Rome - Veni, Vidi, Vici

*****We are already back from our trip but I'm just now able to post this - sorry! However, I did write it while we were traveling! Also, it's really long but we did a lot of stuff!

Rome the "City of Love" – I mean stairs. Man there are a lot of stairs – just ask Bob – he LOVED the stairs! They say Rome was built on 7 Hills and I think we made it to the top of each and THEN to the top of each Castle or Church on the top of each hill! (Well some of us did). As I write this, Bob told us that the only reason he made it up to the top of the stairs at Mussolini’s house (20 stairs) was because the old woman with a CANE beside him did it! I wish she would have followed us for the rest of the trip!

Anyway, we are currently on a train to Florence after 3 wonderful days in Rome! We flew in from Zurich landing around 11 pm and trained into the city. From there we cabbed to our hotel, The Best Western. It was truly - planes, trains and automobiles and the automobile was crazy! I thought we might lose our lives a couple times! As far as I can tell there are no lanes or stop signs. Good times! The Best Western was okay – they had a nice breakfast, the room was clean, and the beds were hard as a rock. It was close to a bus line that would take us to the Flamino (the train station we would become very familiar with!) It would have been nice to be somewhere where we didn’t have to do the bus thing though - it would have been better to be in walking distance of a Metro line. Anyway…..

Day 1:

The first day we started at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano – the first of many beautiful churches. Nathan and Bob were amazed.......but not at the church at the 25 Ferraris parked out front! Hello Italy! It was a sight to see and all the men were totally drooling!

Inside the Basilica

Across the street from this church was the Santuario della Scala Santa the “Palace of the Holy Steps”. It is alleged that these were the actual steps the Christ climbed when he was brought before Pontius Pilate. (We later learned on our Vatican tour that Constantine’s mother Helen brought these stairs over during one of her many pilgrimages to Jerusalem)

I don't know if you can tell but the people climbing the stairs are on their knees

The one thing I learned about Rome is that they are definitely not above thievery! If they want it – they will take it! We also learned that of the 13 Egyptian obelisks in the world – 9 of them are in Rome! No wonder there are so many pick pockets in Italy – these are their ancestors! They even stole from their own city which is why most of it is in ruins - well at least that is my take on it:)

Rome is such an interesting city with all its debauchery and struggle for power - I really wish I would have paid more attention in European History class! These people put Lindsey Lohan and Britney to shame! We learned a lot about all of the emperors during our tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum.

I guess we must have looked like tourists (who us?) because right when we got off the metro we were bombarded with a woman who wanted to know if we wanted a tour of the Colosseum in English. It was 25 Euro (instead of the 12 Euro entrance) but we wouldn’t have to wait in the 2 hour line. I am really glad we did it because the tour of the Colosseum was very informative and after that we walked over to the Roman Forum and got a tour of that too. Amazing how all the emperors would spend LOTS of money and years to build (ridiculously) lavish houses and for the next emperor to just tear it down. The Palatine Hill is a hill basically because it consists of ruins!

All those ant looking things are people - so glad we didn't have to stand in those lines!

Inside the Colosseum (obviously:))

Next on to Palantine Hill - that is our tour guide in the blue shirt. In this picture we are standing in the middle of what was a "living room" - I think he said it was bigger than a football field!

I can't remember which emperor it was but he built this "mini" race track inside his house and had midgets or kids ride the chariots!

Mass Chaos - kind of like our life:)

Next we walked to the Trevi Fountain – threw our coins over our left shoulders and are guaranteed to come back to Roma as soon as possible!

I'm not sure, but upon closer look - it seems as if Bob is throwing his coin as far away from the fountain as possible:) I don't think Roma is on his "places to return to" list any time soon:)

Then more walking to the Pantheon - I remember being here before and thinking how amazing the dome was – still the same feeling! How did they engineer that back then? I tried to get a picture of the dome but it was just too massive!

