October 4th and 5th

October 4 - We had purchased tickets to the Vatican museum (do this online for as many attractions as you can) and got going a little late. We grabbed breakfast at the little restaurant on the hotel roof and jumped into a cab. We got to the museum entrance about 5 minutes before our entrance time. There are amazing and beautiful works of art, and we rented an audio guide to help us along. We both appreciated the biblical scenes more so than the Catholic church history ones but still got a lot out of it. The highlight is obviously the Sistine Chapel, and I was annoyed that photography is not allowed there.

We ate lunch at La Rustichella (Via Angelo Emo 1 just up the hill from the museum entrance), and we each had a tasty serving of lasagna. This meal is most memorable because JD convinced me that "Uomini" had to mean "women" (sounds like it). I had to use the restroom, but when I found it, I couldn't determine which was women's. I came back to ask JD and he investigated. He came back laughing, assuring me that "uomini" meant women--it's pronounced something like "wimeni". So, I took his word for it and discovered that he was indeed wrong.

After lunch, we enjoyed the artistic and architectural treasures of St Peter's Basilica and then caught the Metro home. We rested for a little while and then decided to grab some pizza. Some travel message boards had listed Dar Poeta in Trastavere (Vicolo dei Bologna 47) as some of Rome's best pizza so we called a cab and were off. Trastavere is hilly and has narrow streets and our cabbie decided to give us our money's worth. He worked his way down smaller and smaller streets at high speed and my knuckles got whiter and whiter. At one point he had to back up because he couldn't fit down a little alley. He finally stopped the cab and apologized that he couldn't get us any closer. We finished the trip on foot and were rewarded with some of the best pizza we've ever had. We shared a tiny table with some Chicagoans on their honeymoon and had a nice chat - they were the only other non-Italians at the place.

After supper we had planned another stroll, but abandoned it because of fatigue. We grabbed some more gelatto and caught a cab home. You can click on the photo of the Vatican model to see our pictures from Vatican City.

Vatican City

October 5 - We had planned a Colosseum/Forum day and were able to walk from our hotel. We went to breakfast at a little cafe at the corner of via di San Giovanni in Laterno and Fao di Roma and then went to the Colosseum. We tried a tip that someone told us about and bought our tickets at Palatine Hill (3 minutes away) and thus skipped the long ticket line at the Colosseum. We had downloaded a walking tour podcast and enjoyed listening to the narration on our mp3 player. After the Colosseum, we did Palatine Hill and the Forum. On the way home we grabbed snacks and drinks for later in the week.

You can click on the photo of the Colosseum to see more pictures of the Colosseum and Forum.

Colosseum and Forum

Wednesday night we met our friends Andy and Kate at Maccheroni Trattoria (Piazza delle Coppelle 44) near the Pantheon. It was a pleasure to dine with people who could order authoritatively and who could ask questions about the meal. We had terrific food and a nice visit and then finished up with gelatto (sensing a trend?) from the famous Giolitti gelateria (via degli Uffici del Vicaro 40).

I took this picture on the walk to meet Andy and Kate. I have no idea what this building is but it is beautiful.


Gelatto with Andy and Kate: