Today we said “Ciao” to Rome and hopped on the high-speed train to Florence, Italy. Ninety minutes later, we were walking to our hotel. We spent the afternoon getting familiar with Florence and climbed the many steps to the top of the dome of the Duomo (the big cathedral). It was an amazing view of the city.
The weather continues to be very hot and humid. We are grateful for cold drinks and air conditioning in our hotel.
Today was our first and last full day in Rome. We walked and covered most of the city, starting with the Pantheon. It is amazing building and piece of architecture.
Throughout the day we continued with our audio tour app, a great way to learn more about each site. Did you know that the columns for the Pantheon were carved out of a single piece of stone in Egypt and then transported to Rome?
Listening to our audio tour at the Pantheon.
In the afternoon, after an enjoyable and delicious handmade pasta lunch (at least for 3 of us. Kelsey continued her streak of eating pizza, again), we saw The Forum and toured the Colosseum.
The Forum, Rome, Italy
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
Inside the Colosseum, with a view under the arena floor.
What day would be complete without a stop for gelato? We recommend gelato by the Trevi Fountain. Unfortunately the fountain itself is under repair.
We had an uneventful trip to Rome. The 7.5 hour flight went by quickly with the nice personal entertainment system on the plane. We all managed to get some of sleep. We spent the day getting to know the immediate area of where we are staying. It turned out the hotel had a family that expectantly needed to extend their stay, so they rented a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for us on Via Gulia.
In the afternoon, we visited Vatican City with a walk through the Vatican Museum, which ends in the Sistine Chapel. It is truly an amazing work of art. Thanks to Karen’s tour book reading, we joined a tour for a shortcut to St. Peter’s Basilica. The late afternoon visit was improved with the Rick Steves audio tour app we downloaded onto our smartphones. A nice way to learn more about what we were looking at.
Of course, we just had to bring some sweet treats with us on the long flight to Rome!
Hammond Adventures 