Friday, May 13, 2011
Last nights visit to Trastevere may be one of my favorite memories of Italy. The area is very quaint. It was nice being away from the center of the city. As we walked there from the Piazza Novona, we passed an area known as Compo de Fiori. During the day there are many flower vendors along with fruit and vegetable vendors. This is my kind of place!!! I was disappointed I did not hear about it on the tour we had earlier yesterday. I wish that I had time to see it during the day-time, but with a busy scheduled planned for the next 2 days of Rome, I am left with no time.
Me, Liz, Erica, Becca, and Shep ate at a cute Italian restaurant called Da Tony’s. We were greeted by the friendly owner of the restaurant. He seated us at a red checkered clothed table outside. We shared a bottle of red wine and enjoyed a lovely dinner with a live accordion player in the background. A perfect Italian setting! The owner gave us complimentary lemon sorbet at the end of our meal telling us he enjoyed having us at him restaurant. I must say that this is the best meal I had in Rome!
Today was the visit to The Vatican and Sistine Chapel. We took a bus into Vatican city where we were surrounded by ancient buildings and sunshine. As we entered the Vatican we were handed a ticket and a head-set. A tour guide lead us through explaining in detail each corridor and the art work and tapestries within. Michaelangelo’s work is breath taking. It was amazing to look at all the detail that went into every inch that was painted. Some ceilings looked as if they were 3D and sculpted, but it was flat. My favorite room was the “Map Room” (or at least that’s what I call it!) The room was filled with maps of the different areas of Rome. I was amazed at how they were able to draw where the mountains were located, where bodies of water were. How did they do this without Google Map???
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| Outside Sistine Chapel |
The tour ended at the Sistine Chapel. It was very surreal to me to be standing in such a sacred place. It was very dim with curtains closed so that the paintings were not damaged.
After we walked outside to St. Peter’s Square for everyone to meet to head back to the hotel for a quick lunch and orientation on Florence. We also had a welcome dinner at a Ristourante known as Pizza Re.
The night ended with Me, Liz, Erica, and Becca walking to the Spanish Steps. We climbed up all 170 steps and entered the church (Trinty Del Monte) where I lit a candle for my grandmother. We found a wine bar that looked over the steps and had a glass of Prosecco to celebrate us going forth in our journey from Rome to Florence.
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