<b>December 25</b><br>
We ate the coffee cake muffins I made Christmas Eve, and left for DFW about 8:00 am.
After dropping our car at Park ‘n Fly, we took the bus to the terminal, and checking in at
American. We managed to switch to an earlier flight to Chicago, to give us a longer
window to change terminals, etc., and felt pretty lucky about that. Nothing like having to
run around an airport, especially as we were only using carry on. On the good side, we
didn’t need to worry about checking or loosing luggage; but on the bad side (aside from
the weight) was security, of course, wanted to look through my bag on the way in.<br>
<br>
We boarded the American Airlines MD 80, and had an uneventful ride to Chicago. Of
course, we had to take the train to Terminal 5, where the International flights depart, and
just trying to find the train was fun with all the construction. And, as the train services the
parking lots, it is not within the secure area, meaning we faced another round of security.
<br><br>
After getting to Terminal 5, the lines were enormous, and we had to check in, as we were
changing from American to Swiss. The line to the Swiss counter wasn’t bad, after we
slipped through the long lines for the other carriers, and after getting our seat
assignments, we headed for security and the gate. Once at the gate, we noticed there were
no food services there, so I went back to the main terminal, bought McDonalds (a very
rare occurrence in this family) and went with the food back through security to the
gate.<br>
<br>
The Swiss A330 was running late, and as we watched them unload and reload cargo, a
gentle snow fell as the sun set. We boarded the plane and got our seats (the middle four
of the row), and learned to use the video/game remote as they de-iced the plane. Once
underway, we watched (shudder) Catwoman, had cannelloni (or chicken) for dinner, and
passed around Christopher Moore’s funny ‘The stupidest angel’ book.<br>
<br>
<b>December 26</b><br>
After our croissant breakfast, we touched down in Zurich a little late. But, since we had
such a wide window until our Rome flight, it was not a big deal. We went from the old
terminal area into the new, and did some shopping for Swiss chocolate. We then watched
a gentle snow over the gorgeous countryside, and the girls worked in a few naps on the
side until we boarded an older A319 cattle car for the jump to Rome.<br>
<br>
We marveled at the incredible coast line as we approached and got in just a little later
than planned. Once again, in order to get all the carry on luggage without getting run
over, we were the last folks off the plane. We cleared customs, and were picked up for a
wild ride into Rome (yes, we were met by a person holding a sign with our name on it).
We passed the Pyramid of Cestius, the Palatine, the Colossio (Coliseum), and finally
were dropped off at the hotel, Hotel des Artistes (http://www.hoteldesartistes.com/). The
reception area was on the 5th floor, the elevator was phone booth sized, so we walked up
and checked in, then walked down one floor to 403. After struggling with the staff to get
the lights to work, we surveyed the room. One double bed, one twin bed normally
occupied the room, as well as the wardrobe and desk, and they had pulled in another twin
bed so the girls would have their own beds. We laughed at the bidet and the incredibly
high shower tub, and headed out… without unpacking.<br>
<br>
We walked around the block the Metro stop at Castro Prieto, and bough the weekly CIT
passes for all city transportation modes, and boarded for the short ride to the Termini
station, where we got off and walked down to the P. de Esquilline. We actually walked
right past the Grey line office the first time, but found it after circling the Santa Maria
Maggiore church. After checking in for our next day trolley tour, we walked down to the
Cavour metro station and rode down to the Collosio. Words will frequently fail, even for
this supposed wordsmithe. Wow. We caught it right at dusk, and walked around it with
our mouths hanging open, under our umbrellas. There were guys dressed like centurions,
trying to get money from people to have their pictures taken with them, but we didn’t bit.
The building and Arch of Titus was what we were taking pictures of.<br>
<br>
From there, we rode back up to the Termini station, and after inspecting about a hundred
restaurant menus, ate pizza, drank bottled water (no tap water in Italy at restaurants), and
rode home, unpacked, and crashed.<br>
<br>
<b>December 27</b><br>
We got up early, and after the usually chain of command through the bathroom for
showers (Craig last), we went upstairs for breakfast at 7:30. They had ham, cheese, bread,
cereal, boiled eggs, coffee, juice, tea, and between us, we sampled just about everything.
