Our last day in Rome.
Today was a busy day again. We started with a nice breakfast at our hotel. The breakfasts are much different here than what you would get at a hotel in the states. Many carbs and pasteries are served along with hard boiled eggs, salami, cheese, crackers, fruit, yogurt and your choice of a coffee or a cappuccino. We learned to love it by day three in Rome-especially the cappuccinos! We did not get out until around 11 because we had to repack our bags. My grandma's bag was a mess to say the least. She kept saying she was going to repack it but never did until today when she could not get all her things in her suitcase. I started to upack for her so that I could repack it...MAMA MIA! She had loose items all over the place. As I would roll up her clothes she would say-"I don't know why I brought that. I won't wear that." Again I say-MAMA MIA! I love my Grandma but I think we are all wishing she would have packed a little less right about now. Once we left our hotel we decided to get on the open city bus. This bus goes all around Rome and you can hear all the history of the city. It was such a wonderful and rich experience. It was nice to hear and see everything. There is so much to see in Rome. It is impossible to see it all in the short time we had planned. We did however stop to see the Pantheon. This was such a breathtaking experience, much like all of Rome. It is amazing that the original architecture stands today. The detial is just phenomenal and the history behind it all is so interesting. It truly is a blessing to stand in such a sacred place as this. By the time we left there and had some lunch (with wine of course!) we had to head to the train station. We decided we would need to tour the Collesium on our way back through Rome at the end of the trip.
The Train Station.
MAMA MIA! What an experience. Rome's train station was such a mess. We walked in and right away it was confusing and since hardly anyone speaks English it is difficult to ask questions. Two girls began to help us on the self service machine. First we tried my credit card but it wanted a PIN number which I did not have. Then we tried my Grandma's and her PIN number was not working. Before we could try anything else a police man came over and ran the girls off. That was when we realized that those girls were not there to help us but to rob us. Luckily they did not have a chance to take anything from us and luckily our PIN numbers were not working so they were not able to get that from us either. My heart was racing and I felt so betrayed by the human race at that moment. I was so nervous and afraid and disappointed that we even have to be so cautious of our belongings!! We went to a different station and some guy tried to help us. I don't know if he was honest or not but I told him to leave us alone anyways. I do not like to confront people but I was in protecter mode! I went and found a police man to help us. He ordered our tickets for us with my Grandma's card and this time when we asked for her PIN number she gave us a different number. She had mixed the numbers up previously without realizing it-thank goodness! He ordered them for us so they were in Italian not English which made them hard to read but we managed with about 30 seconds to spare to make it to our train. The ride to Florence was beautiful! It was so nice to see the rolling hills or Italy rather than just the city. I think I will enjoy this part of Rome a bit more as it will hopefully be more relaxing. My mom, grandma and I were separated on the train and I was sitting closer to the door and to our luggage. When it was time to stop in Florence I got up but my mom and grandma had further to walk down the aisle so by the time they made it to me and we got our luggage the doors shut. I began yelling "NO NO NO!" and pressing the red button next to the door which is suppose to ring for help but no luck. The train took off and we were on our way to Bologna. My grandma has always wanted to go there but I do not think this is what she had in mind. My poor mom was so discouraged at this point-as was I. However, I felt like I needed to hold it together so that we all did not freak out. I remember my dad telling me that if I feel anxious to just take a deep breath and regroup so that is what I did. We went to Bologna which was only 30 minutes further by train and then we bought a ticket to Florence. The story is looking up right? Wrong! We went to our train stop and got on the train to Florence. As they were coming around to check our tickets I realized that we had left earlier than the time on our ticket by about 10 minutes or so. OH MAMA MIA we are on the wrong train!! The good news here is that we were still going to Florence. The bad news is that we were on a different train companies train than the tickets that we bought. We were on the first company that we rode with. The man was going to make us by three more tickets that were going to cost us an outrageous amount of money. This is when I unleashed the inner Christine Bishop in me and said "NO WAY!" I told him that his company is the train that would not let us off in time and that I refused to spend any more money towards his company. After about 10 minutes of aruging with him he finally shook his head and said-okay. PERFECTO!
What a day.
We finally arrived to our hotel in Florence and thank goodness for the kindness of our hotel staff because I do not know if any of us could have taken much more today. The man carried my grandma's luggage up the two flights of stairs for us and he gave us a map of the city and showed us where we are on the map and the nearest attractions. He was very helpful and very friendly and for that I am more thankful than he knows.
As I relect on my time in Rome here is a list of some of my favorite parts of the trip.
1) Waking up and seeing Rome outside my window
2) Hearing the Christian history of the St. Peter's Basilica
3) Enjoying my first dinner in Rome with my mom and Grandma
4) Spending time with The Lord on St. Peter's Square while waiting for the Pope to arrive
5) Having the best gelato thus far on an adorable small street down from the Trevi Fountain
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