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!
6/29/14
We went down to the Center to see the Ferrari show. None of us are really into cars but it was cool to see the fancy cars. While we were there we thought we would get Teresa a new car!
6/27/14
Friday night we were invited to another Intercambio participant’s house to have a bonfire. We made s’mores and talked around the campfire with Sophia and Jessie, two of my friends from Intercambio, and their Spaniards, Pili and Milagros. We were having a fantastic time until a police officer showed up. He was very friendly and told us that they had had 10 calls from a cranky neighbor saying the smoke from the fire was going into their house. He told us that we weren’t doing anything wrong but that he had to tell us to put out the fire. Too bad for the neighbors, though, because pouring water on a fire only creates more smoke! Now we all laugh about it, saying that it was only the first night with Teresa and we already had an encounter with the police!
6/27/14
The first thing we decided to do with Teresa was bake some chocolate chip cookies. With a little help from Lindsey, we were able to make some delicious cookies!
6/26/14
After arriving at the parking lot of Conard High School at 11;15 we were told that the Spaniards were stuck in traffic and would not be arriving for another hour. We went back home, put Dad to bed (he was really tired), and waited excitedly for their arrival. When we went back to Conard the bus pulled up a few minutes later and everyone rushed to greet their Spanish friends. Here we are in the parking lot, exhausted but super happy to be back together. I know this summer will be really fun and exciting for both of us!
Teresa and I went out to lunch with one of my mom’s friends from college, Monica, who lives in Madrid. We ate at restaurant Botín, the world’s oldest restaurant according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
For the last day in Spain we went out to eat churros for breakfast with some friends! Fun and delicious!
Hammond Adventures 