We then took the now familiar trip on the B line to the Termini, and walked in the rain to
the Grey Line office. We bought souvenirs at the Rosary gift shop next to Santa Maria
Maggiore, then hopped on the trolley. We went past Trajan’s Market, the Vittorio
Emmanuel Monument (also known as the wedding cake, for reasons apparent after you
see it), around the Colosseo, past the Circus Maximus, the Temple of Vestia, by the
Island in the Tiber (Isola Tiberina), and then past the Vatican. We then went past the
Tribunal building, the P. de Popolo, and into the Villa Burghese, where we saw the
French school, and a hot air balloon ride. We then passed the P. de Barberini, the P. de
Bernanrd, and drove down the Via Veneti (from La Dolce Vita fame) and past the old
Baths and Basilicas, at the P. de Repubblica. Since we could ride all day, and get on or
off at any of the stops, we rode around again until we got to the Colosseo.<br>
<br>
We stumbled into a guided tour of the Colosseo that was about to start, and we walked
through the arches into the interior corridors. There were exhibits everywhere, and our
guide, Max, was great. The rain let up as we wound our way into the open arena area, and
just soaked in the history. After a quick break, we were handed off to Georgio, who gave
us an incredible tour of the Forum. We walked 2000 year old cobble stones passed the
Arch of Constantine up the Sacred Way, past the Temple of Romulus, the Temple of
Saturn, Caesar’s funeral pyre area, and by the renovated Senate building. (Renovated
about 1000 years ago…) Only about 1/3 of the ancient Basilica of Maxentius and
Constantine was still standing, but it was still huge. Across the way was the Palitine, the
site of the original town, and many ruined emperor’s palaces. We wandered this area after
Georgio left us, and saw fountains, gardens, and 2600 year old ruins.<br>
<br>
We hopped the metro to Termini, has paninis, and walked back down to the Grey Line
office, and rode around again. For dinner, we ate pizza and spaghetti near the hotel, then
rode the metro to Termini, changed lines and arrived at the Spanish Steps at dusk (after
the only wrong turn on the whole trip…). We walked up the steps and just enjoyed the
view, St. Peters in the far distance. We bought gelato from a tiny vendor tucked into a
window by the metro station, and rode back to the hotel.<br>
<br>
<b>December 28</b><br>
After our usual breakfast, we waited for the bus to take us on our next tour: the
monuments. When it still hadn’t shown up at 8:30 (tour starting at 9:00), we did our
metro/walk in the rain to the Gray Line office, and got there the old fashioned way. We
boarded a trolley that took us to the old part of town, where we started walking, as the
rain passed. The first thing we came to was the Trevi fountain. Fed by an aqueduct, the
beautiful water and wonderful sculptures that seems to erupt from the building next to it
was just fantastic. We then walked past Hadrian’s temple, past a flood level marked, past
the la Madonna Palace (now the current home to the Italian senate) and the high
Carabiniere officers dressed in old style uniforms with big hats and capes. <br>
<br>
We then walked to the Pantheon. I knew this would be my highlight… the Forum is more
than 2400 years old, but in ruins. The Colosseo is almost 1900 years old, and is ruined.