Next? Gelato of course – I can’t believe we held out that long! We went to Giolitti (very close to the Pantheon)– they were like the soup Nazis in there! But it was sooooooooo good – thanks Miriam!

Then MORE walking to the Piazza Navona and saw the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

DINNER – we need DINNER! Did I mention that we walked to all those places….in the heat! Then we pulled out the GPS to get us to the restaurant we had reservations at (which made us walk even further out of the way mind you) to find out that it was probably only 500 feet from where we were! Nathan – I don’t know – may be next time you could put it on the walking setting so it doesn’t take us way out of our way?

So we went to Osteria 180 – O.M.G. – this was a suggestion from a friend (thanks again Miriam) and it was AMAZING!!!! She told us to order the Antipasto (an appetizer) but to wait to order dinner until after they brought it out. I didn’t think much of it until they brought out the first plate, second, third, sixth, tenth…..fifteenth!

This wasn't even everything but we couldn't get all the plates in the picture!

Are you kidding me? All the tables around us were laughing and pointing at us – then of course they all ordered the same thing! Wow! Everything was so amazing from the fresh mozzarella to the eggplant to the veal meatballs – Buonissima! Of course there was NO WAY we could have the main course after this as they had to roll us out of the restaurant as it was! We all HIGHLY recommend this restaurant if you come to Rome! And (back to the 500 feet thing) once we came out of the restaurant we turned left instead of right and ran into the Giolitti place we had just been to and saw how close we were to the Pantheon! So if you come – plan your day to end here – there were a lot of cute places in the Piazza near the Pantheon and of course the Osteria 180!

After dinner we just hung out in the Piazza near the Pantheon and listened to someone play beautiful music on her accordion! Great end to a wonderful day! Now how do we get home?

Day 2
We started day 2 with reservations for a trip to the Vatican. Bonnie booked these trips online before leaving the States with MyVaticanTours.com – I thought our tour guide was amazing – so full of knowledge! Way more interesting than if we had just gone by ourselves! Also, we didn’t have to stand in the 3 hour line to get into the Vatican Museums at 9 am! However, as we left our tour (it lasted 3 hours) we noticed that the line for the museums was MUCH shorter (probably only an hour long) so if you don’t want to pay the extra 35 euros for the tour – go in the afternoon! Most of the tour books say to go in the morning (very early) to get your space in line and to avoid the crowds – thus leading to the long lines and the crowds! So if you only take one thing from this blog – make it this!

Nathan looks like Secret Service with the ear piece but we had to wear it to hear our guide.

The museums are massive so I can't show you ALL our pics (waaaaaay too many) but I had to show you this! Probably the largest bathtub in the world! Our tour guide kept mentioning how sexual the ancient romans were.... so I'm guessing this wasn't a bath for just 1 person.... just saying:) I also love how in this picture it looks like all the people in line are in the bath!:)

The ancient Romans were Pagans (as you probably know)... here is a statue of the Goddess of Fertility.... our tour guide told us that the ball looking things near her chest area actually represent Ox Balls b/c if a couple was having a hard time getting pregnant then they would sacrifice an Ox - chop of his nuts and but them over a statue of this Goddess as an offering.... hey I'm just here to relay what I heard.....

After the tour we went to Saint Peter’s Basilica – such an amazing site! Not only the church itself but also the Piazza in front of St. Peter’s. Breathtaking.

The inside of St. Peter's is so huge that I could never do it just with pictures - you will have to go:) But here is a picture of the main alter with the cupola (designed by Michelangelo) in the background.

Bonnie, Nathan and I took the 320 stairs to the top of the Cupola while Bob “cruised chicks”. Amazing view of the entire city – we brought back pics for Bob so he wouldn’t feel bad about not seeing it (not that he felt bad but Bonnie WANTED him to get the FULL experience).

I thought this was a pretty cool picture of St. Peter's Square

From here we took the Metro to the Spanish Stairs – Bonnie, Nathan and I climbed the stairs to the top (are you seeing the pattern here), Bob “cruised chicks”, then we took pictures from the top angle and showed them to him.

