Full Day in Rome

Monday, July 16, 2007

Planning for a full day of sightseeing, we had access to a guide and a driver. Our day started with going to the Pantheon just next to our hotel. The guide then took us for a short driving through the city and ended up at the Palatino. There is a ticket booth at the Palatino where one can purchase a combined Palatino/Colosseo ticket. The line at the Palatino was much shorter than the one at the Colosseo. However, there was another long wait at the Colosseo even for ticket holders because there was only one x-ray machine working at the security check point. The guides were complaining that the other machine has been broken for 2 days.

Our entire morning was spent at the Palatino and the Colosseo. The guide took us to her favorite ristorante for lunch. After lunch we took off for a visit to one of the many catacombs, followed by the Fontana di Trevi and Scalinata Trinita dei Monti. The fountain and the steps were really crowded. We basically stopped at each place, got out, threw our coins at the fountain, took some pictures, and got back into the car. Both kids were totally exhausted by the end of the day.

Around 6 PM (9 AM in California) I headed off to my favorite free WiFi hotspot a few blocks away to upload photos from yesterday. I think I am the only person there with a laptop and probably the only person in Rome using the free WiFi. Sitting by the side of the road doing my Internet upload, a homeless person tried to talk to me, but I was able to wave him off.

Dinner was at the Piazza Navona where we were charged 5.80 Euros for a 1.5 liter bottle of water, ouch. My kids were having gelatos almost every night since they came to Italy and tonight was the same. Oh yes, my daughter and I had our #16 spaghetti meal tonight.