May 16 - noon
Yesterday I had fully intended to get up at 6:00 am and run along the Tiber River before leaving Rome. But I woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep until 5:30. When my alarm went off, it just wasn't happening. Days and nights are still trying to find their right place in my body.
We had skip the line tickets for the Vatican city today. We had to pay too much for them. This is something that we should have purchased before coming but we are still learning lessons that may never be important again. :) The crowds at the Vatican were INSANE. They told us 25,000 people would visit each day and we were higher than that for our visit. Our tour guide was good but it was a little too cerebral for me and with the crowds and long periods of standing while "trying" to listen to our tour guide, I felt like I was trapped on a busy freeway and couldn't get off. I am glad we went and the Vatican Museums are definitely a must see. There are 17,000 works of art there and you could never possibly see it all. I loved the Museum with the maps made of each part of Italy. They were designed hundreds of years and are topographic maps. The details were so amazing to see. Of course, the Sistine Chapel is beyond description. I really couldn't take it in. The whole room, walls and ceiling, are paintings that are each magnificent and telling stories with emotional paintings. After the Vatican City, we visited St Peter's basilica which is also beyond description. It is HUGE and has the most massive wood altar. The Catholicism is a little over the top for me as I really do find God in the mountain, oceans and trees. But I am glad I saw it and may I admit that I was glad to leave.
After the Vatican City, we got an Uber, yes they exist here too, and headed for the high speed train to Firenze. I fell asleep immediately upon boarding the train and slept the whole way like a dead person. When we arrived, it was amazing. It was a warm evening and the city matched my dreams. We walked all around and drank in the city and the sounds, enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a sidewalk cafe and topped it off with "homemade" gelato which was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.
Our Air BnB is interesting. At first, we thought it was for security, but our host told us that this is a restored Renaissance Palace. You have to go through four doors/gates which are like nothing I've ever seen before and we have a set of keys to match! Thank God they are color coded and we just have to remember that it is blue, purple, red and green. LOL. We have a washer and dryer here, yea! The bed is slightly softer than the floor but we still slept 11 hours. Today, I almost feel like I'm in the right time zone.
This morning, we found an amazing coffee shop and ate Italian pastries with our coffee. What a life to be living!
Yesterday I had fully intended to get up at 6:00 am and run along the Tiber River before leaving Rome. But I woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep until 5:30. When my alarm went off, it just wasn't happening. Days and nights are still trying to find their right place in my body.
We had skip the line tickets for the Vatican city today. We had to pay too much for them. This is something that we should have purchased before coming but we are still learning lessons that may never be important again. :) The crowds at the Vatican were INSANE. They told us 25,000 people would visit each day and we were higher than that for our visit. Our tour guide was good but it was a little too cerebral for me and with the crowds and long periods of standing while "trying" to listen to our tour guide, I felt like I was trapped on a busy freeway and couldn't get off. I am glad we went and the Vatican Museums are definitely a must see. There are 17,000 works of art there and you could never possibly see it all. I loved the Museum with the maps made of each part of Italy. They were designed hundreds of years and are topographic maps. The details were so amazing to see. Of course, the Sistine Chapel is beyond description. I really couldn't take it in. The whole room, walls and ceiling, are paintings that are each magnificent and telling stories with emotional paintings. After the Vatican City, we visited St Peter's basilica which is also beyond description. It is HUGE and has the most massive wood altar. The Catholicism is a little over the top for me as I really do find God in the mountain, oceans and trees. But I am glad I saw it and may I admit that I was glad to leave.
After the Vatican City, we got an Uber, yes they exist here too, and headed for the high speed train to Firenze. I fell asleep immediately upon boarding the train and slept the whole way like a dead person. When we arrived, it was amazing. It was a warm evening and the city matched my dreams. We walked all around and drank in the city and the sounds, enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a sidewalk cafe and topped it off with "homemade" gelato which was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.
Our Air BnB is interesting. At first, we thought it was for security, but our host told us that this is a restored Renaissance Palace. You have to go through four doors/gates which are like nothing I've ever seen before and we have a set of keys to match! Thank God they are color coded and we just have to remember that it is blue, purple, red and green. LOL. We have a washer and dryer here, yea! The bed is slightly softer than the floor but we still slept 11 hours. Today, I almost feel like I'm in the right time zone.
This morning, we found an amazing coffee shop and ate Italian pastries with our coffee. What a life to be living!
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