That is Nathan laying down - I think that sums up the day!

At this point we were STARVING because we had not eaten all day and it was almost 6 pm. However, the area near the Spanish Stairs is not a good place for dinner – very touristy and expensive. We first came to a restaurant and sat down but when Bonnie and I saw that we couldn’t get a bottle of wine under 30 Euros we said to hell with that so we moved on to try to find another place. The next restaurant we sat down at was in a cute Piazza and we thought we hit the jackpot but when we got our menus I saw that all the food had asterisks next to them. What were the asterisks for I asked myself? So after scrutinizing the menu I saw that in VERY small 4 point font that the asterisk meant that the dish was previously frozen. FROZEN? Oh hell no to that too! I am NOT eating frozen pizza in Italy!

Of course this is where it all went awry. Bob got pissed b/c he was hungry – and rightfully so – we had him out trekking all over the place with no food all day and when we were finally ready to eat we couldn’t find ANYTHING! Nothing! And the day before we had seen a cute delicious smelling place on every corner. So Nathan made an executive decision amongst all the chaos to get a taxi to one of Jamie’s suggestions (thanks Jamie!). On our way to find a taxi I wasn’t looking where I was going and some woman blind sided me with a PUNCH to my stomach! What the hell was that about? I really thought she was going to steal my purse so I grabbed for that instead of punching her back – but I really wish I would have punched her back!

ANYWAY, we ended up at La Villetta. More great food and wine! Bonnie and I both love the “extra thick spaghetti” – I’m not sure what it is really called but I’ve never seen it before in the States – but I wish we had it b/c it is so good!

Day 3

We headed to the Castle D’Angelo – the emperor Hadrian had built it as his final resting place but it was later used as a place for the Popes to escape to when the Vatican was being invaded.

Three of us went up the stairs and into the museum but I won’t mention any names this time!:)

From here we walked around the Villa Borghese (again -some of us:)) before heading back to the hotel to get our bags and head to Florence!

Ewwwww - kissing picture:) But I had to take it - it is the City of Love you know!

The Galleria Borghese

I was very worried about the public transportation with all our stuff but it worked out perfectly! The train ride has been beautiful and we are now HERE! More to follow later….
Ciao,

Mandy

Link to the rest of the Rome pictures

Highlights from the Griswald's Trip to Italy

We are finally back in Zurich and I can't believe this is going to be our first post! We were so busy and I was way too tired to write at night - so sorry! But we decided to do a Top 10 List of the Highlights of Italy - so here they are and there will be more to come - promise! (And for the people who don't know Nathan and I have been traveling in Italy with Nathan's mom, Bonnie, and his stepfather, Bob, for the last 7 days)

Top 10 Highlights from Italy:

1. On our first day in Rome we went to see all the ruins including the Coloseum and the Roman Forum. It wasn't long before we found out that Bob was going to avoid ALL stairs or hills at ALL cost. However, when we got to Mussolini's House (and as Bob was complaining about not going "all the way up there") he was passed by an 80 year old woman with a cane! So he "manned up" and walked to the top (just 20 steps) - nothing like being shamed by an OLD Lady with a cane - huh Bob?

I thought I would show a picture so you guys could get a visual -it wasn't like the scene from Rocky or anything.:)

2. On our 2nd night in Rome, we were having a hard time finding a restaurant near the Spanish Stairs so we started walking towards a main street to hail a cab. I glanced over me shoulder to find Nathan when - BAM! -a woman punched me in my stomach - hard! I thought she was trying to steal my purse so I automatically what down to grab that but she just kept on walking like "you shouldn't have been in my way b@#$*!" Of course no one saw what happened b/c they were too busy getting in the cab but I really wanted to go KICK HER ASS! Next time Lady - Next time!

