After two years of planning - the day has come!
We left at 3:30pm Ohio time that is 9:30 pm Italy time. Bringing the parents! Well cut out of their heads.
Me, Fred, Jeanie and Martin Beaver are on a separate flight than the rest. We fly into Detroit.
Rita, Dennis, Ali, Tanner, Jeanie and Ken Burch, Howard and Sara, Gary and Ann Smith, Glen and Annette leave before us from Columbus and land in New Jersey. They meet up with Mike, Gina, who left from Charlotte and Deb and Tom Ernest.
We will all meet up at the airport in Rome!!!
On the first leg of our flight the plane was small - so they weren't serving drinks - well not to anyone but Fred that is. I think the attendant liked him. I was sitting two rows behind.
We had a 9 hour flight from Detroit to Rome and arrived at 9:30am on August 3rd 2012. Didn't sleep much on the flight - if any - too excited. Our attendants were very nice = Shauna and Shauna. One gave Fred a hard time about his OSU Shirt.
When we get off the plane - our luggage was there very quickly. We were very warmly greeted by the rest of our group. So excited.
Massimo is our guide, we can call him Max. The bus is waiting - so off we go!
Max has check in lined up at the Hotel Cicerone on Vie de Cicerone in Roma. We are told not to sleep so we can get on Italy time. We get road maps of Rome - this is our free day.
Not all of the rooms are ready when we get to the hotel - we were early. My room was ready - Room 708! - Fred's his was next to mine. Mike Gina Howard Sara Rita and Dennis all come to my room. Fred and I have balconies - Fred and Marty were out on Fred's balcony - - and we all lined up and looked out onto the streets below - the streets of Rome. You could see the Vatican from our balcony. How amazing was this trip starting off! We were there for an hour or so. Once everyone had their rooms around noon- the 20 of us charted a course!
We were going to all the locations that a bus tour can't take you. The skies were crystal clear - so blue... Mike had the map - he has that Dad given gift of direction.
We walked across the Tiber River. We stopped at a Piazza that had a fountain with Neptune - first group photo op. Everywhere you look ancient architecture.
Next stop - the Spanish Steps!
Some of us walked all 138 of the steps - it was a very warm day - so some decided to find a place to get a drink instead and went to the Caffeteria del Barcaccia.
We joined them once we were done and I had my very first "official" meal in Italy You could see the Spanish Steps from the restaurant - Lovely view. The steps are made of marble and are very slippery and over the years they are not exactly flat because of being 300 years old. Some man fell as he was walking down them. I can't imagine trying to walk down them in the rain. As I said it was a very warm day so on the side of the stair were there was a little shade - there were a lot of people huddled are.
As we left this restaurant this man speaking in italian kept trying to give me a rose - telling me I was beautiful - kept trying - I kept saying no because I was told not to let anyone do anything for your or give you anything because they will want money - for example if they are dressed as a Roman soldier - and offer to let you take your picture with them they will expect payment. But this guy was persistant - so I took it. Then he wanted money I said no. Finally - Mike stepped in - handed the flower back to the guy and told him to leave - he left.
FYI - When I ordered my Euros - they gave me 3 $500 euro bills and some smaller bills too - but if you go overseas and you order your Euro ahead of time - make sure they give you smaller denominations :-) No one can cash that - the Italians all looked at me like I was on crack :-) I ended up paying for big things and people gave me the cash.
Once we left the Spanish steps - we headed in search of the Trevi Fountain. We found it - The fountain is 86 ft. high and 143 ft wide. It was amazing to see in real life. I know I use amazing alot but it seems to describe so many things. I didn't have any coins to throw in - very disappointed! And I wasn't about to throw in a 500 euro :-)
Little History - Trevi Fountain is in the district of Trevi. Its name means the Fountain at the Junction of 3 roads - Tre Vie. It marks the terminal point of the the Aqua Virgo, one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians found a source of pure water 8 miles away. The Aqua Virgo led the waters into the Baths of Agrippa which served the Romans for 400 years!
There is a lovely church by there - Church of the Sacred Hearts -It was very old too - Gina and I walked thru it together. By the way the Parent Heads were getting their pictures taken along the way. The fountain is really something to see.
Next stop the Pantheon.
One thing I had heard was you could stop and buy a beer and drink it on the street - so some of us stopped and got a cold beer and headed in that direction.
You just keep winding these roads. The street signs are on the side of the buildings - and they say Like Vie de Cicerone. So you have search for them. They are narrow - or maybe they seemed narrow because of the amont of people. I was in awe of the architechture - everywhere you look. So we are winding down these streets - little shops here and there. We turned this corner - and there it is - the Pantheon.
It was a WOW moment. I mean "Are you kidding ME! I am at the Pantheon! HOLY COW! WOW moment" It was something to see - they still have mass there. Can you imagine - "where do you go to church?" I go to 5pm mass at the Basilica de Pantheon.
Basilica by the way has to do with the shape of the building. I teared up in there - the artwork was amazing - just being there - in a building I had read about for so many years and never ever could I have imagined I would see it.
History -The Pantheon was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome in like 40BC, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.
Almost 2000 years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 142 ft.
It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church. The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The Catholic Church would tear down ancient pagen buildings and statues or let them decay UNLESS they converted them to a Christian something or rather - which is what they did with the Pantheon. Much of the decor in the Pantheon was removed and used in St. Peters Basilica.
By the time we left there - we had all been up way over 24 hours. I felt amazingly awake We headed back to the hotel. It was about 4:30. Winding back thru the streets of Rome on foot
Walking back across the Tiber River. Some stopped in the bar of the hotel and had some drinks, laughs and some played cards.
We went to dinner at a little restaurant nearby that Max recommended. They gave us our own room so we could all be together. I should have written down what I had but I really can't remember at this point. It was delicious - all the restaurants had wonderful meals. HUGE meals. Walked back to the hotel - thru the streets of Rome at night. I went into my room - opened my patio door - walked out on the balcony - looked down the street at the lit up dome of St. Peters - the one Michaelangelo designed.... and stared for a long time - trying to burn it into my brain so I would never forget that beautiful view.
We need to get up early because we have an appointment at the Vatican.........
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