Aran Mantegna Rome

... map from the hostel yet so I didn't really know where I was going. I
got back and had a shower and got changed. I also went on the Internet
and checked emails and updated my blog.

It was now time for dinner. Just across the street was a nice little
Italian restaurant and I was craving pasta. I decided to have a pasta
dish with thicker spagetti noodles and a tomato based sause with
bacon. I ...

... garden one mroe time. Some went to go last minute shopping and some, like Jeremy and I, got food. We also decided to get wine. What a great deal! We went to the same enoteca that we had our wine tasting. I ended up getting 3 bottles of the amazing red that we had tasted. The best part was the brice, 6 Euro! Everyone got a few bottles of something. Then Jeremy and I went back to pack up. That ...

... to the museum. No sign of Andrew. Plan B again. More walking. Rome does not have a huge centre and is easily walked. The focal points are well spaced out, if somewhat repetitious. Tip of the day, wear your most comfortable walking shoes. (No trainers, unless you really want to look ...

La journée d'aujourd'hui risque de ressembler à celle de vendredi, mais à l'envers et le stress en moins ; nous quittons Rome en milieu d'après-midi. Nous avons donc un certain sentiment de sécurité que seuls les habitués connaissent, ce matin-là, dans le genre "ouais ouais on prend l'avion un peu plus tard à Ciampino, pas d'stress, on connaît, tsé"... On prend donc la navette du camping à 10 heures 30 ...

... to see more of the Roman Forum before it shut at 6:15pm. Again a hundred more photos were taken - thank the heavens we have portable harddrives. We made it back to our hotel around 7pm with the intention of having a nap before dinner. We woke up and it was morning. Day 3 Around 2am I woke up, checked the phone time and thought breakfast was about to arrive. Bruce got up and then informed me how early it was. He was not impressed. Ooops. Note ...

... did a little pose for us. I should mention that she competes in amateur body building contest. Yeah she's bad ass. Her back is so well defined she doesn't even need tanning oil! On the final dance you can look across the room and all the empty chairs belong to my fellow tour mates. Yes we party and we party hard. We are all pretty close by now. This is why we skipped the tour to partake in this festive event of all events. Where all my tour mates could let loose and ...

Was pretty excited this morning as I had planned to go up the dome of St Peter's- the biggest in the world and designed by Michelangelo. I wasn't very impressed with it at all. I though the dome in London's St Paul's was more breathtaking and exciting. Oh well, I've done it now. From here could see lots of Rome- mostly church domes! Crossed the river to the other side of Rome and looked at the obelisk outside the ...

We left Santa Maria this morning after calling British Air to make sure we will be able to fly with the documentation we have since Ray's passport has been stolen. I hate the ride to Rome! It is all autostradas with people just flying by! Ray doesn't need any encouragement to drive fast, either. On top of that, trying to catch the road and town signs as they are whizzing by is kind of difficult. So, we got to the airport in Rome and were told by the girl at the check-in ...

... that there are as many as in San Gimignano, however, they just aren't as proiminent as in San Gimignano. Maybe we just missed the main vantage point. By 4.30 we were back in Piaza del Popolo, as were large numbers of locals engaging in "passegiata". Kids kicking a soccer ball around (what with the world cup in full swing, if a child is not already a soccer "freak", then he will be by the end of the tournament. An elderly gentleman (80's), dressed up in three piece suit and hat ...

My mom had chosen to call me at 4:45 AM, and we all woke up 'cause the phone was so damn loud! Then, I couldn't go back to sleep afterward. "Breakfast" consisted of stale bread and coffee. Then we went to the Piazza Venezia where we saw the Victor Emmanuel monument and the Forum. Afterward, we saw the coliseum, and we headed towards St. Peter's Basilica where the Pope was giving the Easter Sunday mass. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see him because of the ...