3. We were on a side street in Rome enjoying our Gelatto when a man on a Vespa (going about 50 MPH) came out of nowhere - held down one nostril and blew a booger out the other! It landed within 1 meter (3 feet) of Nathan - how appetizing! Bob took a picture for proof -Thanks Bob for capturing the moment!



4. On our first night in Florence we went to Osteria All'Antico Mercato - the restaurant our hotel suggested. Luigi owned the place (at least we think he did) and he was a TRUE Italian - a lover not a fighter:) Every time he came to our table he held my hand or caressed my arm - but hey - I was taking one for the team - because he brought us free bruschetta, free prosciutto with our pecorino cheese, and when I ordered dessert (almond biscotti dipped in dessert wine) he brought an ENTIRE bottle and shot glasses for the whole table! (At one point he asked Nathan if it was okay and all Nathan said was "you can have her for 5 Euros.... well actually 3 b/c of the conversion" - Thanks Honey:)!

All of us with Luigi - this is one of my favorite pics from the trip:)

The WHOLE bottle of dessert wine!

My good night Kiss - Ciao Luigi!

5. Later that same night we went to the Piazza Della Repubblica to hang out and watch the street performers. After this one "show", Bob looked down and found 55 Euros on the street! (For the record we did wait about 15 minutes for its owner to come back and claim it and - no Bob didn't pick pocket this money - I saw it laying there too:)) But since no one came - this was great -not only because he found free money but because before this he wasn't even allowed to hold 1 Euro! Bob was now living the high life - and he even took us out for lunch! Thanks Bob!

6. Michelangelo's David. I think Bonnie has been talking about seeing this one statue since about May:). I do have to say it is a very fine statue and it is unbelievable that it is carved out of marble! Unfortunately, the museum where David is housed - the Galleria dell' Accademia - does not allow pictures to be taken - so this is the best we could show you:

But the statue looked JUST like this - promise:)!

7. Of course all the tourist crap in Florence had pictures of David on them (usually his nether regions) - magnets, aprons (as seen above), miniature statues, and boxer shorts. Bonnie REALLY wanted Bob to get a pair of the boxers (he said No - well something along those lines) but that he would take a picture of them. As he was pulling out his camera the owner of the "booth" started yelling something at Bob in Italian then finished with F.U.! Does that mean we can't take the picture? Oh - and thanks for the Italian hospitality! Where's Luigi when you need him?!

8. The third leg of our trip was to the Cinque Terre (the Italian Riviera) which was amazingly beautiful! Bonnie, Nathan and I set out on Friday morning to hike the trail through four of the cities from Riomaggiore to Vernazza. (Bonnie tried to convince Bob it would just be a nice "stroll" through the mountain side but after a conversation with a local on the train who told us it was "quite strenuous" in places I knew there was NO WAY Bob would be attending the hike - and of course he didn't.)


The leg of the trip between Carniglia and Vernazza was the most strenuous, it was really hot (it felt about 90 degrees) and there was no shade. Just as we were turning a corner of the trail I saw someone go down about 50 feet in front of me. We ran up to see what happened and found a 65 year old couple from New Zealand - Digby and Janis. Janis had gone into a diabetic coma right there on the trail! Another hiker arrived from the opposite direction at the same time we did and we all tried to keep Janis from rolling off the side of the mountain (the trail was about 3 feet wide in this particular area). Janis had started to throw up and she was completely unresponsive.

This is what the trail looked like near where we found Janis (yes the left side is straight down)

The closest town was about 45 minutes from the direction we hiked from, but the other guy said there was a restaurant about 10 minutes from his direction. Nathan and this hiker were going to try to carry Janis (again on the 3 feet wide trail with a straight down plunge into the sea about 600 feet below). But when they tried to lift her Digby said and I quote "Oh - my Janis is a big girl" - which was true - but coupled with the fact that she was completely dead weight it was going to be an impossible task!

