Last night in Rome

We enjoyed the rooftop bar after our pizza and waited for another spectacular Roman sunset.

We took a refreshing one hour nap, despite the music from the street below and when we awoke we discussed dinner plans and came to the realization that after that huge pizza, neither of us could eat a full dinner. However, gelato seemed like a good idea.

We walked among the herds of people making their way to our favorite lively square -Piazza Navona.
It's a pedestrian square and the only vehicles you'll see are police cars and later trucks picking up trash to get the square ready for the next morning.

We found a restaurant specializing in gelato and took a seat outside. As this is a tourist area it was quite expensive-my beer alone was E10 and the bill came to E33 for two drinks and two gelato.

The gelato was good of course and the waiter was very friendly. We had seats and could relax and people-watch and try to burn the memory of Navona into our brains as there is nothing like it in Chicago.

There is a magnificent fountain in the square with statuary by Bernini- the fountain of four rivers (Fontana die Quattro Flumi).

There is also the church of St.Agnes in Agony which we will have to look into next time

We were being picked up by Rome in Limo at 7 a.m next morning so at some point we would have to leave this great square and return to the hotel where I would have to pack up my suitcase.

The people who didn't have to fly to Chicago next morning were still enjoying la dolce vita in the many restaurants around our square.

The cruise that we had planned 18 months before was now coming to an end. I am glad we added two days in Rome at the end. Some passengers got off the ship in Civitavecchia and went straight to the airport.
Our brief taste of Rome only made us want to see and experience more of it, which is why we are returning there in late September of this year to spend two days before our cruise.

We loved our hotel and the lively ancient squares nearby so we have booked it again.

There are famous sights we still have to see up close but even if there weren't just walking through those narrow interesting streets is a pleasure. Photo opportunities around every corner!

We'll look forward to the wonderful restaurants serving simple Roman food and wine and to the friendly waiters. We'll stop to listen to the buskers in the squares and walk along the banks of the Tiber again. We'll explore areas where there are less tourists and relax with a beer or cappuccino.

We slept well and were up by 5 a.m to prepare for our long flight home-Rome to Newark, New Jersey, then a 3 hour wait for our flight to Chicago. We would arrive home 15 hours after taking off from Rome that morning.

Rome in Limo were on time. Our flight left FCO on time. Everything went smoothly and eventually we were home in downtown Chicago being greeted by our two cats.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading along on this Epic voyage of discovery.

I'll leave you with a video of our last day in Rome. There's a rather long section where I stopped to enjoy the "band" who played Pink Floyd songs in the square outside our hotel. If you don't enjoy Pink Floyd you can always fast-forward. They are worth a listen though.

Since then we have taken a Caribbean Cruise but I'll give you a break from cruise ships for the moment as I want to share with you a trip we made to Switzerland in 2009. One of the most beautiful countries we have seen. That's the next blog....

(video of Rome)