Sunday, June 27, 2010

Day 11: Rome

We woke up in our wonderfully comfortable bed at the Hotel Camelia, excited for our first full day in Rome. Bring on the Italian food! But, first things first. Since we had to change to our scheduled hotel today, we quickly ate breakfast and packed. Luckily, the Hotel Monte Carlo was just a couple of streets over, so we were easily able to roll our luggage from one to the other. We checked in at the Monte Carlo, but had to leave our luggage downstairs as our room was not yet ready since it was still early in the day. Fine with us! We were just thankful for a quick and easy transition.

First on the list was to make our way to the Repubblica where we could link up with the Rome Open Tour bus. This handy bus would allow us transportation to all of the major sites in Rome, and the nice thing is that you can get off and get on as needed at their different stops. They also provided you with earphones so that you could get a "reader's digest" version of Rome's history. We took our seat on the lower level (thinking shade) and headed to the Victor Emanuel monument at the Plaza Venzeia. Talk about impressive! We were in awe of the ginormous statues of angels on horses (we think those were angels...should've listened to the bus commentary better!). We snapped lots of pics all over the enormous monument and agreed that Rome was good in our book.


By this time, our crummy hotel breakfast had worn off, and we were ready for another round of delicious Italian food. Across the Plaza we found a cute little restaurant called Tratorria dal 1899 where our adorable older Italian man host took us to our table. Kyle ordered Linguini with Pesto, and I had the Lasagna. We both liked each other's as much as we liked our own, so we shared a lot of each. This has worked out really nicely, and we've done it a lot throughout the trip because you get exposed to 2 different dishes! Kyle voted this Lasagna the best ever, and I had to agree that it was quite tasty. Is it sad that I still think my Lasagna from the Hilton in Lyon was my best ever!?
With our bellies full we were ready to tackle more of Rome, heading next to the Plaza Spagna where we found the Spanish Steps...but not before we headed down the shopping mecca side street where one might shop in the likes of J Choo, Gucci, Prada, LV, and much much more! We looked but sadly could not touch. The Spanish Steps were crowded and very lively. Many people had taken a seat on them, so we decided not to climb all the way to the top, but enjoyed our view...perfect for people watching! We also had heard of a famous cafe called Anceni Cafe Grecco that had been around since 1760 and had served many famous artists and writers. We decided that we would do the Italian thing and grab our first cappucino there. Since it was scorchingly hot outside we couldn't fathom drinking a hot cappucino, so we were excited to find out that they had a Cappucino Freddo, which was the same thing, just cold. We also unknowingly ordered the world's most expensive (and not that tasty) gelato in case we didn't like the cappucino. We loved the cappucino so much that we ordered another (it was way too small to split!)...too bad we couldn't say the same about the gelato. After paying our bill that was more expensive than our lunch, we decided that we had fallen for the ultimate tourist trap...overcharged menu items at a place that's supposedly famous! Bah! But, our first experience with cappucinos was GREAT! Also, Kyle just reminded me that I shouldn't have expected it to be too cheap since we were right in the middle of all the expensive designer stores! True that!


By this time it was nearing late afternoon and the Roman skies were looking like they were about to crumble. We decided to head back to the hotel, check in and wait out the storm and rest before our big night...watching the U.S. vs. Ghana World Cup game at our faithful Hard Rock Cafe...our first truly American experience awaited us for the first time since we left. Although the hotel is really cute with it's vintage feel, we couldn't help feeling a little gypped at the price considering what we got...which was 2 uncomfortable twin beds (I left the dorm room to get away from these!) pushed together to form a double...especially after our really wonderful and much cheaper experience at the Hotel Camelia. Oh well! It's worth it for free wireless!

Unfortunately, it was still raining as we headed out for the evening, but we didn't let it deter us. And, Beebs will be so proud of me that I did not even bring my umbrella...not because I didn't want to but more so because all of the hotels here make you turn in your room key before you leave! Since the man at the desk had just taken about 5 minutes to acknowledge us on the way out we weren't about to waste time again...we had to hurry!

We arrived at the Hard Rock to find that it was just as we had expected...filled with excited American soccer fans. It was 8:15pm, and we were in for an hour and a half wait to get seated. Kyle asked if I wanted to go somewhere else but just as he had been patient with me in all those shops in Paris, I knew I could do the same for him here...even though I was starving! We ordered drinks from the bar and took our stance near one of the 15 tv's playing the big game. Kyle even managed to make friends with a guy who was from Fayetteville, NC but going to school in Naples to play soccer. Small world! Also, sitting at the table right next to us was the most gorgeous Italian priest...young and beautiful! What a shame for all the single ladies drooling over him that he was a Catholic priest!

Fortunately, whatever luck we were missing in Nice on the day of the train strikes was with us this night! I saw a couple get up from one of those tall, circular tables on the side of the room. We didn't know if we could sit there, but I quickly mouthed to one of the waitresses, "Are these free" and she answered "Yes!" We quickly staked our claim before anyone else saw and knew that we had scored big time! We were right in front of a huge flat screen with a great view of the game! Better yet, they weren't just seats where you could wait for your real table. We found out that you could actually order your food from the bar as long as you were willing to act as your own waitress! (Kyle would like for me to point out that he acted as our waitress...mainly because he had the credit card that worked here but also because he's a sweetheart!) We could not have been happier at that moment! We had gotten a seat, we were able to get our food, and we had the perfect seat to watch the game!

We ordered the typical American food that we had been missing...cheeseburgers and fries..and not the fake kind without the bread that they tried to serve us in Nice! We were halfway through our meal when the buzzer for our real table finally went off. No thanks! We passed on the real table, which I'm sure the next couple after us was grateful for...it was packed in there! After devouring our hotfudge BROWNIE sundae (sidenote...I have not seen a single brownie in France or Italy until this point, so I was super ecstatic!) we decided that the night could not have been more perfect. If only the U.S. could have pulled through! We battled the mixed emotions of happiness at our wonderful evening and sadness at the US's defeat on our walk back to the hotel sans rain. It had been a really great first day in Rome, and we knew that we were going to sleep well!

Lessons learned today:

1) The top of the bus is actually a much more pleasant place to ride because you get a wonderful breeze!
2) Dogs in Italy do bark
3) I am now a soccer fan!
4) There's no lights at some of the crosswalks..usually in the most congested areas...you just have to be brave and cross! (We learned this from the little old lady who put her hand out at the cars and proceeded to cross in front of our very eyes!)
5) Hard Rocks are good in any city!



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