The Pantheon, 1800 years old, is almost pristine, and more than intact. It is still used as a
temple, though now a Christian church. The marble was fabulous, the tomb guards
impressive, the columns, massive, and the natural light filtering in from the oculus was
more than enough to illuminate Raphael’s tomb. Just beautiful. On the way out, we saw a
McDonald’s just across the way… oh well. Progress.<br>
<br>
We then walked to the P. de Navona, which reminded me of the Grand Plac of Brussels,
and the great Plazas in Amsterdam, Bruge, Ghent, and Munich. There Christmas market
was still up, around the fountains, and the girls rode a spinning cup on the carousel, while
I tried to take pictures from a covered coach. We then made it back to traffic areas near
the Tribunal, and waited for the bus to take us to the Vatican. We finally got in line to
pass security at St. Peter’s, and wound our way around the circular square with it’s
nativity scene in front of the obelisk, and almost an hour later we entered the largest
Basilica in the world. There is room inside for 60,000. Words again fail me. It was huge,
but gorgeous. The gilt roof, the statues, the domes, the mosaics (no painting, as paint
fades…) and the high alter of Peter’s tomb. It was all so awe inspiring. On the way out,
we passed the Pieta, and the huge bronze doors. From here, we re-boarded the bus, and
were dropped near our hotel, where we regrouped for a bit.<br>
<br>
We took our standard route back to the Gray Line office, to confirm our tour for the next
day, and circled the Maggiore area looking for more souvenirs. The best deals were back
at the Rosary again. Bought about 34 post cards, calendars, medals, etc. We then took the
metro to P. de Pololo, with its obelisk, fountains, twin churches, but Gracie was hungry
and we could find no restaurants we could afford in this tony area, so we metro’ed to the
Spanish Steps, and discovered the same problem there. In desperation, we ate at the first
McDonald’s in Italy, but it was a very nice place, and had a great gelato bar. We took the
metro to the Termini, where the lights were out (that was fun, 200 feet down, in the dark)
but made it to the hotel. Crash time.<br>
<br>
<b>December 29</b><br>
Standard breakfast at the hotel, but this day we were picked up promptly for our Vatican
museum tour. The group on the bus was varied today, so we got multilingual
explanations of everything on the way over, and then got into an English group after
waiting in the rain to get in. When we arrived in the Museum, Stefano guided us through
the statue and tapestry gallery, and into the maps (frescos) gallery. Very detailed, and
very accurate, considering the day! He gave a great lecture on the Rafael rooms, and
prepped us for the Sistine Chapel, where there is no picture taking or speaking. Again, it
was all just incredible. We did a little souvenir shopping, and then rode the bus with some
new views of the Wedding Cake and baths, to the hotel.<br>
<br>
After having our fill of pasta, even the exotic spaghetti al carbonara and lasagna, we
decided to take the metro to the Spanish Steps, expecting to eat at Babbington’s English
Tea Room; but the high prices sent us to a pizza vendor off the street, where we ate
outside, native style. We considered going into where Keats had died, but decided to
adventure on after Diane bought a tea shirt from a street vendor. After a quick metro trip,
we walked around the whole of the Termini, window shopping for souvenirs, and trying
to find something for breakfast, as our tour to Pompeii left before the breakfast service
started at the hotel. We found some scone like treats, and headed back to the hotel. They
have a roof top terrace that we all went up to, and decided that was a better visit during
the summer, and then I called to confirm our hotel pick up for the airport shuttle, as we
would be out all the next day. We then got directions, and went out for Chinese. (I was
not going to have Italian food that night!) The food was good, and the girls got Chinese
calendars and chopsticks for souvenirs. When we got to our favorite evening spot, the
Spanish Steps, we saw a street vendor who did Chinese lettering and art, so the girls all
got their names in Chinese before we got Gelato at McDonaldi’s. We took our last
subway ride back to the hotel, which we found without power, though it was restored by
the time we got to our room. It was our last full day in Rome… tomorrow Naples and
Pompeii!<br>
<br>
<b>December 30</b><br>
We tried to eat the scone like treats, but the girls called them Shredded Wheat, and did
without after one taste. We again were picked up on time (7:00) on the first day without
