Well, it just doesn't seem right that I posted fairly rambling babbling detailed daily accounts of our visits to Venice and Florence and pretty much felt like I ran out of gas by the time I had the time to get to Rome. So, now that I have some time (a window that may stay open), I figured I'd at least share some of our experiences. Just will make it bit more informal and random, then my day-to-day accounts.
First off, a quick rundown of all we did. Warning: it was fairly ambitious/lots of walking... so if you like to take things more leisurely, you'll definitely need more time... especially since I don't include all the stops for gelato and walking into random, but consistently jaw-droppping, churches:
Day 1: Arrival by train, lunch near Repubblica, walked down to Vittoriano monument... ruins of Ancient Rome and Colosseum (my urge to see something that immediately says "We're here!")
Day 2: Toured Colosseum, Palantine Hill, and Roman Forum. Walked over to Trastevere in search of recommended gelato shop over to Campo de Fiori, Piazza Novona, Pantheon.
Day 3: Piazza del Popolo, Pincio steps overlooking Rome, walk along the Tiber, across the Tiber at Ponte Sant'Angelo... Vatican City (St. Peter's Square and Basilica, Vatican Museum incl. the Sistine Chapel).
Day 4: Circus Maximus, Baths of Caracalla (ruins), Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, nighttime visit back to Colosseum and Ancient Rome
If I needed a sign that "Toto, we're not in Florence or Venice anymore" that first lunch was a very good indication. It was clear that Rome was already much bigger and brash than our previous two destinations, a true major city of the world! When we grabbing our outdoor seats, the waiter said something to us that I didn't understand... a bit lagging from our trip from Florence earlier in the morning and a tad overwhelmed by it all... I thought he was asking for drinks, so I did the "hand to mouth" drink? gesture... which was incredibly stupid/naive of me, because in Italy they will never ask you about food and drink that early. Anyhow, the waiter brings over a drink menu... and when we say we're interested in food/lunch, he gets pretty ticked citing my "drink?" gesture... and rightfully so. It all went fine after that, but again a rough start and forgetting we were not in America, where dining is pretty much a timed event.
To get the negative out of the way, a day or so later we had what I think was truly our only tourist trap of entire trip, or at least the most obvious one. Though first it started when we went to a restaurant that was recommended by our guide book as a local favorite, and when we arrived there it very much looked true... so when we asked for a table, they asked if we had reservations and then told us it would be a 45 minute-1 hour wait, kind of surprising given the number of empty tables. Granted it could very well have been true, but I suspect this was more of a tourist deterrence measure. So we ended up at a cafe just up the corner from our hotel. The waiter kind of had this bumbling with tourists attitude from the start, so when I ordered the ricotta and spinach ravioli I even made the effort of pointing it out on the menu. When our order arrived, Todd go what he order (pasta and a caprese salad I think) and I got my ravioli... along with a parmesan and arugula salad. I told him I didn't order that, so he took it back. But promptly came back saying I had ordered it, showing me his note pad. I still made a bit of a fuss, then a very stern woman owner/waitress came over and explained the situation to her, but again she inferred it was my mistake and siding with what was on the waiter's notepad. Not terribly comfortable with situation, we just dropped it and were charged the 12 Euros for the salad. So while I felt we were rooked, it was not until I came home and looked up the place on Trip Advisor to see many tales of being misled/taken advantage of. So definitely a tourist scam place... which reminds me I should add my tale to it, though it is definitely drop-in/"this looks good" place, not one of the places you'll look up prior to a trip, so not sure it will help others from falling victim as well... but maybe do a review for our hotel and mention it there, since I am sure many of the hotel guests may do the same thing we did.
Okay, that's enough rambling for one post... to be continued (I hope!) and absolutely less negative, now that those two stories are out of the way!
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