S and J's Big Adventure(s): Week 14

Week 14 - Our last stop before going home...ROME

Saturday, Nov. 27 - leaving Florence

We're on the "fast" train for an hour and a half -

It's cloudy and quite beautiful

Lago di Bracciano (?)

The next stop...
ROME
termini

Roma Termini

We taxi from the Termini to the Regency Hotel for one night

For one night . . . Regency Hotel
Via Romagna

First thing is going to the Dining Room Bar
for a "Welcome Prosecco"

Tomorrow we go to the Baglioni Hotel Regina for 4 nights

It's supposed to be walking distance from the Regency,

so we take a walk to see.

What a nice surprise

It is walking distance and very welcoming.

Baglioni Hotel Regina
Via Veneto, 72

Now we walk back to the Regency in the rain.

the Baglioni loans us an umbrella

We're back
at the Regency

Now we relax and ready ourselves
the next days in Rome

The view from our window

Sunday, Nov. 28

We have a late check out so I sleep in, John works out in the gym
and then see about breakfast.

No service after 10:00 am here and it's 11:00,
so we go out to see what's open.

We find this cute
place

We're the first
customers for the day

After an early lunch, we checkout and walk to the Baglioni.

We settle in and enjoy the Welcome drinks

and assortment of nuts

After settling in, we take a walk to the Trevi Fountain

Beautiful and impressive
but to crowded to throw any coins for a wish

A cold walk back to the hotel, so we stop for a latte at a restaurant/bar on the way.

Love the classic feel
of these restaurants

When we get back to our hotel, I decide I want a drink -

We then go to the Restaurant Bar for a drink

Complimentary nuts and chips and appetizers

(croquets, ham & cream cheese bites and avocado mousse)

No need for dinner now, so there is a big bathtub in our room...

Ready for a bath?

A bathtub fit for royalty

A perfect way to end my first day in Rome

Monday, Nov. 29

We have breakfast -

We schedule a jacuzzi and sauna for 11-12 at the Baglioni Spa.

Quite an elegant spa

The Jacuzzi

We (pardon me,) I thought we were to have a Vatican City Tour at 2:00pm, today.

While waiting
I enjoy the decor

We waited at 2:00, the tour guides are usually early, so I call the tour agency.

"Yes, you are scheduled, but it's tomorrow at 2:00." We are flexible so I thank them and say I'm sorry, I mixed it all up.

Soooo, we have to change our PCR test from 1:00 on Tuesday, to 9:15 am so we can make the tour.

With the afternoon free, now, we relax and enjoy
the neighborhood. . .

Villa Borghese which is just up the street.
It's raining so we borrow an umbrella and go out.

The wall around Rome

We walk along the outside of the main part of

the Villa Borghese Park

There are horse stables here.

It's raining and cold, which makes us want to go back to the hotel.

We have refreshment in the restaurant bar lounge again.

Tuesday, Nov. 30

Our busy day.

PCR test for the flight out of Rome

Vatican City Tour

Dinner with Sofia Leonard who is in Rome for her semester abroad.

First - we taxi to the clinic for our test.

At the LAB Doctor SRL
PCR test

We have the time, so we walk back to the hotel to see what we can see...

Walk along the Tiberus to Ponte Cavour

Crossing Ponte Cavour

Now up the Spanish Steps

We have time to rest up for the afternoon and then meet

Laura from Sireon Tours for our visit to the Vatican City Museums

Original Entrance

Courtyard Entrance

Images of the paintings of the Sistine Chapel
No photos allowed - no talking, either

Hallways, ceilings, statues, courtyards, floors, mosaics, maps, frescos, paintings it's all there.

This courtyard was
an orange tree orchard
now there are potted trees

View of Rome from Vatican City

The Map Corridor

Greece?

Ancient rome

Ancient Florence

We exit the museums
via this staircase

Now to St. Peter's Basilica

Lighting the Tree

It's beautiful!

(very few tourists)

Here is where we
say goodby to Laura.

Now we enter St. Peter's Basilica

Basilica di San Pietro

The first impression

Fabulous

One of many
fabulous sculptures

There's 5 o'clock mass being held

Now we leave

We get back to the hotel in time to clean up and dress for dinner.

Sofia is there a little early so we have drinks in the lounge then dinner in this intimate corner of the restaurant.

We talked and caught up and I totally forgot to take any photos. We all were dressed and looked so nice, too.

What a nice way to end an evening. Sofia is delightful and it was a pleasure to see that she is enjoying her time in Rome.

Wednesday, Dec. 1

We have leisurely breakfast and go back to the room to finalize and organize all the paperwork that needs to be done for the trip home, tomorrow. There's this mobile app...VeriFly that British Airways suggests to use to make check-in easier. We must have spent 2-3 hours getting all the documents, testing documents, etc. on the app. Just in case, the hotel printed out all the documents for us, too.

This is our last day, there's so much to see, so we grab a "Hop on, Hop off" bus tour. We are lucky, because the few things inside the city of Rome we have seen are the things that the bus can't take you.

We learn some things, too.

We get on the bus near our hotel (the Spanish Steps stop)
Our hotel is on one of the important streets of Rome - Via Veneto and the US Embassy is right across the street.
Next stop: Trevi Fountain (can't see the Fountain from the bus - have to get off to see it - we've seen the Trevi so we don't get off)
Then we go by the Termini

Roma Termini

The Pope
in front of the Termini

We then go by Santa Maria degli Angeli and behind the church are the Baths of Diocletian

Santa Maria degli Angeli

Santa Maria Maggiore

The Collosseum

Next is the Circus Maximus and Palatine Hill

Stop 5 - Theatre of Marcellius - Piazza Venezia, Altar of the Fatherland

Riding past the Theatre of Marcellius

Piazza Venezia and Altar of the Fatherland

We don't cross the river, but we go along the river to view the Castel Sant'Angelo and glimpses of the Vatican City.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Piazza dei Tribunali

Lastly, a quick look at Villa Borghese Park before we disembark

Now for our walk back to the hotel...

I take a photo of our room window - we left the lights on!

Room #225

A nice "good bye"
waiting for us

The last look our the window - it's raining, umbrellas walking by

Thursday, Dec. 2

My last photos of our trip. I couldn't take any shots of our arrival at LAX, too tired.

Taking the tram to our gate at 5:30 am

I guess we've arrived
a little earlier than most

Arrival at LAX went pretty smoothly - customs agent was jolly and made us feel welcome to back home; the airport service to home was waiting in the pick up parking lot waiting for our call and we were picked up easily and got home with Cynthia waiting for us with wine chilled.

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My last thoughts...

These last 3 months were an adventure we needed after the long year of the Covid travel freeze. We came home tired, but refreshed with new thoughts and ideas for our future. New friends were made, new ideas of how to live better and we were inspired by the history and art of Northern Italy.

It was an adventure that made us grow as a couple and appreciate what we have and what adventures there can be for us in the future.

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What's next?

We're thinking about Southern Italy, Africa or Greece. . .

the World is unlimited to us

(as long as we are vaccinated and masked)