Next installment, Roma, or "Nice columns, but where's the rest of the building?" and "You mean there were dead people down here?"<BR><BR>Thank you very much for the kind words. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to get this trip report posted. I'll get back to it tonight.

What to say about 9/11/01? I know it changed my world forever. Nothing was as it seemed. Huge buildings could indeed crumble.<BR><BR>Our trip to Europe had been planned before 9/11 and we had to decide whether we would go forward with our plans. In short order we decided we would go on with our plans, and our lives, and our prayers.<BR><BR>Whatever I have to say here is insignificant. I hope my little trip report is at least a pleasant diversion for someone. I wish all of you safe travels and God bless.

To quote one of my travel companions - "We got up at an obscenely early hour" on Tuesday. We had a train to catch. Our taxi arrived a few minutes early. We got to the train station in no time and despite some last minute confusion about our platform number, we boarded the correct train and settled in for a short trip to Rome.<BR><BR>We arrived in Rome to discover we would need two taxis to get us to our hotel. Large taxis are not the norm and there were four of us with plenty of luggage. Our hotel, Villa San Pio, was just lovely. The neighborhood is quiet, with tree-lined streets and the hotel grounds are beautifully landscaped.<BR><BR>When we arrived (about 9:30am) our rooms were not ready, so we stowed our luggage and walked down a path to the hotel cafe. We sat outside and drank coffee (espresso). Inside was a woman singing and playing the piano. At about 11 a.m. our rooms were ready, but we were pooped so we took a little nap and agreed to meet around 1pm.<BR><BR>The hotel rooms were very nice. Good air conditioning too. The doors and hallway of the hotel had wonderfully detailed painting - little curly cues and such. Something I don't think you'd find in an American hotel unless you emptied out your bank account.<BR><BR>

At 1:00, we went down to the front desk and secured a local map. We set out for the Colosseum, but when we got to the bottom of the hill (Aventine) we decided we needed lunch. Across the street was a little restaurant, Insalata Rica, which we later learned is a chain. The food was really good but the service was crappy. It was so bad, it was funny. I had pasta with pesto and R ordered the same with a pine nut salad. The salad never arrived. Our waiter was unconcerned. After our meal, C asked him how long it would take to get three cappuccinos and the waiter said "two minutes" and then never came back. Maybe he disapproved of us having cappuccino so late in the day. We finally paid up at the front and left. Strange.<BR><BR>On the way to the Colosseum we stopped in a "snack bar" for cappuccinos (much needed caffeine).<BR><BR>Our map took us past the Circus Maximus and along the Palatine Hill up to the Arch of Constantine. (I think that's right). We then took a left into the Roman Forum instead of a right to the Colosseum. We bought tickets at the booth at the bottom of the Palatine Hill.<BR><BR>Unfortunately I had forgotten my guide book back at the hotel so we didn't know what we were looking at, but it was all very old . We walked up Via Sacra and climbed Capitoline Hill to the Piazza Campidoglio (I think). The piazza was designed by Michelangelo. We decided to come back to the Capitoline Museums later and we walked back down to the Forum and then up the Palatine Hill area. My understanding is that this is where the city of Rome began about 700 B.C.<BR><BR>I was surprised really at how large an area is covered by the ruins in Rome. The photographs I had seen did not leave an impression on me as to how vast the ruins are. We passed an archeological dig in progress in the Forum. They looked like students and my guess is that the "digging" never stops. I understand that every time there is an excavation in Rome (to build a tunnel, a building, etc) ruins are encountered. It must be fascinating to live there.<BR><BR>After the Palatine Hill and the Palatine Hill Museum we walked across to the Colosseum. It was amazing. And interstingly enough, there are a bunch of stray cats all around the Colosseum and Forum area. Many of you probably already know that, but it was news to us. I got a lot of photos of cool cats hanging out in the Colosseum. Looking very regal for strays. Apparently there is an organization that takes care of the cats - feeding them and spaying/neutering them, etc.<BR><BR>After the Colosseum we walked back to our hotel, stopping off in a tiny grocery store to buy food and wine for dinner. We had a picnic in our hotel room and watched Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee Celebration <BR>

Your trip report is real interesting and I hope you continue on Thank you

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Indeed! Great report. You are giving me all sorts of wonderful ideas for our honeymoon next summer - I know that may not be the best time to visit some of the European cities but still...keep it coming!

Thanks Belinda for you very informative and lively reports. I can see how important pre-planning is for a good trip.

Thanks Belinda,<BR><BR>I am LOVING your trip report, it is almost as good as going. Thank you for the great memories.<BR><BR>Sandy

Belinda, I JUST got around to reading this and I've enjoyed it SO much! You're bringing back wonderful memories for me of the "little moments" in each city that I'd forgotten. <BR><BR>Thanks so much and please--there must be more...

I'm totally loving this!! I can hardly wait to get over there and see and do some of these wonderful things myself!! Thanks for your detailed postings!!