So the other guy ran back to the restaurant to call 911 (or whatever number they call in Italy for an emergency) and Nathan tried to get Janis to drink water. Now this is a VERY busy trail and LOTS of people came upon us - some just tried to pass and others offered help - within about 15 minutes we had a Fanta soda, gum, powerade, a power bar, a nurse from Germany, grape jelly, an EMT from Seattle, and finally a doctor from another country that doesn't speak Italian. Nathan had been trying to feed Janis the Fanta before the EMT arrived then he took over and started feeding her the grape jelly under her tongue. When the doctor arrived the EMT was giving her the stats on Janis' heart rate, her pain level, and other facts about what had happened. Janis said she also felt chest pain. Honestly it was very scary and there were a few times that Janis was completely unresponsive.

Bonnie did her part by translating the drugs Janis was on from Digby's description to the doctor (she knows them b/c Bob is also diabetic). I also helped out by holding ALL the stuff any hiker wanted to offer us - at one point I was holding 2 bottles of water, the opened half finished jelly, 2 sticks of gum, a half can of Fanta, a towel, and our backpack.:)

It took what seemed to be an eternity (it was actually about 1 hour) for the paramedics to arrive. Of course they only spoke Italian and of the 15 hikers representing about 5 countries none of us spoke a lick of Italian! This was a bit of a struggle at first but finally the Italian paramedics took over and had to call in a heli-ambulance! (There was no way they were carrying her off the side of that mountain!)

It was a very intense hour but after we saw that the situation was taken carry of we could find a little humor in the situation. (I know we are sick but it isn't every day that you get to save a life while you are hiking - okay well WE didn't save her life - but I did hold the jelly!). Nathan had realized it might be a little rude to take a picture of Janis during the situation but after the paramedics got there and we continued on our hike we did get a photo of them helicoptering her out of there!

They sent down a basket and 4 additional paramedics for her

Moral of the story: Bonnie isn't go to try to force Bob to come on any more hikes and to keep jelly packets in your purse! You've always got to take a little something away from every situation:)

9. On Saturday morning we left Cinque Terre for Lugano, Switzerland. Unfortunately we had to take 4 trains for this 3 hour trip! We had heard terrible stories about the Italian trains (being late, no air, etc) so I was hoping that everything would work out - but I wasn't expecting our seats to be DOUBLE BOOKED from Genova to Milan! We checked with the ticket guy and he confirmed that both sets of tickets were valid - and since they got to the seats first we had to ride in the aisle with every one's luggage! This was a bummer but didn't fall into the all out SUCKS category until the guy with the "refreshment cart" came barreling down the aisle (and of course we didn't have anywhere else to go). He kept ringing his bell until we moved our luggage and our butts out of his way! HaHa! Let's just say this wasn't a highlight and that Bob WASN'T that happy.:)

10. And finally one of my favorite parts of the trip was reminiscing through all the photos. Especially on Bob's camera! His view of Europe just makes me laugh! Here are some of my favorites - I hope you enjoy them too:

Wow! They have defibrillators in the phone booths in Zurich..... and they have phone booths in Zurich!

Duck's butt in Lake Zurich (this was like Bob's 2nd photo:))

Bob's 3rd photo - a fancy porta potty in Zurichhorn Park! You wash your hands in the same bowl you pee in!

The parking "situation" in Rome.....however I don't think that is any worse than the driving "situation" in Atlanta!

Quote from Bob "We would have a lot more room in our bathroom if they'd just take out that useless second toilet!" (well something like that:)) But it did come in handy....Bonnie washed her feet in it:)

The female Polizei in Florence working hard!

Look out how many Vespa's there are!

Chicken's in the market in Florence with their heads just rung and still attached!

Come and get your Fish - it is fresh - right out of this rusty bucket!

While we were saving Janis' life - Bob was taking naked photos in Vernazza! There were lots of close ups but this was the only one I thought I could post on the blog:) He said he wanted us to know what we had missed ...... thanks again Bob - you are always looking out for us!

So now you know what Bob's trip to Italy was like!:)

I promise the rest of the trip will come soon - I've just got to get some real work done first!

Ciao!