Buengiorno from Roma!!

We made it to Rome yesterday!  Our drive was fairly uneventful, if you don't count the $60 ticket we got for not passing through a toll station. I really don't think it was our fault, but clearly, was not going to argue.  We were on the Grande Ritourno which is essentially one big round about that encircles the city of Rome.  We had been on it for about an hour, and continued to "spit" ourselves off, but on the wrong exits.  We finally decided to just start over at exit one, which in theory was a great idea.  We started following the mapquest directions, which seemed to be working, until we found ourselves out of the city and headed to Firenze.  Not good.  I am certain that most of you have heard the phrase "all roads lead to Rome".  I am certain that applies to every road with the exception of the one that we happened to be on!  I told Mollie to look for any sign that said Rome!  We took a turn off and low and behold - there was a sign, but it was behind us, so we did what any intellgent gals would do...pulled a u-turn!  What should have been about a $2 dollar fare, turned into $62!  Imagine our surprise! Oh well, it was worth it as it got us back in the right direction and once again, after some great navigation we stumbled on our hotel!  Unfortunately when we got here, they did not have our reservation, but were able to get a room for us!

After a quick shower and snack - we ventured out into the city.  We had decided to go to the Trevi Fountain the first evening, as it is so beautiful at night!  The fountain did not disappoint.  It was beautiful.  The were throngs of people as expected, but we had a great time.  We went to dinner at a small restaraunt where we had one of our best meals yet, as well as a couple of really nice bottles of wine, and fun conversation with a couple from Belgium.  Once again we had a mixture of langauges, but were able to communicate.

We got back to the room and had a very sound sleep!  Today, we got up and did the "big bus" tour which is a perfect way to see some of the important highlights of Rome if you have limited time.  We started of with the Coliseum, where we took a guided tour.  So interesting!  These structures are not only beautiful, but they truly are architectural wonders. We road the bus for most of the day getting on and off where and when we wanted to see more, or spend additional time in a particular location.  Our only disappointment was at the Vatican.  We have been carrying wraps with us for the entire trip just in case we wanted to go into a church - with the exception of today.  So after waiting in line for about 45 minutes, going through security and making it all of the way to the entance, we were turned away because we were both wearing tank tops.  Oh well...

Today also turned out to be the hottest day that we have had, and we are both a bit sun burnt, but we are not complaining! We have been blessed with glorious weather.  Tomorrow we are heading out to Montegrotto Terme which will be the most northern part of our trip.  We will have one long day in Venice and the remaining time will be spent relaxing in Montegrotto Terme hopefully hitting some thermal spas! 

Until our next post!

Ciao from Roma