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We were up bright and early the next morning (Wed) and had a lovely breakfast in the glass enclosed breakfast room surrounded by the courtyard garden.<BR><BR>We had the front desk call us a taxi and went directly to St Peter's square where preparations were underway for the papal audience. Security was tight. We looked around a bit and then decided to head to the Vatican Museums. <BR><BR>We walked around the Vatican wall to the entrance to the museum. There was a bit of a line, but not too bad. Seems tour buses had just let off there. Unfortunately, the Egyptian and Etruscan Museums were closed but we still saw a bunch of stuff. It's mostly jumbled in my head but C tells me we saw the Gallery of the Candelabra, the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of Maps, etc.<BR><BR>At one point we stopped to buy guide books and gifts at the very nice gift shop. I bought some rosaries for folks back home and C bought her mother a blown glass vase that we managed to get home safely. There was also a falcon flying around who had flown into the building through an open window. The staff closed off the area and turned off the lights so it would fly back out. Now here in Houston there would have been a shotgun involved in all that(just kidding).<BR><BR>Then it was time for the Sistine Chapel. The guards keep it very quiet in the Chapel. It was not too terribly crowded and we had a wonderful time looking at all the beauty. I even brought a tiny pair of binoculars just for the occasion. (Unfortunately looking up at the ceiling for so long gave C a migraine.)<BR><BR>During our visit at the Vatican Museum we also saw the Laocoon statue. Just glorious. It sits in a covered corner of a courtyard and it is stunning.<BR><BR>Once outside the museum we walked back to St Peter's square and waited for R's friend Laura who met us near the obelisk. It was by then lunch time, so Laura took us to her friend's restaurant, Fabrica. It's a very nice little restaurant, kind of modern, it used to be a carpentry shop and was converted to a restaurant. The food was good (little pizzas and salad) and the pastries were excellent.<BR><BR>On the way to the restaurant we passed through a produce market. Sadly, we saw Gypsy women digging through the raw chicken scraps that had been thrown in the trash. Certainly puts our lunch in perspective.

On the way back to St Peter's we saw a monk on a razor scooter zipping along the street. Now there's something you don't see everyday.<BR><BR>We also saw a Vatican Guard parade. They were just marching in the street in their dress uniforms. Interesting.<BR><BR>When we got to the square, Laura showed us two places in the square from which the view of the columns appears to be just one row instead of four. Hard to explain. Anyway, we went through security. Laura had to borrow the shirt I was wearing over my t-shirt, because her knit top was sleeveless.<BR><BR>Inside the church it was glorious. We saw Michelangelo's Pieta (now protected by a glass enclosure). It is so beautiful it will bring tears to your eyes.<BR><BR>Laura is a tour guide at a museum in Rome and was a wonderful resource inside St Peter's telling us many details and explaining the significance of the various art styles within.<BR><BR>She also showed us the markers on the floor of St Peter's indicating the size of other famous churches relative to St Peter's (St Peter's being the biggest). I thought that was pretty bizarre.<BR><BR>When we left St Peter's we wandered over to the Vatican post office on our way out of the square.<BR><BR>We walked to Piazza Navona and window shopped along the way. The streets were just beautiful. Many were paved in stone, and the buildings were often ivy covered, very picturesque. I think it helped that we were walking with a native Roman who knew where to go. We sat down at a cafe in the piazza and ordered drinks. A man with an accordian approached the tables and began to play, the song? My Way. Hmmmm. C's migraine was by now full blown (don't think it had anything to do with the accordian music) so she and I decided to grab a taxi back to the hotel. On our way to find a taxi, I found a pizzeria and grabbed a couple slices for dinner at the hotel. We took a taxi back to the hotel and called it a night.

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Belinda,<BR>I will be traveling with 3 other women to Italy next june. Your report has helped us with our trip. I was wondering how much were your hotels in Italy and how much for meals? We are trying to set up our budget.<BR>Thanks Diane

Diane - In Florence we paid 160 Euro for a double at the Morandi alla Crocetta and in Rome we paid about 200 Euro for a double at the Villa San Pio. If you can all stand sharing one room, you can get by for less. The Villa San Pio has quad rooms for less than 250 Euro.<BR><BR>Our budget for meals for two people was $100 a day. Food and drink in Florence was more expensive than in Rome. We generally had light breakfast, lunch in a cafe and dinner in a nice restaurant. Nothing too expensive, but not pizza standing at the counter.<BR><BR>I encourage you to spend the money you need to to have a good time, whatever that may be. For some it's daily picnics on the cheap and for others it's an expensive meal with the finest wine. Just have a good time.

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Thursday morning we got a bit of a late start. After breakfast in the lovely hotel breakfast room, we set off for the San Callisto Catacombs. We walked down the hill, up the street past the Circus Maximus, and took the #118 bus along the Apian Antica to the Catacombs. We bought bus tickets at a shop along our walk and a very kind stranger showed us how to stamp them on the bus and assured us we were indeed on the correct bus.<BR><BR>It was a short ride (15 minutes or so) to the Catacombs. Once off the bus we walked to the entrance to the Catacombs, across from which was a very nice gift shop. The landscape around the site was very pretty and green.<BR><BR>We bought our tickets and waited at the entrance for a tour in our language to be called, then we queued up and followed our English speaking guide. Our guide spoke fairly good English and we basically got the idea that 1) people did not live in the catacombs although they did say Mass down there 2) many Popes were buried there (although they've been moved) and many martyrs 3) if you were rich you got a nice big plot with art work.<BR><BR>A warning to others who, like me, are a little claustrophobic. It is rather tight down in the catacombs, however, there are electric lights and vents through which you can see the sky. That helped me a lot. The tour took less than an hour, then we hit the gift shop.<BR><BR>Afterwards, we walked the wrong way back to our bus stop and so inadvertently got a nice tour of the grounds. We finally made it back to the bus stop which was kind of interesting. The shoulder of the road along which you must walk is extremely narrow and there are steep walls that line the road so there's no safe place to go. We walked single file with a group of other folks and then anxiously waited for the bus. Once aboard the bus we enjoyed a bumpy ride back to the Circus Maximus area.<BR><BR>From there we walked back to the Forum and this time we had our guide book so we could better identify what we were looking at. By the way, walking in the Forum is hot and dusty business. I didn't mind a bit, but wear good shoes because the ground is very uneven. We saw the Basilica of Constantine, the Senate House, the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Septimius Severus. We walked up the steps behind Capitoline Hill, saluted Marcus Aurelius and went in search of lunch.