When we docked in Civitavecchia we were told that there was a train strike, so getting into Rome might be tricky. We ended up taking a coach with 6 other people into the city. We settled into our hotel, rested a bit and then just started walking to explore Rome. What an amazing walkable city! This was probably my favorite thing we did in Rome. Walk, eat gelato and stumble across things I've only heard of!
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| Clockwise from top left: Bill found Capitonline Hill for us to see the famous statue of Romulus and Remus; Part of the Roman Forum; KJ & Bill in front of the Pantheon. |
We found the river, ate gelato, got dinner from a café and walked almost 20,000 steps that day! The next day was for tours. First was the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. It was amazing and long and hot! The city's
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In the evening we visited The Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel. Bill has more pictures. I'll have to get some from him.
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On Friday we flew to Paris to meet Bill's buddy, Julian (from MBA school), for dinner that turned out to be the fanciest 9 course dinner either of us have ever been a part of. It was all delicious and a fancy surprise. They announced each course in French. Julian's Russian wife, Snezhana (Sneer-ZHA-nah), spoke pretty good English. She communicates with Julian in French, but she is trying to learn Luxembourgish to get citizenship because that is where they live.
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Dinner was from 8:30 to about midnight. Then Julian walked us to the Arc de triomphe and the best view of the Eiffel Tower. He was worried about Bill and I taking the metro back to our hotel and it was late enough that metro stations were closing and my feet hurt so we ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel. We got a few hours of sleep before getting up before 6 for our early morning bike ride tour of Paris. We drove up and down the Seine and saw great things without crowds. Then ended with breakfast at a café. Not enough time in Paris!
Our flights home were that afternoon. From Paris to Philadelphia I made friends with the two ladies I was sitting between. One was an older woman from St. Louis who said her husband was a lawyer, but I heard her say he was a logger :) The older one was an engineer turned SAHM / actress who had two children just younger than Ivy. There was some pretty intense turbulence on the way into Philadelphia. Enough turbulence that the actress and I grabbed onto each other without even thinking. I think it was partly motherly protective instinct and needing to hold on to someone! It was kinda funny.
Will picked us up from the airport here in Las Vegas. It's really nice to have grown up kids sometimes!
2 comments:
I had no idea there's a language called Luxenbergish. I wonder what it's related to. That's a great picture of you and Bill with the Eiffel Tower. I'm glad you featured it. Also, making best. Friends (if they are fun) is a great way to spend a flight. I'm glad you had somebody to grab when you needed one!
Ah! I loved all the pictures! I especially liked how you included Michaelangelo’s “School of Athens”— that was one of the best parts of the Vatican for me. Your descriptions of what it’s like to be in Rome brought back my own. Yes to all! And what a unique and quick time in Paris—haute cuisine with an international couple who live in Luxenborg! And the morning bike tour along the Seine sounded so picturesque and wonderful. You packed it in! I liked what you did on the flight home. Thank you for including that!
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