a plane meal of chicken, rice, salad and desert we fall asleep so that we can be ready for the time change in Rome.

We arrive Rome at 3pm Roman time, 9am U.S. time. We are met by an NETC rep, our tour director is with the other group which arrived a day before we did and are in Pompeii.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour ride to the other side of Rome to the motel and we check in at the Hotel Nova Domus. There is an egg tree for Easter Holiday and a great Roman column as decoration.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Accommodations are nice and my room mate and I decide to explore the bar and meet Mauritcio who makes a great Spritz. Here I am with Mauritcio.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Feeling much better after the spritz I take pictures out of our hotel window. Here is one of the apartments across the street, the gelato shop down the street, and a picture of the street. I am so in love with the apartments with plants everywhere and the terracotta roofs. I am beginning to love Rome. We never visit the gelato shop there, although we have gelato every night while in Rome. My favs. are the nuttella and the pineapple. Gelato is smoother, creamier than ice cream but like ice cream. Definitely not "Italian ices" like you get over here. Oh so much better.




__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


We go next door to where Kasey and Gayle are staying to see their room, the view from their room and to talk. I am intrigued by the bidet which I didn't know about until right before I came to Rome. An interesting invention. Luke, Kasey's son who is one of the high school students traveling is resting on the bed. Here's Luke and Kasey.



__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Soon we all go downstairs to meet our tour director Chris Roche and the group from Michigan. The kids eye each other cautiously. Here's Chris all smiles ready to be our guide. Chirs is Irish Canadian and lives in Londan. His day job is film director and he does tours a couple of times a year. He lived and worked in Rome for 3 years.



_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After a dinner of Gnocchetti al pomodoro e basilico; Tranci di salmone al limone d'Amalfi; Patate prezzemolate; Dessert we head out for an evening stroll which is a very Italian custom. The lights reflect off of everything and the magic begins. Slowly Rome weaves it's beauty into every pore of my being. We walk around Vatican city, the wall enclosing the fortress that is the Vatican itself. I take a picture of the entrance to the Vatican museum which we will go to tomorrow.

___________________________________________________________________

Across the street from the Tiber River the statue of St. Catherine catches my eye. A beautiful sculpture, she's just one of many on the Roman streets.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I look up and view for the first time, the castle of the Angel and am in Awe. Atop this building is an angel with a sword pointing down. The building is so large. This is the building and angel that was featured in the movie Angels and Demons. The history of the building is that toward the end of the plague an angel appeared and told the people that the plague was about to end and what to do. The people were so grateful that after the plague they built this building and statue in honor of the angel who visited grace upon the city.

Angel from the top of the Castle of angels.

____________________________________________________________________

Now we crossed the street to the Tiber River itself. The magic continues as the lights reflect off the water of the great Tiber river. I look one way and take a beautiful picture, then the other and the same, it is beauty all around me.

___________________________________________________________________

I see a film crew pointing it's cameras toward St. Peters, and I ask what they are filming. They are waiting for the Pope to come out and greet the people gathering for Easter Watchnight service. They can not get any closer because the street is blocked off, but their cameras are good. I take several wonderful pictures of St. Peters, but this is my fav. by far. I like the addition of the people and cars. It gives a sense of how large the building is and how grand. Nothing is allowed to be higher in Rome than the dome of St. Peters. Thus there are no skyscrapers in Rome and St. Peters stands out as a gem of the city.

__________________________________________________________________

We walk on toward St. Peteres square. Many people are gathering there for the watch night service that will continue each night until Easter. It is Good Friday. The columns on each side of the square are curved, reaching out as the ancient pope intended, gathering all of God's children into the square and the church.

__________________________________________________________________

There are fountains at each end of St. Peters square. I am captivated by the water, thinking them very beautiful. Little do I know they are fairly plain as far as fountains go in Rome. Still the night is warm the lights are glowing and we are falling under the spell of beauty.

____________________________________________________________________

It is getting late, we are not yet used to Rome time. We decide to gather as a group to return to our hotel. Here is the whole group by the columns preparing to return.

____________________________________________________________________

Going down the street we see this Swiss Guard who poses to have his picture taken. The Swiss Guards serve for 3 years then go back to Switzerland where they may resume a normal life and marry if they so choose. The ancient uniform is said to have been designed by Michealangelo himself. Very quaint and interesting but what was he thinking???

____________________________________________________________________

We get back to the hotel about 11 pm. I'm so keyed up that I can't sleep and end up talking to Barb until about 2 am . She is as excited as I am and we have loved our walk.