Venice to Rome

And onward! I’m not sure why but Venice was my favorite city so far. It was just so unique with it’s seemingly random layout of streets and canals. I think the lack of motor vehicles contributed also. Well we only got to spend an afternoon/evening there and now we are leaving for Rome at 8am. Apparently it’s like a six hour drive but the coach is only allowed to drive for three hours at a clip which works for us because we all have bladders and stomachs. There isn’t much noteworthy on the drive except the lack of toilet seats at service stations. I guess everyone in this part of the country is good at squatting or they figured out how to levitate. Some stations didn’t have toilets at all – just holes in the floor. My only guess is that they spent their toilet money on accordions which was a shitty move. Get it?  Moving on…

We arrived in Rome around 4pm and checked into our hotel before going into the city which we haven’t done in awhile. It will be nice to get home later and already have our junk in our room so we could just go crash. They showed us some of the main attractions (or at least where they are so we could see them tomorrow) and take us to dinner. On the way we learn that if you are Italian and have a motorized vehicle, you can do whatever the hell you want. If you only have two wheels on your vehicle, you might as well be Jesus. People were blowing through red lights with just a wave of their hand. Others were stopping at red lights and then going through when they felt it was ok. Still others were just driving into oncoming traffic if they wanted to pass someone. Scooters would hop curbs and driving on city sidewalks if they got bored with the regular roads. It was insane.

Dinner tonight was buffet style and not as formal but the food was tastier than last night. The spread included mozzarella & tomato, cold meats and cheeses, bruschetta and some kind of vegetable risotto. Dinner was chicken, pork, potatoes, pasta and vegetables. Our dessert was Panna Cotta which I never had before and probably won’t have again. It has the texture of flan and seems like it wants to be cheesecake but no one ever gave it the chance.

After dinner Greg showed us as many sights as he could before it got late which was really awesome. To have this gigantic coach bus and maneuver it around all the crowded streets and crazy drivers is no small feat. I’m happy they did though because the monuments at night are a whole different experience. I’ll finish this post with all of the pics I took with Tracey’s camera and I’ll fill in what I remember. I remember I had tiramasu and amaratto gelatto in the square…and that might be it. Sorry. Adam you can take it from here!

This is Trevi Fountain. Next to it is a terrible pic someone took of me in front of Trevi Fountain. You can’t even see the fountain. I know I look good, but I shouldn’t be the main subject in a photo that involves ancient Roman architecture.

This is a photo of a bunch of people in Piazza di Spagna on the Spanish Steps. See if you can find me! I may or may not be wearing the exact same clothes as I was wearing in the photo above it.

Church Something above the Spanish Steps. The Pantheon.

Random pic I took of the group where Greg was the only one who looked and the only thing in focus. I have no idea how I did this but it came out awesome. Thank you Tracey’s magic camera.

My tribute to Tracey because it’s her camera and because I love her:

On to some night pictures!

Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Novana.

The Coliseum!

OUR GROUP!

Arch of Constantine!  St Peter’s Basilica!

Buildings with random people in front of them!

Well that’s pretty much it for tonight. Except this one last pic of me and Tracey. Because it’s her camera. And because I love her.

Day 8 gone forever!