Day 13-Rome Colosseum and Forum

Ugh. Phone alarms and barking dogs followed by the intended alarm at 6:15 am.   Leaving Sant’Agnello today and we were now up for the morning,  Amy tried to FaceTime as we were leaving.  I needed two hands to carry my luggage down four flights of stairs and had to say a quick goodbye.  We were off to Rome for the last few days of our vacation.  We quickly walked to the train station, and after all that rushing, we thought we had missed the train. We hung around hoping that there was another train still passing through.  Luck was on our side and it even had A/C.  Lucky start indeed.  We traveled one hour to Napoli (Naples) and then transferred to a train on track 24.

Chris tried to be thoughtful and help a lady lift her suitcase up onto the storage rack above the seats. He didn’t know what he was getting into though and her case was at least 75 pounds.  Somehow he tweaked his finger and broke a blood vessel.  The lady wasn’t even grateful or sorry her bag was so heavy.  You hiding bodies lady?

Though it was early in the day when we arrived in Rome, we took a chance on being able to check in to the Hilton Garden Inn.  Well, that, and we didn’t want a repeat of Florence and pulling our luggage behind us through major tourist sites. Not a fun way to travel, trust me.

Luck was on our side as both of our rooms were ready.  We had adjoining rooms in a cool configuration. One door opened to a little foyer with our two rooms off of it. Clever.

The train from the hotel dropped us off close to the Colosseum and the Forum.  We grabbed a quick lunch coming out of the station.  Ugghh, so many carbs.  The temps were in the 80s without a lot of shade.  Perhaps Kristen had the right idea with her floppy hat.

The Colosseum was in front of us as we exited the train station and the Forum was on our right.  I don’t know what I expected from these sites, but this wasn’t it.  It was different but great.  We listened to a couple of audio tours as we explored the sites. The crowds were more bothersome for trying to take pictures, but I managed a few people-less pictures.

We happened on to a protest and then a political rally.  Though there was a lot of military presence, we determined that the rally was peaceful and left our perch on the stairs.  Perhaps the best solution was gelato.

We set off back to the hotel taking a bus.  We caught the first one but the second connection never came.  Buses in Italy!  I tell ya, they aren’t always reliable.  So we started walking. And walked while looking for a place to stop and eat.  Dinner was at a TripAdvisor rated restaurant--Pizzeria La Bruschetta.

As we finally arrived back at the hotel and settled in, I was so exhausted.  As I fell asleep, I remember hearing people talking and laughing outside the hotel window and cars zooming by on the street below.  The noise didn't even bother me.