Day 1: Rome, If You Want To

We made it! Touched down in Rome around 9:30 this morning. The flight was pretty good, but despite all of our efforts to sleep on the plane, we’re still tired. But definitely excited. And having already been to the UK and France, much less anxious about navigating a foreign country.

Another reason that I’m less nervous is that I’ve spent the last two years learning Italian. Thanks to the recommendation of a friend, I found a system that really works for me. Now, I’m still at a beginner level, mind you. But I can manage simple conversations and read a menu. So I spent part of the flight doing my lesson and practicing the dialogue in my head for checking in at the hotel.

Getting through Da Vinci airport was a breeze. No card to fill out like in the UK. We took a monorail to Customs, where we got in a long line. Which moved really fast. They had lots of stations that scanned our passports and let us through. I’d also practiced answering questions at Customs. But didn’t get a single one (unlike the UK). In minutes we were all through.

Our bags were already on the carousel when we made it to baggage claim. We were on our way to the Leonardo Express train into Rome when Marsha was stopped by a shuttle company. It was the same price, so we did that instead for door-to-door service. Turned out to be a great choice.

It was cool seeing the wide-open Italian countryside as we left the airport and headed into the city. We passed lots of old apartment buildings and farms (where the hay was in rolls instead of blocks). Our driver was great, even if the idea of lanes seemed more of a suggestion than a rule. He even pointed out various sites along the way.

Check-in at the hotel was busy and it was noisy. So despite practicing the conversation in Italian, the clerks all defaulted to English, so I just stuck with it mostly. Plenty of more check-ins to come.

We're staying at the Westin Excelsior Rome (must be Stan Lee's favorite), which is just beautiful. It's near the Spanish Steps and on Via Vittorio Veneto, a beautiful street. The area is perfect.

Naturally, our room wasn’t ready (too early), so we checked our bags and headed out. I’d forgotten to download the Google map of Rome before we left, so my ability to navigate was slightly hampered. Because of the new International cell/data plan offered, we have to limit our data use. So Marsha was the only one with Internet today. But as I’d learned in London, the GPS feature still works (very handy). So once you get your bearings, you can still use it to guide yourself around.

Got us to the Spanish Steps just fine. Our first landmark! We entered at the top and worked our way down. There’s a ton of street vendors selling mostly hats and water. Marsha bought a hat and tried to get me one (I wanted to go to a particular shop I’d found online). The street hustlers here are everywhere, aggressive but friendly. Big on complimenting your shoes (don't fall for it).

We were getting hungry and were ready to eat. Plus it’s really hot out. I tried to lead us to a place on my phone, but couldn’t find it. Wasn’t sure if I had us on the wrong street, but it looked correct. Found out later I was correct and that they were permanently closed.

Instead, we found a little place nearby that offered A/C and didn’t look like a tourist trap (huckster outside, giant menu posted in English and with pictures) and had homemade pasta. The A/C wasn’t that great, but the food was pretty good. We all had Rome’s signature dish of cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), except mine had bacon. Yum!

Afterwards, we found my menswear store using Marsha’s phone. The hats were reasonably priced, but Marsha didn’t like any of them. I was originally thinking of a European-style newsboy cap, but a ligh-colored Sinatra-style fedora seems more in fashion. At least for the tourists. Even the women. In the end, I still didn’t get a hat. 

We just love the narrow streets that are mostly cobblestone. Comfortable shoes are a must! Exploring is great. We found our way to Trevi Fountain which was hugely crowded as anticipated. But not as loud as I’d expected.

After getting a photo of Marsha and Madison tossing their coins in, we were getting tired. And very hot. So we decided to head back early and hope our room was ready. Thankfully, it was! Once we got settled in and had our bags brought up, we all three crashed for a few hours.

Tomorrow we sleep in and tackle the city refreshed and more energetic. No firm plans, just getting out and exploring.

Ciao!