rain. We boarded the big bus and headed south, past what appeared to be an old gate and
part of the aqueduct system. We made a brief rest stop about an hour out of town, where
our tour guide Marina reminded us (in English, Swiss French, and Spanish) not to bring
food on the bus. The country side was magnificent, especially near the monastery at
Monte Cassino. Snow covered mountains, green valleys, and occasional ruins. We also
passed the second largest palace in Europe, the Bourbon’s ‘little’ digs near Caserta. We
got to Naples about 11:00, and picked up another tour guide Wilma, who told us about
Naples. The bay, Capri in the distance was incredibly aqua blue, and we stopped by the
Egg castle on the shore, beneath the mountain castle and fortress. The city Royal Palace
and old castle are now municipal buildings a museums, and we saw excavations of a
subway station that was halted, due to finding an old roman harbor in the shadow of the
castle. We also passed the Gallery, the oldest ‘mall’ in the world, before heading to
Pompeii, 13 miles away, with Vesuvius looming in the distance. On the way, we passed
the parts of town that were rebuilt… once after the bombings of the war, and again after
the earthquake of 1980. We also could see a lot of lava flows, and were told the ones we
could see there were from about 1600.<br>
<br>
Once we got to Pompeii, the bus was parked and we walked to a Cameo shop for a quick
tour, before being seated for lunch. We were first offered soup or pasta (pasta… ziti and
tortellini, at least we had some variation!), then we were offered fish or meat (veal), and
then we had some fruit. Again, this was the first day without rain, but we made up for
that with wind and cold. But, the wind kept Vesuvius, 5 miles away, clear, and we could
see the two peaks at 4000 feet that showed the two sides of where the former 6000 ft.
mountain used to be! Wilma took us around the main square, and down past the forum.
We saw the plaster figures in a court yard with vibrant paint still on the walls, baths with
mosaic floors, shops, snack bars with food containers, ruts for the sliding doors, and
many buildings in very good shape. (No original roofs, of course). One great building had
a mosaic of a dog with the equivalent of a ‘beware of dog’ sign inlaid. The best house we
toured was the house of the ‘Tragic poet’, and another great place was the House of the
Vetti, though we couldn’t go into that one. On the way out, we passed the temple of
Apollo, with its sun dial, and the archeological stores, with thousands of vases, and yet
another plaster figure. We grabbed a souvenir, tried not to pay attention to the erotic
paintings modeled on some of the more ‘colorful’ art in the houses, and headed out.<br>
<br>
Of course we had another bus wait, another bus stop half way there (we smuggled in
cookies and ate them on the bus, daring Marina to catch us) and then had a lot wait at the
restaurant around the corner of the hotel for pizza. We picked up some gelato from a
freezer at the little shop across from the hotel, and ate that before we started packing for
the trip back.<br>
<br>
<b>December 31</b><br>
After breakfast, we checked the news about the Tsunami in Asia, and paid for the phone
call and checked out. Our pick up time had been pushed back to 9:30, and we made that
one last trip down the stairs. We chatted with an Australian couple who was checking in,
then boarded our crowded shuttle. We passed the ‘usual’ sites, plus St. John Laterno, on
the way to the airport. We found the British Airways desk and got our boarding passes,
and headed to the shopping arcade to blow our last euros. One last souvenir, a box of
chocolate for the trip, and one last set of sliced pizza to carry through passport control on
the way to our gate! We boarded the 767, and were presented with another small meal…
pizza for most, but we had a ham sandwich with apple/banana sauce as we had asked for
low fat. We just sat in amazement as we flew over the Alps. Incredible show, as the
snow covered peaks just seems to go on forever. We were running late into Heathrow,
but still able to check in for new American boarding passes, and get on the 777 flight to
Chicago okay. The headwinds delayed our arrival (Shark Tale and Up a Creek were the
movies… no games) so we literally had to run through customs in Chicago to wait for a
train to terminal 3. Fortunately, being New Years Eve, there was no one in line in
security, and we got to our flight with time to spare. DFW was a ghost town upon arrival,
but the shuttle picked us up right away, and we were on the road about 11:00. We
stopped for some candy and to give hugs at midnight, New Years 2005, and were pulling
into the driveway just after 1:00. What a great trip.