Let the touring begin

Monday Jan 20, 2014
The first full day in Rome has begun.

Bill fed us his favourite breakfast, fresh buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes with olive oil.

I still have not got over the jet lag and am feeling pretty hung over from it all.  Today we are all just getting our sea legs.  We visited la Scala Santa (the sacred steps) which are just across the street.  These are apparently the steps that Jesus Christ walked up to be taken before Pontius Pilate.  They were brought to Rome from Jerusalem in the 3rd century when Queen Helen of Constantinople and her son Constantine adopted the Christian religion as the belief system of their domain.

Then it was across the street to the basilica of San Giovanni en Laterano, Bill's favourite church in Rome.  This is the main cathedral for the city of Rome.  Next we visited the stand alone Baptistery that is next door.

Then it was off down the street for a little passiagata (stroll) to find a place to have lunch.  Rheaume and Cheryl were introduced to of 2 types of Roman pizza.  I think everyone was still feeling the effects of the flight because we could barely finish our food.

On we went, doing some window shopping, being entertained by store keepers trying to entice us to buy their wears, and offering samples as enticement.  Some we will be back to, others probably not.  Bill and I have noticed this trip that there are definite price changes in certain items, the most notable being the price if an espresso and coronetto.  We saw several signs that were offering them for 1.50 Euros.  Any other time we have been here they have never been below 3.50 Euros.  Not sure if this is a sign of the current economic times or the fact that we are here at a non-tourist time.  This may in fact what the locals normally pay, as when we travelled outside the city last time we were here, we could find espresso for 1 Euro.

Next we stopped at another basilica, Santa Maria Maggiori, another one of the major churches of the city of Rome.  Then a little voyeuristic retail therapy as we made our way to Termini station the main transportation hub in Rome.   Here we purchased our bus tickets for the next week.  Again a bit of sticker shock here.  The last time we were here and still according to the transit systems web site, I was expecting to pay 16 Euros each for them.  Instead they are now 24 Euros.  Daily tickets have risen from 4 Euros to 6 Euros.  They are still a good bargain though at about 3.50 a day, because you can go virtually anywhere in Rome and even to some outlying communities on the one ticket and it’s usable on train, tram, and bus and underground. 

So after about what amounted to a 6 hours, 2 KM long stroll it was time to partake of some Italian gelato.  I am afraid that Bill, Cheryl and I greatly disappointed the server as we did not take any whipped cream on top of our gelato, but, she was very pleased, beaming him a big smile, when Rheaume said "Si, Si" to her offer of the crema.

That little stop was our undoing.  Everyone started to feel somewhat flagged so we hopped a bus and headed for home.  The fellows went out and found some wine, we had a few glasses then went around the corner for supper when the restaurant opened at 7PM - normal time for restaurants to open for supper.  We had the restaurant virtually to ourselves for the first half hour or so, then the locals started coming in about 8 o’clock.  R

Rheaume and Cheryl enjoyed a taste of a few different dishes, moscardini, baby fried squid risotto with seafood, 3 different pastas, and saltimbocca, a veal dish.  And of, course we had wine with our meal.  Then home for an early night.

I will add pictures later.