After tracking her flight from London to Pisa all morning, I left the office a little early to meet her at the airport since her plane looked to be landing ahead of schedule. The first travelers filed out the customs/baggage claim area. I pegged them quickly as passengers of the London to Pisa flight because of their heavy British accents. Then, those with checked baggage started to emerge through the automatic sliding doors. And then, 45 minutes after I arrived, a British Airways flight attendant wheeled out a little old lady in her wheel chair. But still no Alison.
Just as I was pulling out my cell phone to send a text that I was positive she wouldn’t get, Alison emerged, grateful to see me and happy to not be spit outside of the airport. Turns out, I should have told her that I couldn’t access the baggage claim area and she would need to ‘exit’ to find me. Oops! So, let this be a lesson to all you would be visitors. When you arrive in Pisa, get your baggage and follow the crowds to the exit. I’ll be waiting for you there!
Alison braved jet lag like a trooper and stayed awake until 9pm her first night in Italy. After a quick visit to Darby (I needed to finish up my day in the office) we headed to Ponsacco, where I introduced her to my favorite pizza al taglio and the infamous Roxy Bar. While both are wonderful, they’re also the only places in Ponsacco to get food before 8pm. The Italians like to eat late! Usually, I find it charming to start dinner late and leisurely spend 3 or 4 hours at the table. But, when you’re fighting jet lag and have been travelling for the last 18-hours, that’s the last thing you’re in the mood for…
The next morning, I forced Alison to wake up early and join me in the office. I’m such a bad hostess, I know. However, I had my reasons. Not only was it Tuna Friday (!!!) but we also left for the train that would take us to Rome straight from Darby. Sandra put her to work all day, prepping packets for upcoming spring trainings. If any North Atlantic volunteers out there are reading this, and you attend a training this spring, you have Alison to thank (or blame if anything is missing) for the resource packets.
We cut out a little early that afternoon to make it to the station in time to catch the train to Rome. The price difference between a train from Pontedera (near my house) and a train from Livorno (near the office) to Rome is out of control. It costs 16-euro for a 4-hour ride out of Livorno or 49-euro for a 3-hour ride out of Pontedera. Easy decision!
Our train ride to Rome was uneventful, as was finding our hotel… Unless you count that whole ‘no-street-signs-in-Rome thing.’ After wandering for a while and cursing the map for leaving out entire streets altogether, we arrived safely at Hotel Stella, our home away from home for the weekend. After reading some pretty poor online reviews, I was a little nervous about this Hotel Stella. However, I’m happy to report that our experience there was lovely! The hotel is in a super convenient location, just a couple blocks from Termini Station. Our room was spotlessly clean and actually pretty spacious by European standards. A simple but filling breakfast was included in the price. And, oh! The price! At 50-euro per night for a double occupancy room, I’d say we did pretty well for ourselves.
I’m not going to go into much detail about dinner out our first evening in Rome. I’ve been warned so many restaurants in the city are giant tourist traps – overpriced and below average food. Suffice it to say, we found that to be true. If you really want all the juicy details, Alison chronicled the evening, prosciutto stuck in the throat and all, on her blog, here: http://alisonlikespineapple.blogspot.com. Forsaking Rome’s nightlife (party animals, we are not), we both fell into bed on Friday night pretty early. Alison exhausted from non-stop travel and me, well, because I just love being in bed.
Saturday morning, we woke up when we felt like it and made a laid-back start to our day over the hotel’s breakfast. We left Stella mid-morning to find the TI counter in the Termini Station. Thanks to Alison’s fortuitous purchase of Rick Steve’s Rome guidebook, we found it without any trouble and both invested in the Roma Pass. (For 23-euro, the pass gives you unlimited public transportation for 3 days and 2 free entries to museums or historical sites of your choosing.) Roma Pass in hand, we took off for the Colosseum followed by the Roman Forum and all of the many, many ruins there with in. In case you don’t believe me when I tell you that we spent the morning marveling at very, very old things, here is a bit of photographic evidence.
