Sunday Lena and I got up early so we could go to the capital of Italy, Rome. While I could have spent days here I choose to spend more time doing local things and just one day in Rome although I had today available, I did enough. We drove 30 min to catch a train and then it took 40 minutes to get to Rome. The train station is very modern. The train was crowded heading into Rome, so we got to stand the entire way.

Rome is a big, noisy city filled with lots of people. It happened to be a holiday weekend with people getting the day off on Thursday so I imagine they took an extra day off if they could because there were loads off people in town. That and being a very popular tourist city and sun following days of rain it was very busy in the heart of the city.

Lena is an amazing tour guide. I decided I would like to do the hop-on hop-off bus tour. I got to see the major sites and then I could explore as I wanted by getting off at a stop nearest the attraction I wished to see more of.  It was absolutely amazing sitting on the upper deck and seeing the incredible ruins of ancient times. It was very green and about 65 to 70 degrees with partly cloudy skies but it was wonderful after many days of rain.

That being said I am not one to go to museums, etc so the bus tour suited me just fine. I got enough history and tidbits to suit me. I loved seeing the old buildings, window boxes, and just life in Rome. I enjoyed seeing the Vatican and sent my kids postcards from there. They had a huge nativity in the square.

We walked along the Tiber river. It was very full due to the recent rains. There was so much to see at every turn. We ate in the Jewish quarter. There they had kosher food. I love the fresh pasta here. I had pasta carbonara which was amazing. The huge umbrella fell over and just missed some people sitting behind us when the wind picked up. The staff quickly took it down and we went back to eating. We got to sit in the sun!!

I loved walking the cobblestone streets and enjoyed every moment. It was a bit overwhelming at the options but I am content with my decision and Lena and I have spent good quality time together. We met in Gig Harbor when I had my Scandinavian shop. She has helped me a lot with the swedish language and her and 3 others are who I attribute my being able to speak as well as I do, because we spoke together. I have missed her because she moved to Germany and then Italy about 12 years ago.

She basically stopped her life to spend time with me. I am so grateful I took the time because as it turns out they may be moving soon. I have been very fortunate to be able to stay with her and her husband which makes traveling more affordable. I am super fortunate to have amazing friends and I hope I am a moderately good friend back.

The fountain was a surprise. It was in an area with lots of buildings and shopping. I almost skipped it but glad to have seen it. It was enormous and there were lots of people surrounding it. I have done a little shopping but haven’t much room in my suitcase. Should have probably had a checked bag but I wanted to keep it as inexpensive as I could. So keeping it to a minimum.

When it started getting dark we took the bus another tour around and it started to rain a bit. I saw the missed sites and tried to take pictures of things lit up but we either had trees in the way, other vehicles or the bus was moving and photos turned out blurry. There was a lot of traffic when the bus made its final round of the city. A Christmas market was in full swing but I did not have energy for it.

This is an extra blog post, since today I fly to Venice to see my brother Fredric and his family and I know there will be lots to report. Wishing you peace and joy from Rome. Recharging for more adventures to come!