Bucket List – ITALY check!

Most of my adult life I’ve wanted to visit Italy. Jeff retired in April, so I took that as a go ahead to plan the vacation of my dreams! Funny thing is when I started planning this trip I had no intention of visiting Rome, I wanted to see the Tuscany region and Venice. When I would mention the itinerary to friends they questioned how I could go to Italy and not stop in Rome…the final straw was when Jeff said “We are not visiting Rome?????”

I spent months with spreadsheets and endless You tube videos to learn everything I could about what to see and what not to bother with and how to get there. I think it was August when I had the itinerary pretty close to completed. Tours and trains and Airbnb’s done, confirmed and paid for 🙂

And then came “Murphy’s Law”! I’m assuming most of you know what that law is? “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong, at the worst possible moment” 11 days before we were to depart I came down with covid, it was not pleasant, but my biggest concern was that Jeff would get it and then the trip would have to be cancelled. Thankfully I got better (yes and of course I tested negative before boarding a plane) Jeff was spared and we left JFK on Wednesday evening.

First stop Roma, I gave in and included Rome in the itinerary. Our Airbnb was 1 block from the forum and 2 blocks from the Colosseum. Should you visit Rome and want a nice apartment to stay in with a wonderful host, check out Valentino’s place

You’ve all seen photos of the Colosseum, and probably better than this, but scaffolding and cranes limit the options for a good photo. I was amazed at how big it is, not something you can really appreciate from a photo.

The Arch of Constantine, erected in 315…yes folks 1,710 years ago!!!!! Located next to the Colosseum.

Trevi Fountain.

This is a very beautiful fountain, but the piazza is so commercialized…I felt like I was in Times Square, NY.

Alter to the Fatherland. (aka the typewriter or the wedding cake) built in 1885 & 1911 We never made it up to that elevator in the back (see that tiny rectangle at the top), which are supposed to have wonderful views of Rome

The Vatican. We took a 3 hour tour through the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. I am not a museum kinda person, so honestly 30 minutes in I was done. The art and sculptures are beautiful, but in my opinion after 20 -30 they all start to look alike. I was totally underwhelmed by the Sistine Chaple, and may I say annoyed as well. We were told over and over again that once we enter the chapel there will be no photography or speaking allowed. Well, I felt like a sardine in a hot cramped space with so much noise and so many taking photos and selfies…and it is just a room, doesn’t look like a chapel to me…again just my opinion. I obeyed the request not to take photo’s so you will have to google to see.

This is the ceiling of St. Peter’s Basilica. To try to give you a perspective on the size of this structure, the letters that I highlighted in red on the right side are 12 feet tall! The Basilica can fit the Statue of Liberty inside, including her flame and it is 1/8th the size of central park in NY.

I know you are questioning this photo. On our first day in Rome, wandering the streets looking for a place for lunch, and a cold beer (it was in the 90″s f) I stumbled upon this place…I just couldn’t resist including this photo in my Rome experience LOL