We spent the whole day dodging 15-minute downpours, sandwiched by beautiful patches of brilliant blue sky. We waited out the rain in the Colosseum, below an ancient bridge at the Forum, during lunch in a little café, in a gellateria (my personal favorite place to wait out the rain) and under "Rome’s Umbrella" also known as the Pantheon. Not to be confused with the Parthenon. Everyone knows the Parthenon is in Greece. Duh.
Yes, we saw this:
No, we did not see this:
Before retiring back to the hotel to dry off and pick out a dinner spot (well, I picked out a dinner spot, Alison continued to talk out loud to the Wedding Dash game on my iPod) we made it to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. The later of which we hit right at sunset, as the sky turned the most beautiful shade of blue I’ve ever seen. So, back to that dinner spot. After striking out Friday night, I was determined to find an authentic spot for Alison to experience her first, real Italian meal. Following another Rick Steve’s suggestion, we went to Da Giovanni’s and had an amazing meal, with amazing waiters. Buon appetito and welcome to real Italian eating, Alison!
With full, happy bellies, Alison and I made the pleasant stroll back to the hotel and promptly fell in to bed, because we are cool and sleep is even cooler. Who needs crazy nightlife in Rome? Not us!
Sunday morning, we woke up early by Taryn and Alison standards, enjoyed another Hotel Stella breakfast and then left the confines of Rome, bound for Vatican City. Apparently, the rest of Rome had the same plan. Before we even left Rome, we knew were in for an adventure. (If by adventure you mean hours upon hours of waiting in queues.) The metro headed for the Vatican was packed. As we exited the train with the hoards of tourists, we didn’t even need to break out a map. We simply followed the masses and the distant buzz of the crowd waiting in line to enter the Vatican Museum. After a two-hour wait in a line that curved around the Vatican Museum and stretched almost to St. Peter’s Square, we were finally in! There to greet us was (shocking!) more religious paintings. I’m not sure if anyone has ever counted, but I’d be willing to bet there are at least 5 million paintings of Baby Jesus just in Italian museums alone.
Set up like a maze, with twists and turns, Alison and I slowly made our way through the museum. Deftly dodging the tour groups and guides with umbrellas whom almost inevitably seemed to stop right in the doorway, blocking everyone’s exit. The highlight of the afternoon for me was the Raphael Room, where I unexpectedly stumbled across this painting:
I remember studying the School of Athens in History class. So, it was pretty exciting to see it up close and in person. Shortly after the surprise viewing of Raphael’s masterpiece, we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel. And, I hate to be a Debby Downer about it, but I just wasn’t impressed. Maybe it was the crowds. Maybe it was the fact that it took 2 hours of twists and turns through the museum to get there. Maybe it was how dark the room was, making it difficult to see any real detail. Maybe it was the curators that clapped loudly and ‘shhhh’-ed the crowds every 10 minutes. Maybe my expectations were just too high. Call me a snob, if you must, but overall, I give the Sistine Chapel a reluctant one thumb up. Take that, Michelangelo. Guess you should have stuck to sculptures.
After the big letdown, er, I mean the Sistine Chapel, Alison and I escaped out a little side door right in to St. Peter’s Square. As a result of the Papal address happening in the Square, the Basilica was quiet and empty. We had time to explore the massive cathedral (largest in the world) and marvel at the scope of excess contained therein before we wandered in to the Square to marvel again. On our way out, we stopped for lunch at a resoundingly unimpressive Chinese restaurant. I know, I know. I should have known better than to pick a Chinese restaurant right outside of the Vatican walls, but we were hungry and wet and tired and I NEVER get Chinese food.
We slowly ambled back to the hotel, gathered our bags and boarded the train that would take us back to Pisa. Alison continued on with her Italian adventure during the week while I worked. More of those adventures can be found on Alison’s blog. Thankfully, I only faced a 4-day workweek before taking off for Paris…
